National Center for Design of
Biomimetic Nanoconductors
Scott Feller
Contact:
Scott Feller is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Wabash College. His research program focuses mainly on computational studies of bilayer membrane systems. Additionally, he has received NSF support for innovative teaching centered around the use of computational tools in the undergraduate chemistry curriculum, and for assessment of the value of undergraduate research experiences.
Research
His research interests span simulation of lipid membranes, with particular interests in the ways that lipid composition influences physical properties of membranes and membrane proteins, and methodological advances in simulation techniques. The focus of his NSF CAREER grant is to use atomic-level models to study lipid bilayer membranes and to enhance undergraduate teaching. He has supervised 13 undergraduate students in his laboratory, of which 11 have received, or are enrolled in programs toward, a PhD in chemistry, physics, or molecular biology (a 12th student is a 4th year M.D. student who is also a biomedical researcher).
Feller’s research will be key to understanding the structure of lipids around nanopore arrays and nanoporous silicon. His work with undergraduates provides a model for biomedical research workforce development that we need to understand better, so that it can be emulated at other institutions.
Related Publications
Grossfield, A., Feller, S.E., and Pitman, M.C. (2006), "A role for direct interactions in the modulation of rhodopsin by ω-3 polyunsaturated lipids," PNAS, 103/13, 4888-4893.
S.E. Feller, R.F. Dallinger, and P.C. McKinney, “A Program of Computational Chemistry Exercises for the First-Semester General Chemistry Course”, J. Chem. Ed., 81, 283-287 (2004).
N. Kurcerka, J.F Nagle, S.E. Feller and P. Balgavy, “Models to analyze small angle neutron scattering from unilamellar lipid vesicles”, Phys Rev E. 69, 051903 (2004).
C. Roach, S.E. Feller, J.A. Ward*, S.R. Shaikh, M. Zerouga, and W. Stillwell, “Comparison of Cis and Trans Fatty Acid Containing Phosphatidylcholines on Membrane Properties”, Biochemistry 43, 6344-6351 (2004).
Pitman, M. C.; Suits, F.; MacKerell, A. D., Jr.; Feller, S. E., “Molecular-Level Organization of Saturated and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in a Phosphatidylcholine Bilayer Containing Cholesterol”, Biochemistry 43, 15318-15328 (2004).
Pitman, M. C.; Grossfield, A.; Suits, F.; Feller, S. E., “Role of cholesterol and polyunsaturated chains in lipid-protein interactions: Molecular dynamics simulation of rhodopsin in a realistic membrane environment”, J. Am. Chem. Soc 127:4576-4577 (2005).
Suits, F.; Pitman, M. C.; Feller, S. E., “Molecular Dynamics Investigation of the Structural Properties of Phosphatidylethanolamine Lipid Bilayers”, J. Chem. Phys. 122:244714 (2005).
Pitman, M. C.; Suits, F.; Gawrisch, K.; Feller, S. E., “Molecular Dynamics Investigation of the Dynamical Properties of Phosphatidylethanolamine Lipid Bilayers”, J. Chem. Phys. 122:244715 (2005).
Feller, S.E.; Gawrisch, K., “Properties of docosahexaenoic acid-containing lipids and their influence on the function of the GPCR rhodopsin”, Curr. Opin. Struct. Bio. 15:416-422 (2005).
Carrillo-Tripp*, M., Feller, S.E., “Evidence for a Mechanism by Which ω-3 Polyunsaturated Lipids May Affect Membrane Protein Function”, Biochemistry 44:10164-10169 (2005).
Fitch, B.G.; Rayshubskiy, A.; Eleftheriou, M.; Ward. C.J.T.; Giampapa, M.; Zhestkov, Y.; Pitman, M.C.; Suits, F.; Grossfield, A.; Pitera, J.; Swope, W.; Zhou, R.; Germain, R.S., Feller, S.E., “Blue Matter: Strong Scaling of Molecular Dynamics on Blue Gene/L”, IBM Research Technical Report RC3688 (2005).