Biophysical and Structural Aspects of Bioenergetics

Bioenergetics is a term used to describe the events of primary energy transduction in biology. The field has seen tremendous advances in recent years thanks to developments in the biophysical and computational techniques used to solve the three-dimensional structures of the membrane-bound proteins, which often act as catalysts in these reactions. This has enabled researchers to bring, otherwise static, structures to life and decipher the dynamic function of these intriguing systems. Biophysical and Structural Aspects of Bioenergetics brings together contributions from internationally respected experts, all of whom helped shape and develop the field of bioenergetics. It provides a representative snapshot of the very latest key developments in this multidisciplinary subject, with an emphasis on molecular structure, and how this changes during the bioenergetic function. Offering a comprehensive overview of the current state of the art, and complete with extensive citations in each chapter, this book is the ideal reference for both biochemists and biophysicists studying this fascinating topic.

Mårten Wikström received his MD, Ph.D. at the University of Helsinki in 1971, after which he spent a year as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Amsterdam with Prof. E. C. Slater. In 1975-1976 he was visiting associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania with Prof. Britton Chance. He worked as an assistant professor at the University of Helsinki until 1983, when he was appointed to a personal Chair in medical chemistry (changed to physical biochemistry in 2002). In the period 1996-2006 he was Research Professor of the Academy of Finland. From 1998 to 2013 he was Research Director of the Structural Biology and Biophysics Program of the Institute of Biotechnology. He retired in 2013 but continues as Emeritus Professor. He is a recipient of the Anniversary Prize of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) in 1977, the Scandinavian Anders Jahre Prize in medicine in 1984 and 1996, and the David Keilin Prize and Medal (British Biochemical Society) in 1997, and he gave the Peter Mitchell Medal Lecture in 2000. He is an elected member of Societas Scientiarum Fennica (1982), the European Molecular Biology Organization (1985), The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (chemistry, 1992), and Academia Europaea (2010). His research interests are in molecular bioenergetics, membrane proteins, electron transfer, proton translocation, and mitochondrial diseases.