Rate My Professor Patrick van der Wel

Van der Wel's research centers on the development and application of solid-state NMR spectroscopy to investigate molecular structure and dynamics in proteins and materials, with a focus on disease-related protein aggregation such as in Huntington's disease, where he studies huntingtin exon 1 fibril polymorphism and supramolecular structures, and mechanisms of programmed cell death involving cytochrome c-cardiolipin interactions. His projects also encompass biophysical analysis of biomaterials like cellulose nanocrystals and tertiary cellulose from wastewater. Notable publications include 'Fibril polymorphism affects immobilized non-amyloid flanking domains of huntingtin exon 1 rather than its polyglutamine core' (Nature Communications, 2017), 'Protofilament Structure and Supramolecular Polymorphism of Aggregated Mutant Huntingtin Exon 1' (Journal of Molecular Biology, 2020), 'Surface-Binding to Cardiolipin Nanodomains Triggers Cytochrome c Pro-apoptotic Peroxidase Activity via Localized Dynamics' (Structure, 2019), 'Cataract-associated P23T γD-crystallin retains a native-like fold in amorphous-looking aggregates formed at physiological pH' (Nature Communications, 2017), and 'Structural Changes and Proapoptotic Peroxidase Activity of Cardiolipin-Bound Mitochondrial Cytochrome c' (Biophysical Journal, 2015). He received the 2013 Eastern Analytical Symposium New Faculty Award in NMR Spectroscopy.