ZML seminar with Fabio Lolicato on "How proteins read and remodel membranes" on 6th October at CRTD Auditorium

6 October 2026 | 10:00 AM
CRTD Auditorium, Fetscherstraße 105, 01307 Dresden

The ZML is pleased to welcome Fabio Lolicato, Ph.D., Group Leader at the Heidelberg University Biochemistry Center (BZH), for the next ZML Seminar.

How proteins read and remodel membranes

Membrane lipid composition, charge, and curvature play a key role in determining where proteins bind, how they assemble, and how they function. In his research, Fabio Lolicato investigates the physical principles by which proteins recognize and remodel their local lipid environments.

By combining multiscale computer simulations with complementary biochemical and biophysical approaches, his group studies how proteins sense, sort, and reorganize lipids in different membrane contexts, including pore-forming and lipid-transfer proteins as well as membrane-partitioning peptides.

In PI(4,5)P₂-dependent pore-forming systems, for example, protein oligomers not only bind their activating lipid but also recruit and enrich other highly charged, non-bilayer lipids. This can promote local membrane destabilization and pore formation. These findings contribute to a broader understanding of lipid recognition, selective lipid transport, membrane organization, and membrane remodeling.

Ultimately, this research aims to establish predictive design rules for engineering protein–membrane interactions, including the control of lipid specificity, protein localization, and membrane remodeling.

Learn more about Fabio Lolicato and his research:
https://bzh.db-engine.de/group/99/fabio%20lolicato