"Reaction mechanisms of photosensory receptor proteins revealed by time-resolved electronic and vibrational spectroscopy"

Abstract:

Nature has evolved a wide array of photosensory systems to enable organisms to sense and respond to their light environment. Photosensory receptor proteins provide unique opportunities to understand the essential principles of signal transduction and protein function because they can be activated by light, rendering them amenable to advanced biophysical experimental methods.  

Here, I will show how time-resolved spectroscopy from the femtosecond to millisecond timescale, in particular UV-visible, femtosecond stimulated Raman and mid-infrared spectroscopy may be employed to gain considerable insights into their photoactivation mechanisms. 

Biography:

Prof. Dr. John Kennis earned a PhD in Biophysics in 1997 at Leiden University, after which he became a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California at Berkeley from 1998 to 2000 on a HFSP fellowship. He moved to the Vrije Universiteit in 2000 on a postdoctoral position, and after receiving a NWO-VIDI fellowship in 2004 he  obtained a tenured Assistant Professor position at the Vrije Universiteit in 2007. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2010, and after obtaining a NWO-VICI fellowship in 2012 he was appointed as Full Professor in 2016.