Ashok Deniz

Ashok Deniz, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI). His research focuses on the biophysics of proteins, particularly intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and their roles in cellular functions and diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. He develops single-molecule fluorescence methods to study protein dynamics and phase separation in membraneless organelles. Deniz holds a PhD from the University of Chicago (1996) and has authored over 100 papers in journals like Nature, Angewandte Chemie, and Nature Communications.

Key achievements include the 2016 TSRI Outstanding Mentor Award and pioneering studies on α-synuclein’s conformational shifts under membrane crowding. His lab’s work bridges physics and biology, with contributions to understanding protein folding, liquid-liquid phase transitions, and RNA condensates.

• Education: PhD (Physical Organic Chemistry), University of Chicago (1996); M.S., University of Chicago (1994); M.S., Indian Institute of Technology (1990); B.S., St. Xavier’s College (1988)
• Awards: TSRI Mentor Award (2016), Rao Scholarship (1985), Rustomjee Prize (1985)
• Lab Focus: Single-molecule FRET, biomolecular condensates, protein disorder