Kateryna Selçuk
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My work encompasses various disciplines within the field of extracellular matrix research, including mechanobiology and structural proteomics. My research focuses on deciphering how protein-protein interactions within the extracellular matrix are tuned by mechanical tension – a phenomenon known as mechanochemical switches. These switches come into play when protein fibers undergo stretching, leading to a dynamic alteration in the exposure or disruption of binding sites. This, in turn, triggers changes in both the structural configuration and biochemical functions of the proteins involved.
Specifically, my interests lie in gaining mechanistic and structural insights underlying the influence of mechanical strain on fibronectin fibers. Fibronectin is a crucial constituent of extracellular matrix. In my investigation I am keen to understand how this mechanical strain modulates fibronectin’s interactions and its binding affinity to tissue transglutaminase 2.
To understand how protein-protein interactions are governed by mechanical strain, I employ a combination of wet-lab techniques, alongside in silico modeling and computational methods. To correlate the mechanical strain in fibronectin fibers to ligand binding affinity I employ our in-house fiber stretch assay - a Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)-based nanoscale tension probe. Additionally, I leverage cross-linking mass spectrometry to map protein-protein binding interfaces. Complementing these experimental findings, I employ in silico integrative structural modeling to provide additional support and insights into the mechanisms at play
Short CV
Since April 2019:
Ph.D. student at Laboratory of Applied Mechanobiology, ETH Zurich under supervision of Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Viola Vogel
2016 – 2019:
Research Assistant (Hilfsassistentin) at Laboratory of Applied Mechanobiology ETH Zurich
Master of Science ETH in Biology. Master’s thesis: “Nano-architercture of fibronectin fibrillary structures assembled by platelets”.
2012 – 2016:
Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology and Genetics at Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey