Victor Muñoz is a

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

whose focus has been on

protein folding Protein folding is the physical process by which a protein chain is translated to its native three-dimensional structure, typically a "folded" conformation by which the protein becomes biologically functional. Via an expeditious and reproduci ...

and design. He provided experimental evidence for a mechanism of protein folding called as "

downhill folding Downhill folding is a process in which a protein folds without encountering any significant macroscopic free energy barrier. It is a key prediction of the folding funnel hypothesis of the energy landscape theory of proteins. Overview Downhill ...

". He has pioneered various computational and experimental techniques to study this mechanism as well as to gain insights into the general process of protein folding. Prof. Muñoz has used different standard biophysical techniques, such as

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a physical phenomenon in which nuclei in a strong constant magnetic field are perturbed by a weak oscillating magnetic field (in the near field) and respond by producing an electromagnetic signal with a ...

(NMR), to unravel the downhill folding mechanism at an atom-by-atom level, using ultrafast laser

temperature jump The temperature jump method is a technique used in chemical kinetics for the measurement of very rapid reaction rates. It is one of a class of chemical relaxation methods pioneered by the German physical chemist Manfred Eigen in the 1950s. In the ...

(T-jump) experiments for studying the kinetics of very fast folding proteins (microsecond timescales), driving Fluorescence Spectroscopy techniques (FRET) at single molecule level to study processes with fast dynamics as well as developing various computational models for quantitative analysis of a multitude of protein folding experimental data from various equilibrium and kinetics experiments. He has also been involved in design and engineering of proteins towards desired properties and functionalities. He has coordinated a consortium of researchers from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, "PRODESTECH", for tailoring enzymes, therapeutics and synthetic macromolecular devices from designed proteins. Dr. Muñoz has been a member of the faculty of the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

since 2000 and has won the Searle Scholar Award, and the David and Lucille Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering. He moved back to Spain in 2007 as a professor at the Center for Biological Investigations (CIB) of the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) at

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. He was elected to the

European Molecular Biology Organization The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) is a professional, non-profit organization of more than 1,800 life scientists. Its goal is to promote research in life science and enable international exchange between scientists. It co-funds cour ...

in 2009.

References

External links

Prof. Victor Muñoz Homepage

The Muñoz Group Webpage

2002 Searle Scholar Award, USA

* ttp://www.rsc.org/shop/books/2008/9780854042579.asp "Protein Folding, Misfolding and Aggregation", RSC Publishing
PRODESTECH - Protein Design Technologies Consortium
{{Spain-bio-stub Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization Spanish scientists Living people Year of birth missing (living people)