Lucie Delemotte
Professor in Computational Biophysics

My research is related to proteins and how their structure governs their function. We are specifically interested in membrane proteins, which make it possible for biological cells to communicate with their environment. We work on three types of membrane proteins: ion channels, which conduct tiny electrical currents in cells; transporters, which carry sugars, neurotransmitters, or other small soluble molecules in and out of the cell; and G-protein coupled receptors, which modify a cell's metabolism based on receiving signals from the cells' surroundings. In my lab, we use computational techniques to predict how proteins “jiggle and wiggle” and how this is instrumental in their function.

Recently, we have developed a methodology that allows us to compute how membrane proteins rearrange in response to environmental changes and to do this in a way that mimics what happens in nature faithfully. This makes it possible to start thinking about how we can modify the proteins' function, either by designing medicines that target them, by changing their environment in a controlled manner, or by mutating the genetic sequence that encodes them. It's very exciting that the work we have done to fundamentally advance our understanding of the mechanisms whereby these proteins function can be turned into practical knowledge that may impact the health of humans, or contribute to sustainable development!

Of course, it feels great! I feel very fortunate to continue doing this research work, as well as teaching and taking on administrative tasks, but without any pressure to be promoted further. This inspires me to take on more risks, and to dare more to try working out more complex problems, both in research and also taking on issues at KTH or in academia in general. 

Ilya Sychugov 

Professor in Materials Physics: Silicon nanostructures

Danijela Damjanovic
Professor in Mathematics, in particular Analysis

My research revolves around understanding dynamical systems with many symmetries. Symmetries play a crucial role in nature and also in our perception of nature. A simple example is: how do we perceive a circle? One way is understanding it as an object which when rotated by any angle stays the same. So symmetries of objects often determine those objects. I am interested in exploring to what extent symmetries of a dynamical system determine the system. A dynamical system is a process in time (it can model many things, from the spread of a virus to neural network, or solar system, or fluctuations in our economy) and we are generally interested in predicting what is going to happen with the process in the long run. This is the internal dynamics of the process. But these processes often have symmetries, which means that when looked through a "different pair of glasses" (i.e. different coordinates) the process remains the same. This puts an external algebraic information on the given process. The goal is then, given this (external) algebraic information, to deduce the (internal) dynamical properties of the system. More chaotic dynamics are intuitively very hard to stay preserved under symmetries, but when it is preserved then this surprisingly produces a lot more symmetries and ultimately it can happen that very minimal external algebraic information coupled with some chaotic behaviour in the system, can lead to complete understanding of the internal dynamics of the system. 

It feels very good. I feel this promotion is an acknowledgement of my achievements so far, and also it is a strong motivation to continuously contribute to the development and excellence of our institution. I like that the KTH  community is very diverse and rich in many ways, I am happy to be part of it, and I look forward to contributing more to shaping the future KTH.