Dr Evelyne Deplazes

About me

I am a biophysical and computational chemist and my research and teaching are driven by my innate curiosity, my fascination with the molecular world and my love for solving puzzles.

After a double degree in Chemistry and Computer Science (2003-2007), I received my PhD  in Computational Biophysics from the University of Western (2012). I then spent four years as an Early Career Research Fellow at the University of Queensland and two years at Curtin University, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Australian National Health and Research Council (NHMRC). In 2019, I started my own research group at the University of Technology Sydney, which I now continue after returning to the University of Queensland in 2021.

Research Focus and Collaborations

The research in my lab combines computer simulations and biophysical chemistry experiments to study biomolecular systems with a particular focus on understanding how small molecules interact with biological membranes. We aim to use the knowledge and tools from our research to help develop new pharmaceuticals or understand fundamental processes such as membrane permeation.  In addition, we are interested in studying the structure and function of proteins.

My group collaborates with scientists from different fields including structural biologists, molecular and cell biologists as well as peptide and physical chemists.

For more information on our research, have a look at our recent outreach article in the leading science communiciation journal Scientia.

Antifungal peptides

Invasive fungal infections are difficult to treat, and many current drugs are toxic to human cells, resulting in severe side effects including chronic kidney damage. There are various peptides isolated from natural sources that show potent antifungal activity and might be useful for developing less toxic antifungal treatments. In this project we combine computer simulations and various wet-lab experiments to study how these peptides interact with model and fungal membranes. The project is a collaboration with researchers from the University of Technology Sydney and the University of Sydney.

Pore forming peptide (viroporins and antimicrobial peptides)

Peptides that self-assemble that induce pores in membranes are ubiquitous in biology. Examples include antimicrobial peptides found in our innate immune systems or viroporins used by viruses to facilitate the release of viral particles from infected cells. In this project we combine computer simulations and various wet-lab experiments to characterise the structure and ion selectivity of such pore forming peptides.

Steroid – membrane interactions

Steroids are a class of chemical compounds that occur naturally in the body (e.g. progesterone or testosterone) and are also used to treat a range of conditions such asthma, eczema or arthritis. Steroids exert their biological or pharmacological activities via a range of different mechanism, including by altering the structure and fluidity of cell membranes. We combine computer simulations and various wet-lab experiments to understand how steroids interact with membranes and how this might be used to modulate the function of membrane proteins. This project is a collaboration with researchers from the University of Technology Sydney and the University of Sydney.

Metal-binding proteins and their role in bacterial infections

Bacteria use a range of different proteins to scavenge nutrients including metals from their host. Characterising the structure and function of bacterial metal-binding proteins is important for understanding bacterial pathogenesis and to develop strategies to prevent or reduce the spread of infections. This project is a collaboration with researchers from the University of Melbourne.

Featured Publications