CV Science

Marc Baaden PhD Physical & Theoretical Chemistry

Course and current status

Currently

Chargé de Recherche de 1ère classe at CNRS Paris, leading a team concerned with the study of biological and chemical phenomena via theoretical methods based on physical chemistry and leading to an understanding of processes at the atomic scale. At the same time I try to keep a close contact to experiment and take advantage of novel approaches such as virtual reality.

Education

• European PhD Thesis in theoretical chemistry (molecular dynamics), November 2000, Université Louis Pasteur (ULP), Strasbourg, France and Ecole Polytechnique (ETH), Zürich, Switzerland, conducted by Prof. Georges Wipff and Prof. Michel Burgard (Strasbourg) including a 3 months stay in Prof. Wilfred van Gunsteren's group (Zürich): 'synergistic effects in liquid-liquid ion extraction.'
• Diploma thesis ("DEA") in physical chemistry, September 1997, Université Louis Pasteur (ULP), Strasbourg, France, specialty: spectroscopic methods, directed by Prof. Pierre Granger and Prof. Alain Strich: 'Ab initio calculation of NMR chemical shielding tensors.'
• Degree in chemical engineering , June 1997, Ecole européenne des Hautes études de l'Industrie Chimique de Strasbourg (EHICS), Strasbourg, France, Tri-lingual curriculum (French, English, German) in chemistry, specialty: material science.
• Degree ('Diplom-Vorprüfung') in chemistry, April 1994, University of Karlsruhe, Germany
• German school leaving examination ('Abitur') , June 1991, Einstein grammar school of Kehl, Germany, Bilingual curriculum (German/French).

Scientific summary

Research

• Currently: Membrane proteins, enzymes and biological function, methodological developments and applications in interactive molecular graphics and virtual reality. Results published in Nature, Biophysical Journal, J. Comp. Chem., etc.
• As EC Research Fellow with Prof. M.S.P. Sansom at Oxford University (GB) (2001 - 2002, 2 years): Computational studies of outer membrane proteins published in JMB, Biochemistry, Biophysical Journal, etc.
• As PhD student with Prof. G. Wipff and Prof. M. Burgard, France (1997 - 2000, 3 years): Molecular dynamics simulations of model systems (calixarenes, TBP, HNO3) providing insight into molecular recognition, complexation and liquid-liquid extraction. - Results published in JPCA, JPCB, Perkin. Trans., Inorg. Chem., J. Mol. Liquids, PCCP, etc.

Highlight

In a letter to Nature (20 January 2011), we describe crystal structures, functional measurements and molecular dynamics simulations of GLIC in complex with propofol and desflurane, two general anesthetics. This links to the corresponding Nature article website.

Previous work in PNAS featured a one microsecond molecular dynamics simulation of the pentameric ligand-gated ion channel GLIC. This simulation actually showed some interesting modifications of the anesthetics binding cavity (Nury et al., PNAS, 107, 2010, 6275-6280). This work was rated Must Read by the Faculty of 1000.

The first work on the GLIC system was published in the 2009 January issue of Nature, where the crystal structure of an open form was described. We used additional molecular dynamics simulations to characterize this state (Bocquet et al., Nature, 457, 2009, 111-114). Faculty of 1000 rated this paper twice, either as Must Read in F1000 Biology or as Recommended in F1000 Medicine.