Hong Qian, University of Washington

Hong Qian received his B.S. in Astrophysics from Peking University and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Washington University (St. Louis) working with Professor Elliot Elson on fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) and single-particle tracking (SPT). FCS and SPT are now the standard optical methods in single-molecule biophysics. His research interests turned to theoretical biophysical chemistry when he was a postdoctoral fellow with Professor John Schellman at the University of Oregon and with Professor John Hopfield at the California Institute of Technology. In that period of time, he worked on protein thermodynamics, fluctuations and folding. In particular, he studied the theory of helix-coil transition and developed thermodynamic and kinetic models for small peptide helices and protein hydrogen exchange. Between 1994 and 1997, he was with the Department of Biomathematics at the UCLA School of Medicine, where he worked on the theory of motor proteins that convert chemical energy to mechanical force at single-molecule level. This work led to his current interest in open chemical systems. He joined the University of Washington ( Seattle ) in 1997 and is now Professor of Applied Mathematics. His current research is in stochastic analysis and statistical physics of biological systems. In particular, he is interested in the biological functions of free energy derived from protein (de)phosphorylation in living cells. His recent "phosphorylation energy hypothesis" states that protein phosphorylation has evolved to be ubiquitous in biological signaling because the chemical energy derived from ATP hydrolysis is utilized to ensure the proper function of biochemical signal transduction. This chemical energy is necessary for overcoming intrinsic biochemical noise from thermal fluctuations, small copy numbers, and limited affinities, ensuring precise and robust cell development and function.

Tentative Title: Energy from Protein Phosphorylations-Dephosphorylation and Its Biological Functions