Two grants for research into molecular motors

13 November 2009

The FOM Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen has received an FO male/female stimulation grant from the FOM Foundation, to retain the Veni award winner Dr Anouk Rijs on staff. A sum of over € 200,000 will be disbursed on condition that Dr Rijs obtains a permanent post as senior researcher. The grant is part of the FO male/female Stimulation Programme, set up in order to retain female physicists in research. Dr Rice will also receive the Athena subsidy from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), Chemical Sciences. The Chemical Sciences Athena subsidy is named after Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. A sum of € 100,000 will be disbursed over a period of three years.

Thanks to the award of the FO male/female grant, the physiochemist Anouk Rijs will be able to expand her research; from aiming at and characterising artificial molecular motors, she will move to biological molecular motors. These biomolecular motors are the basis of many biological processes, such as transport between and within cells, production and storage of energy, and separation of chromosomes during mitosis and meiosis.
With the help of the free electron laser for infrared experiments (FELIX) at the FOM Institute Rijnhuizen, Anouk Rijs will map out the structure and dynamics of the active centre of some of the biomolecular motors (such as F0F1-ATPase and kinesin). This will be possible through zooming in on the active part of the biomolecular motor. During her research, Dr Rijs will make a distinction between qualities inherent in the active centre, and those caused by the biological environement. This will lead to a better picture of the processes which form the basis of the movement of these biological motors.

The Athena subsidy from the NWO will create a post of the Researcher in Training, to focus on one of the biomolecular motors. The focus of this doctoral research is the characterisation of the structure of the active part to which ATP (adenosine triphosphate) binds itself, as well as research into changes in this structure during conversion of ATP into ADP.

Photos

Anouk Rijs in the lab of the FOM Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen
(photo: Alex Poelman)