Date of Completion

7-29-2019

Embargo Period

7-28-2021

Keywords

simulation, curvature, membranes, mitochondria

Major Advisor

Eric May

Associate Advisor

Nathan Alder

Associate Advisor

Philip Yeagle

Field of Study

Molecular and Cell Biology

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Open Access

Open Access

Abstract

Biomembranes are essential to cell structure and function. The function of these membranes is dependent not just on their composition of lipids and proteins, but also the distinct morphologies and shapes they present. In recent years, both experiments and simulations have begun to explore the relationship between membrane function and shape, but in this field, there is much to still be explored. The bulk of this work is dedicated to the development and application of techniques to build and study curved membranes in molecular dynamics simulations, using mitochondrial membranes as the primary biological system of study.

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