neilking

I was at UCLA from 2004 until 2010, earning my doctorate in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the lab of Todd Yeates. During this time I investigated the effects of knots, slipknots, and disulfide bonds on protein stability and folding using a variety of structural, biophysical, and computational techniques.

In September of 2010 I began my postdoctoral research here in the Baker Lab at the University of Washington, where I am developing a general method for the computational design of self-assembling protein nanomaterials. I aim to design, produce, and characterize bounded and unbounded materials in one, two, and three dimensions. If successful, the design method will be useful for creating advanced functional materials for a wide variety of downstream applications.

In June 2012 we published a paper describing our approach to protein materials design and its application to the design of self-assembling protein cages with atomic-level accuracy.  We are currently applying our approach to the design of several other classes of materials, and I am starting to think about functionalizing these types of materials for several potential therapeutic applications including targeted delivery and vaccine development.  It's an exciting time!

Google Scholar Profile

http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=qhS5wYIAAAAJ

Publications

1. Yen-Ting Lai, Neil P King, Todd O Yeates (2012) Principles for designing ordered protein assemblies. Trends in Cell Biol. 22:653–661.
2. Neil P King, William Sheffler, Michael R Sawaya, Breanna S Vollmar, John P Sumida, Ingemar André, Tamir Gonen, Todd O Yeates, David Baker (2012) Computational design of self-assembling protein nanomaterials with atomic level accuracy. Science 336:1171–1174.
   
   • Press coverage by: Nature, Chemical & Engineering News, BioWorld, Chemistry World, BioTechniques, Spektrum, UCLA
3. Toby C Sayre, Toni M Lee, Neil P King, Todd O Yeates (2011) Protein stabilization in a highly knotted protein polymer. Protein Eng. Des. Sel. 24:627–630.
4. Neil P King, Alex W Jacobitz, Michael R Sawaya, Lukasz Goldschmidt, Todd O Yeates (2010) Structure and folding of a designed knotted protein. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 107:20732–20737.
   
   • Commentary by: Shakhnovich E (2011) To knot or not to knot? Nat. Mater. 10:84–86.
5. Neil P King, Toni M Lee, Michael R Sawaya, Duilio Cascio, Todd O Yeates (2008) Structures and functional implications of an AMP-binding cystathionine beta-synthase domain protein from a hyperthermophilic archaeon. J. Mol. Biol. 380:181–192.
6. Todd O Yeates, Todd S Norcross, Neil P King (2007) Knotted and topologically complex proteins as models for studying folding and stability. Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol. 11:595–603.
7. Neil P King, Eric O Yeates, Todd O Yeates (2007) Identification of rare slipknots in proteins and their implications for stability and folding. J. Mol. Biol. 373:153–166.