Professor in biophysical chemistry.
The focus of my research is to uncover the complex linkages between protein dynamics and biological function. Protein dynamics is in essence the plasticity that proteins display when they change their shape to perform their biological function. Understanding the mechanisms and energetics that control dynamics is currently at the fore-front of contemporary research in protein chemistry. In my lab protein dynamics is addressed in systems of varying complexity spanning from individual enzymes to complex biological systems and designed protein switches.
The main technique in the lab is solution state NMR spectroscopy which is the most powerful approach to quantify protein dynamics that can cover the entire range from fast (ps-ns) to slow (seconds to minutes) events. We use the full spectrum of structural biology techniques including: xray-crystallography, molecular dynamics simulations and single particle cryoEM. In all projects we carefully design functional assays that are used to connect protein dynamics with biological function.
Magnus Wolf-Watz obtained a master's degree in biochemistry at KTH in 1996. Five years later, he did his doctorate in structural biology at the same university. In the years 2001–2004, he was on a postdoctoral stay at Brandeis University outside Boston, USA. Since 2005, he has run a research group at Umeå University. In 2010 he was appointed associate professor in biological chemistry at Umeå University. In 2018 he was appointed professor i biophysical chemistry.