Research summary
Extracellular proteins function outside cells, playing key roles in cell communication, signalling and structural support in the body’s tissues. Understanding the relationship between their structure and properties is crucial for advancing applications in biomedicine and biotechnology. Dr. Jörg Stetefeld, Canada Research Chair in Structural Biology and Biophysics, is exploring how these proteins form the complex structures involved in disease-related signalling. He is also studying unique surface-layer assemblies from extremophilic archaea (microorganisms that thrive in extreme environments) to develop innovative monitoring and remediation tools.
He and his research team aim to uncover how extracellular proteins contribute to the formation of dynamic high-order signalling complexes and to discover the mechanisms behind extremophilic protein assemblies. Their goal is to deepen our understanding of these proteins and develop new structure-based applications—including non-invasive biomonitoring tools—that can transform approaches in biomedical diagnostics and environmental biotechnology.