Prof Hendrik W. van Veen
- We study membrane transporters with a focus on drug transport and antimicrobial resistance
Contact
Connect
Location
- Department of Pharmacology, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1PD
About
Professor Hendrik van Veen focuses on the structure-function relationships in bacterial multidrug transporters that underlie their ability to recognise different antibiotics and mediate metabolic energy-dependent drug extrusion. He also studies mechanisms of inhibition of these efflux pumps, and the interactions of multidrug transporters with 'natural' substrates, such as lipids. His lab uses several different sources of information in their research efforts, including pharmacology, microbiology, biochemistry, biophysics, and structural biology.
Research
Multidrug transporters are important contributors to the intrinsic and acquired antimicrobial resistance that can be encountered during drug-based therapies in a clinical setting. In the VanVeen group, the interactions between bacterial multidrug transporters and drugs are analysed in transport measurements in intact cell and membrane vesicles, and in proteoliposomes and nanodiscs containing purified proteins. Drug binding is also assessed in equilibrium binding assays with radiolabelled ligands and in fluorescence anisotropy and tryptophan fluorescence assays. Electrophysiological techniques are used to study electrogenic substrate transport reactions in planar lipid bilayers. We also incorporate protein crystallography, NMR, EPR, and mass spectrometry through collaborations with others. Hence, the group integrates a wide range of molecular techniques in research on the mechanisms of multidrug transporters. See https://www.phar.cam.ac.uk/research/vanveen for further information about our research interests and projects.