Computational Modelling of the Human Islet Amyloid Polypeptide

This thesis offers readers a comprehensive introduction to amyloid proteins and the computational methods used with them. Katrine Skeby critically assesses and compares both the literature and the experiments performed by other researchers, which further elevates the quality and relevance of her own work. Amyloid proteins are highly complex, and this research provides unparalleled insights, especially with regard to the origin of cytotoxicity and to developing technologies for early detection, revealing in detail the molecular mechanisms behind hIAPP behavior. Several studies within the thesis answer difficult questions which promote future research into the properties of amyloid proteins.

Autorentext

Katrine Skeby was accepted into the prestigious honors PhD programme at Aarhus University directly following the completion of her Bachelor's degree in medicinal chemistry. During her PhD studies she has won multiple prizes and grants and has made a significant contribution to the field of amyloid research. Following the completion of her PhD, Katrine was awarded a postdoctoral scholarship from the Carlsberg Foundation to study how molecular dynamics simulations can be used to visualize molecular motion in animation. She is conducting this work at the world-leading scientific animation company, Digizyme Inc., led by Prof. at Harvard Medical School, Gaël McGill.

Inhalt
Amyloid and Amyloid Fibrils.- Computational Theory.- Imaging Agent Binding to Amyloid Protofibrils.- Determining the Aggregation Prone Structure of hiAPP.- Effect of Terminal Capping on Aggregation of Peptide Fragments.- Coarse Grained Study of Amyloid Protofibril Aggregation.- Conclusion and Perspectives.