Protein misfolding and aggregation is a fast-growing frontier in molecular medicine and protein chemistry. Related disorders include cataracts, arthritis, cystic fibrosis, late-onset diabetes mellitus, and numerous neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Nanoimaging technology has proved crucial in understanding protein-misfolding pathologies and in potential drug design aimed at the inhibition or reversal of protein aggregation. Using these technologies, researchers can monitor the aggregation process, visualize protein aggregates and analyze their properties.
Vladimir N. Uversky is a Professor at the Department of Molecular Medicine, University of South Florida, USA. He obtained B.S. and M.S. degrees in Physics from Leningrad State University in Russia in 1986, then completed Ph.D. and Doctor of Sciences (D.Sc.) degrees in Physics and Mathematics (field of study - Biophysics) at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (1991) and the Institute Experimental and Theoretical Biophysics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1998), respectively. In 1998, he moved to the University of California Santa Cruz to study protein folding, misfolding, protein conformation diseases, and protein intrinsic disorder phenomena. In 2004, he was invited to join the Indiana University School of Medicine to primary work on intrinsically disordered proteins, and since 2010 has been on faculty at the University of South Florida. He has authored over 850 scientific publications and edited several books and book series on protein structure.