Abstract

One of the greatest current challenges in modern science lies in understanding how life organizes itself at a molecular level. Cells, composed of tens of thousands of different proteins, nucleic acids, and various macromolecules, exhibit behaviors much more complex than the mere sum of their parts. Emergent macroscopic phenomena, such as phase separation, are key mechanisms for cellular viability. Yet, the physicochemical regulators of such phenomena are poorly understood. In this talk, I want to provide a general introduction to exploring how the physicochemical properties of single molecules can give rise to diverse phase behaviors, how these behaviors might impact biological function, and how we can employ coarse-grained molecular dynamic models effectively to probe the different mechanisms of biomolecular emergent phenomena, and to design de-novo molecules with desired bulk properties. To do so, we will explore several model systems, from disordered to ordered proteins, all the way to chromatin.