Spotlight
Maxim Sheinin
Maxim Sheinin is a graduate student in Michelle Wang's single molecule biophysics lab. He is using angular optical trap, a unique instrument recently developed in the lab, to probe the influence of torsion on single biomolecules, such as DNA. Torsion is essential in the life of the cell, as DNA and chromatin are constantly being twisted by the action of various molecular machines, during transcription, replication etc. Angular optical trap provides the opportunity to directly measure torques that arise as a result of these processes /in vitro/. Maxim's current research is focused on understanding the mechanical properties of DNA itself under tension and torque, and specifically torque-induced
DNA denaturation.