Yulia Pushkar
Title:
Professor
PhD Granting Institution:
Free University Berlin
Contact:
Email Address: ypushkar@purdue.edu
Office Phone: 765-496-3279
Lab Website Link: https://www.physics.purdue.edu/people/faculty/pushkar.php
Primary Training Group:
Biomolecular Structure and Biophysics
Secondary Training Groups:
Computational and Systems Biology
Research Areas:
Biophysics; Energy research; Photosynthesis We apply spectroscopic techniques to study biological and synthetic systems capable of converting visible light into chemically stored energy. Insight into mechanisms of their functions will help to create new, robust and efficient light-to-energy conversion units. We also work in the area of metalloproteins mechanisms of function, brain imaging and neurodegenerative diseases.
Current Projects:
Our research program focuses on the function of various transition metals at different length scales, from molecules of purified metalloproteins, to brain tissues and single cells. My extensive background in X-ray spectroscopy and imaging, as well as in electron paramagnetic resonance and Raman spectroscopy, provides me with research tools of unprecedented sensitivity generating a wealth of information when it comes to studying the oxidation states and coordination environments of metals in very diluted systems, such as metalloproteins and brain cells. Recently, we started exploring application of new, bright, coherent X-ray sources to achieve beyond optical diffraction imaging of fresh frozen brain tissues, which would reveal cellular ultrastructure currently only accessible by electron microscopy. Currently, little is known about how brains transport, store and use biologically essential and toxic transition metals. Differences in how these metals are metabolized in various brain cells, such as neurons and astrocytes, are hardly studied. This opens up a huge research area to explore. However, more importantly for me, my students and collaborators is that the outcomes of our studies have direct relevance to human health. We explore relationships between metal exposures and neurodegenerative diseases. We are also using time-resolved, X-ray techniques to follow the evolution of the electronic structure of metal centers in photoexcitable proteins such as Photosystem II, which is responsible for producing all of the oxygen on our planet. These measurements are augmented with DFT modeling.
Importance of Interdisciplinary Research:
Prof Pushkar research is intrinsically interdisciplinary combining the tools and approaches of physics and chemistry to study biological phenomena and designing new, biomimetic functions in materials.