Roop Mallik
TIFR, Mumbai
Roop Mallik completed his PhD in condensed matter physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, before moving to biology via a brief postdoctoral stint in chemistry. He worked at the University of California, Irvine, as a postdoctoral fellow from 2000 to 2005. He returned to India to join the Department of Biological Sciences (TIFR, Mumbai) in 2006, where he currently holds an Associate Professor position. He is interested in understanding how motor proteins help to kill pathogens, and also how they help maintain a balance of lipid in the body across feeding–fasting transitions.
Session 2B: Symposium on “Molecular machines: A multi-disciplinary enterprise”
Teamwork in molecular motors: A cell biology perspective View Presentation / View Video
The unit generators of force that drive almost all biological movement are nanoscale molecules called motor proteins. A single motor generates a few pico-Newtons of force, which is not sufficient for most cellular processes. Multiple motors must often work together in a team inside cells. How motors generate force collectively as a team is therefore important, but is poorly understood. Intriguingly, some motors work well in a team, but others cannot. How the single-molecule architecture of specific motors may have adapted them for teamwork will be discussed.