BIO
Pedro José de Pablo Gómez (Madrid, 1972) is a full professor at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, in the Condensed Matter Physics Department. Researching into increasingly small electrical conductors, De Pablo Gómez discovered that the DNA molecule is an insulator. This discovery triggered his interest in viruses. Working with virologists of international prestige he has studied the possibility of disassembling viruses using an atomic force microscope.
PROJECT
Viruses are protein shells that package nucleic acids, and they open when the virus reaches its target. The project examines the construction of a system that leads to the controlled disruption of viral capsids and visualizes the freeing of their nucleic acids. It also studies factors that could determine the ineffectiveness of the human adenovirus. The system could have promising applications in medicine and material science.