Ivanov Ivaylo

Ivaylo Ivanov completed his Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania and his postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Diego. He is a Professor of Chemistry at Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA. Research in the Ivanov group focuses on the molecular machines and intricate mechanisms of genome maintenance, gene expression and gene regulation. Computational modeling has emerged as a powerful tool for understanding these complex systems, significant for human health. His group develops and applies hybrid methods to integrate data from biophysical techniques that can probe flexible macromolecular assemblies – cryo-electron microscopy, single-molecule spectroscopy and small angle X-ray scattering. The group also has extensive expertise in enhanced sampling, path optimization and free energy methods. Novel computational analyses and data from biochemistry, genetics and genomics are being leveraged to understand how disease mutations interfere with the structure and dynamics of key gene expression assemblies. In turn, such analysis reveals the complex interplay between genetic impairment and disease phenotypes. Recently, the research team has elucidated key pathway selection mechanisms in the DNA damage response, unveiled the molecular architecture of transcription initiation complexes, and contributed to understanding the etiology of genetic disorders associated with cancer, aging, and developmental defects.