David Eisenberg, DPhil

David Eisenberg focuses on the interactions of proteins, particularly amyloid and prions. Eisenberg and his team study the structural basis for conversion of normal proteins to the amyloid state and conversion of prions to the infectious state. Using a computational approach, they derive information on protein interactions from genomic and proteomic data. They also design inhibitors of amyloid toxicity. Their goals are to understand the general features of the proteins’ conversions, why some amyloid and prion diseases are transmissible and others not, what the structures of the toxic units are, and how they exert their toxic actions.