معرفی
Claudiu Gradinaru is an Interim Chair and Professor in the Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences at the University of Toronto Mississauga, part of the Faculty of Arts & Science. He holds a Ph.D. in Physics from VU University Amsterdam and has conducted postdoctoral research at Leiden University and Sandia National Laboratories. His research focuses on single-molecule biophysics, intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), and G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), leveraging advanced microscopy and computational techniques.
- Education: B.Sc. in Physics (University of Bucharest, 1995), Ph.D. in Physics (VU University Amsterdam, 2001).
- Roles: Interim Chair, Principal Investigator of the Gradinaru Biophysics Lab, and educator in molecular biophysics, optics, and classical mechanics.
Research Interests: His lab employs ultrasensitive optical techniques (e.g., single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy) to study conformational dynamics of IDPs and GPCRs in live cells. Key areas include:
- Structural ensembles of IDPs using NMR, SAXS, and smFRET.
- GPCR oligomerization and signaling dynamics.
- Development of computational methods for ensemble modeling.
Advising: Gradinaru mentors numerous graduate and undergraduate students, including PhD candidates Xiaohan Zhou (GPCR dynamics) and Maria Shemeteva (GPCR signaling), and MSc students Aiyan Brown (smFRET analysis) and Xinge Liu (IDP complexes). His lab has produced over 40 publications since 2001, with recent work featured in Biophysical Journal, Journal of the American Chemical Society, and Nucleic Acids Research.
Labs & Instruments: The Gradinaru Lab houses custom-built microscopes for multiparameter single-molecule fluorescence, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, and TIRF microscopy. Collaborations span institutions in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., and Australia.
