Tuesday, March 3 | 11 a.m. – Noon
Classroom Building 170

Electron Tunneling and Proton Pumping in Respiratory Complex I

Our group is working in the general area of computational chemistry and biological electron and proton transfer; our main current efforts are focused on understanding molecular aspects of the electron transport chain (ETC) of aerobic cells and biological energy transduction. NADH dehydrogenase, a.k.a. respiratory complex I, is a key enzyme in ETC in aerobic cells. It couples the two-electron reduction of ubiquinone to proton pumping across the inner mitochondrial (or bacterial) membrane, which results in the formation of a proton gradient that subsequently drives ATP synthesis in the cell. I will review recent progress in the field, focusing on the quantum aspects of the cell’s energy generating machinery, as electron transport in ETC occurs via quantum tunneling. The system is one of the best examples of “quantum biology”.

About the Speaker

Ph.D. in Theoretical Chemical Physics, Moscow Physical and Technical Institute, Academy of Sciences, USSR (1985)

1990-1994 Postdoc, California Institute of Technology (Advisor – R.A. Marcus)

1994-present, Assistant, Associate, Full Professor, Chemistry, UC Davis 

UCD Biophysics Chair (2012-15)

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow (1996)

Beckman Foundation Young Investigator (1997)

UCD Honors Program Outstanding Mentor (2017)

NIH supported research since 1996