Régis Pomès

Régis Pomès obtained his PhD in theoretical chemistry with Andy McCammon, specialising in computer simulations of biomolecular systems. He then worked on the molecular mechanism of proton translocation in ion channels as a postdoc with Benoît Roux, before broadening his expertise in computational biophysics in the group of Ángel García at Los Alamos. In 1999 he moved to Toronto, where he has enjoyed developing an exciting collaborative research programme with a team of talented students and postdocs.  He is interested in the development of computer simulation techniques and their application to studies of ion permeation in membrane proteins, protein-lipid interactions, as well as a broad range of problems pertaining to the solvation, binding, and aggregation of proteins in folded or disordered states. 

Research

The Pomès group specializes in the development of computational methods and their application to the study of biological processes. In particular, we seek to uncover the link between the structure, dynamics, and function of proteins. Our work is grounded in statistical mechanics, which provides a formal connection between microscopic and macroscopic length scales. We use computer simulations of molecular models to glean mechanistic insight at spatial and temporal resolutions that are difficult to attain experimentally. More specifically, we study systems of biological relevance with atomistic resolution over time scales extending from the femtosecond to the microsecond and beyond—9 to 11 orders of magnitude over which many important biological processes occur at the molecular level.

We are interested in elucidating the physical basis for the structure and function of membrane proteins and in a variety of problems pertaining to protein folding, binding, self-aggregation, and phase separation. Current research has implications for better understanding cystic fibrosis, periodic paralysis, and Alzheimer’s disease. 

Education and experience

• 1993: PhD, University of Houston
• 1996: Post-doctorate, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC
• 1999: Post-doctorate, Los Alamos National Laboratory