Recent advancements in computer simulation techniques and their ever-increasing applicability in various fields including physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine have created a unique opportunity of doing science even in the remotest parts of the globe. Nepal, a small landlocked country, has produced a steady stream of researchers for many institutions in the developed world including the US. In this talk, I will provide an overview of physics education in Nepal and present some of the current research activities in the areas of condensed matter physics and biophysics. I will discuss our investigations on the binding mechanisms of the SARS-CoV-2 virus’ spike protein to human receptor (hACE2) protein. This includes the calculation and comparison of binding free energies between different variants such as delta, mu, and omicron. I will also discuss computational investigations of the sequence specificity in methylated DNA binding protein Kaiso.

The seminar is co-sponsored by the FIU Department of Physics

Questions? Contact Marisol Torres from the Biomolecular Sciences Institute at matorr@fiu.edu.