Interdisciplinary Biomedical Studies
Under the tutelage of Dr. Wolfgang Nonner, one of a handful of international scientists engaged in the emerging field of computational biology, Alex Peyser is developing a unique skill set for merging engineering with biology.
After many years as a high-level software engineer who designed computer, cellular telephone, and airplane landing systems, Alex Peyser made the decision to leave the world of technology and train for a career in biomedical research. Armed with two undergraduate degrees in anthropology and biomedical science, Alex entered the Ph.D. programs at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine through the Interdisciplinary Biomedical Studies [IBS] entry point. Alex says, I chose IBS because I had a set interest in applying mathematical and engineering methods to biological problems, but I didn't know in which program I could find a mentor with a scientific approach similar to mine. IBS allowed me to explore laboratories in several different graduate programs before committing to a Ph.D. program in which to do my dissertation work.
One of the first courses Alex took was Membrane Biophysics. When Physiology and Biophysics professor Dr. Wolfgang Nonner lectured, Alex was captivated by his specific approach to solving problems. Dr. Richard Bookman, Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies and Director of IBS, encouraged Alex to approach Dr. Nonner and present his unusual background and credentials.
As a test, Dr. Nonner asked Alex to engage in the kind of work physical chemists performto simulate motion of particles and create a simple fluid. Now Dr. Nonner admits that he set the bar pretty high to see what Alex was capable of. But, Dr. Nonner felt fairly confident that Alex, who had solved a lot of math problems as he designed sophisticated computer operating systems, was capable of this challenge.
According to Nonner, Alex disappeared for a few weeks then came back with exceptional results. He reproduced what other people had done, which is difficult. In this extraordinarily specialized, highly complicated work, it is easy to make errors and difficult to detect their presence. In simple terms, Alex was a natural and had the computational bug.
Without knowing what Dr. Nonner had intended, Alex stepped up to the challenge since he wanted to refocus his career. He said, I wanted to find an arena where my work would always be filled with novelty and challenge. Today Alex studies the gating, or opening and closing, of ion channels. The fundamentals were laid out fifty years ago in quantitative terms. What interests Dr. Nonner and Alex is not that it occurs but how it occurs.
Dr. Nonner added, Let me put it this way. I have been conducting experiments for more than thirty years in this field, and I am now involved in developing physical theory and comparing it to experiments. We know all the laws that are essential to these processes, but they don't necessarily tell us what physics is essential in a physiological function and what can be more or less ignored. For the most part, in the lab we are looking at how ions pass through the ion channels of the cell membrane.
Academic pursuits and their corresponding fields of interest evolve in different ways. Now that the genome has been sequenced there are a huge number of blueprints, but there are no engineering notes that tell us the underlying principles of protein function. Consequently, the NIH is cultivating a new field called Computational Biology, which seeks to develop theoretical models to solve biological problems.
Even though this appears to be a completely esoteric pursuit, there is a compelling, practical reason for this work. Dr. Nonner says, We are part of a group of scientists and engineers who are creating the technology to build molecular machines; for instance, to detect specific molecules in very small amounts. One practical application is to detect minute concentrations of toxins, and this could be used to identify materials used by bioterrorists.
When asked how he collaborates with other scientists, Alex said, Most of our work is done by email with different people discussing our approaches and then sitting down and coding the theory into the computer. In this way the Internet supports the international research community that Alex has now joined.
Currently in the third year of his Ph.D. program, Alex received a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship and a Lois Pope LIFE Fellowship in support of his valuable work. He has attended the Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society and has made presentations on gating charges and electrorestrictive forces.
For More Information
Nonner W, Peyser A, Gillespie D, and Eisenberg B [2004] Moving gating charges: Comparing electrostatic energetics of the S4 motion of different models. Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society, Presentation Number: 2263-Pos, B360.
Nonner W, Peyser A, Gillespie D, and Eisenberg B [2004] Relating microscopic charge movements to macroscopic currents: The Ramo-Shockley theorem applied to ion channels. Biophys. J. 87:3716-3722. |
Alex Peyser
The difference between entering a lab focused on applying engineering to biology and one that is primarily engaged in traditional experimental approaches is the heavy focus on the mathematical and physical underpinnings of the work. A number of similar problems are attacked by physicists, and there are some problems that you simply can't do experiments on because the technology doesn't exist. In fact it may never exist. Therefore, we have to examine these things on an atomic scale according to the basic laws of physics and apply them in order to explain the phenomenon.
Wolfgang Nonner, M.D.
Working in this field requires a unique and rare combination of skills. To write theory you need no-nonsense mathematical and physical science training, and this is precisely what Alex brings to the table. Although it sounds intense, it's actually a lot of fun. I see my students as colleagues and collaborators. Alex has an independent project that I'm not directly involved with, and he also has a broad range of individual interests.
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