Piotr E. Marszalek

Piotr E. Marszalek is a Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering. His research employs atomic force microscopy (AFM), molecular dynamics simulations, and quantum mechanics to investigate the nanomechanics of biopolymers like DNA, proteins, and polysaccharides. Key goals include deciphering relationships between molecular structure and mechanical function, protein folding pathways, and biomaterial design. He directs the Marszalek Lab and leads NIH/NSF-funded projects such as the University Training Program in Biomolecular and Tissue Engineering (1994-2027) and Transition to Excellence: From Single-Molecule Force Spectroscopy to Cryo-EM (2021-2025).

Research Focus: Marszalek's work bridges biophysics, materials science, and computational biology. He studies force-induced conformational changes in proteins and nucleic acids, develops AFM methodologies, and designs protein-based nanomaterials. His group also explores chaperone-mediated refolding, DNA repair mechanics, and polysaccharide elasticity, providing fundamental insights applicable to biotechnology and medicine.

Publication Trends: Marszalek's 15 most recent articles (2018-2025) emphasize:

• Protein unfolding/refolding kinetics using AFM and simulations.
• Mechanisms of chaperone proteins (e.g., Hsp70).
• Bioluminescent enzymes (luciferase, NanoLuc) as mechanical stability models.
• DNA mismatch repair and microtubule mechanics.
• Computational methods for reconstructing folding pathways.

Education:

• Ph.D., Electrotechnical Institute, Poland (1991)
• M.S., University of Warsaw, Poland (1985)

Grants & Infrastructure: Marszalek secures sustained NIH/NSF funding for instrumentation development (e.g., AFM-cryoEM integration) and fundamental research. His lab focuses on single-molecule techniques, fostering collaborations across biochemistry, biophysics, and engineering disciplines.