Rate My Professor Serdar Kuyucak

Serdar Kuyucak is an Associate Professor in the School of Physics at the University of Sydney. His research centers on computational biophysics, employing molecular dynamics and Brownian dynamics simulations to explore ion transport across membrane proteins. Key investigations include ion permeation and selectivity in potassium channels such as KcsA and Kv1.2, proton transport mechanisms in fungal transporters, the role of conserved residues in glutamate transporters, and the effects of mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). Recent studies address theratyping of CFTR variants in organoids, protein aggregation in monoclonal antibodies and vaccines, and design of high-affinity blockers for sodium channels using conotoxins. Kuyucak's Google Scholar profile records over 7,900 citations, reflecting his influence in biophysics.

Earlier in his career, Kuyucak contributed to nuclear physics through applications of the interacting boson model and 1/N expansion methods to nuclear spectroscopy and high-spin states. He has co-supervised honours projects on influenza antigen stability, flu vaccine efficacy, and protein aggregation challenges in biologics development, often in collaboration with pharmacy researchers. Kuyucak was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2001, recognized for codeveloping the 1/N boson expansion technique for medium- to heavy-mass nuclei and promoting international physics. Notable publications include 'Conducting-state properties of the KcsA potassium channel from molecular and Brownian dynamics simulations' (2002), 'Physics of Ion Channels' (2003), 'Molecular dynamics simulations elucidate the mechanism of proton transport by a fungal transporter' (2014), 'Elucidation of the Role of a Conserved Methionine in Glutamate Transporters' (2017), and 'Q1291H-CFTR molecular dynamics simulations and ex vivo theratyping' (2023). He maintains an active lab focused on molecular modeling and computational drug design.