PI: Research description | Slotboom

Prof. Dirk Slotboom

Affiliation

Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute
University of Groningen
Nijenborgh 4, 9722RR Groningen, The Netherlands

E-Mail: d.j.slotboom@rug.nl 
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» Slotboom Lab at the University of Groningen

Background

Dirk Slotboom was trained as a chemist and did a PhD in microbiology. The group of Slotboom now combines biophysical (Structural biology, spectroscopy), biochemical (membrane enzymology) and microbiological methods to study the mechanisms of solute transport across membranes. He has made major contributions in elucidating the mechanism of the secondary-active (ion/coupled) glutamate/aspartate transporters and pioneered the study of a novel transporter families with unique dynamic behavior in lipid bilayers. In collaboration with organic chemists, small molecules are developed that inhibit the transport activity of bacterial transporters, with the aim to discover novel bactericidal or bacteriostatic compounds.

Methods

The key methods used for research are structural biology (X-ray crystallography and single particle cryo-EM), biochemistry (ensemble measurements of transport, building synthetic cell-like structures from purified components), and biophysics (single molecule FRET). 

Main areas of research

• Mechanisms of membrane transport
• Bacterial vitamin uptake
• Glutamine transport by human ASCT2
• Neurotransmitter transport
• Lipid-protein interactions