Mike Reppert
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., MIT
reppertm@purdue.edu
765-494-2064
Office: BRWN 4171D
Reppert Lab
Computational and Systems Biology
Biomolecular Structure and Biophysics
Plant Biology
Active Mentor - currently hosting PULSe students for laboratory rotations and recruiting PULSe students into the laboratory; serves on preliminary exam committees
Current Research Interests:
Our primary research interest is to understand the "structure-spectrum" relationship in photosynthetic chlorophyll proteins. By constructing point mutants in both model proteins and in intact cyanobacterial photosystems (especially photosystem II), we are working to explore the role of electrostatic, steric, and ligation interactions in the structure-based tuning of chlorophyll properties. Simultaneously, we are using these experimental insights to build advanced simulation models and user-friendly, online software applications (see https://nanohub.org/tools/pigmenthunter) that can be used to rationally design modified chlorophyll proteins for efficient biofuel production. Finally, we are also working to develop novel approaches to using vibrational spectroscopy as a residue-specific probes of protein structure in complex, disordered systems.Selected Publications:
Srivastava, Amit; Ahad, Safa; Wat, Jacob H.; Reppert, Mike; "Accurate prediction of mutation-induced frequency shifts in chlorophyll proteins with a simple electrostatic model". The Journal of Chemical Physics, 155, 151102 (2021).
Dobson, Zachary; Ahad, Safa; Vanlandingham, Jackson; Toporik, Hila; Vaughn, Natalie; Vaughn, Michael; Williams, Dewight; Reppert, Michael; Fromme, Petra; Mazor, Yuval; "The structure of photosystem I from a high-light-tolerant cyanobacteria". eLife, 10, e67518 (2021).
Chelius, Kevin; Wat, Jacob H.; Phadkule, Amala; Reppert, Mike; "Distinct electrostatic frequency tuning rates for amide I and amide I′ vibrations". J. Chem. Phys., 155, 195101 (2021).
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