Research

The scientists at the Bijvoet Centre want to understand how life itself works at the smallest possible level, that of the atoms and molecules of which all life is build. All living organisms consist of living cells. Bacteria and yeast are organisms consisting of a single cell each, but larger organisms consist of many cells working together. The body of an adult human contains up to 50 trillion cells.The Bijvoet Centre is a research institute at Utrecht University, where researchers in the fields of chemistry, biology, pharmaceutical sciences and medicine work together to discover the molecular basis of life. Each research group has its own expertise and research interest, but the common theme of the research in the Bijvoet Centre is elucidating how biomolecules function in the human body and in life in general and how the processes and interactions between biomolecules in living cells are affected in patients. Please follow to links in the menu to see the research performed in each of our research groups.

Our research includes, for example, research to understand the cause and potential therapeutic approaches for a disease like cystic fibrosis, which is caused by misfolding of the protein CFTR when it is mutated due to a genetic defect. Others examples are the understanding of the complexity of the human immune system, the inner workings of the cell, the understanding of the formation of plaques in the brain of Alzheimer patients and the development of quality control methods for the newest forms of antibody based therapies. The centre also trains a new generation of molecular life scientists by offering education for bachelor students and master students and supervising PhD students in their doctoral thesis research.

To allow us to study the molecules of life in such detail, we use advanced analytical technologies such as advanced mass spectrometry, high-resolution NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, as well as electron and light microscopy. Additional biochemical and molecular techniques are used to further study the function, localization, and interactions of biomolecules in the intracellular and extracellular environment and in biomembranes. Many of technologies are also available at the facilities of the Bijvoet Centre to other life scientists, through collaboration with our researchers.