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• Lars Konermann

Lars Konermann

Education

Ph.D. (Max Planck Institute, Univ. of Düsseldorf, Germany); PDF (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada)

AWARDS

• Distinguished University Professor (2023)
• Faculty Scholar (2019)
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (2018)
• Ricardo Aroca Award (2018)
• Distinguished Research Professor (2016)
• Edward G. Pleva Award for Excellence in Teaching (2015)
• Outstanding Reviewer Award, J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom. (2015)
• W.A.E. McBryde Medal (2014)
• Fred Lossing Award (2013)
• Ken Standing Award (2013)
• USC Award of Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2012)
• Florence Bucke Science Prize (2011)
• Faculty of Science Award of Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2005)
• USC Teaching Honour Roll Award of Excellence
• Canada Research Chair (Tier 2, 2004-2014)
• Fred Beamish Award (2003)
• Premier’s Research Excellence Award (2000)

RESEARCH

The work in our laboratory bridges the areas of biophysics, biochemistry, and analytical chemistry. One focus is the behavior of proteins in health and disease. We are interested in protein folding mechanisms, protein conformational dynamics, interactions with drugs and other molecules, and the mechanisms of protein aggregation. Much of this work involves the development and use of novel electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) techniques. We also employ state-of-the-art molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.

Another branch of our research program explores the mechanisms of electrospray ionization, i.e., the transition of proteins and other biological molecules from solution into the gas phase. This process plays a central role for various experimental techniques that are being used in laboratories around the world. Our endeavours in this area involve both experimental and computational (MD) investigations. Of particular interest is the behavior of charged droplets in the electrospray plume. One of the key questions that we try to answer is to what extent biological macromolecules retain solution-like structures and interactions during their journey from solution into the vacuum of the mass spectrometer. Answering this question provides fundamental insights into biomolecular interactions, as well as the role of water in biology.

My Research Group Homepage

TEACHING

• 2374 - Thermodynamics
• 2384 - Microscopic Phenomena
• 4494/9494 - Biophysical Chemistry
• 9504 - Protein Folding
• 9544 - Mass Spectrometry

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• "Grotthuss Molecular Dynamics Simulations for Modeling Proton Hopping in Electrosprayed Water Droplets" L. Konermann and S. Kim J. Chem. Theory Comput.. 18, 3781–3794 (2022). https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jctc.2c00001
• "Mechanism of Thermal Protein Aggregation: Experiments and Molecular Dynamics Simulations on the High-Temperature Behavior of Myoglobin" Y. K. Ng, N. N. Tajoddin, P. M. Scrosati, and L. Konermann J. Phys. Chem. B. 125, 13099-13110 (2021). https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c07210
• "Lysine Carbonylation is a Previously Unrecognized Contributor to Peroxidase Activation of Cytochrome c by Chloramine-T" V. Yin, S. Mian, and L. Konermann Chem. Sci. 10, 2349-2359 (2019). https://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2019/SC/C8SC03624A#!divAbstract
• "Evidence for a Partially Stalled γ Rotor in F1-ATPase from H/D Exchange Experiments and Molecular Dynamics Simulations" A. Murcia Rios, S. Vahidi, S. D. Dunn, and L. Konermann J. Am. Chem. Soc. 140, 14860-14869 (2018). https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/jacs.8b08692
• "Calcium-Mediated Control of S100 Proteins: Allosteric Communication via an Agitator/Signal Blocking Mechanism" Y. Xiao, G. S. Shaw, and L. Konermann J. Am. Chem. Soc. 139, 11460-11470 (2017). https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/jacs.7b04380