Ioan Kosztin

Education

  • Ph.D. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1997)
     Advisor: Prof. A.J. Leggett (Physics Nobel Prize, 2003)
    Thesis title: Topics in theory of superconductivity

  • M.S. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1993)

  • Dipl. University of Cluj, Romania (1985)

Awards

2012: MU Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Research and Creative Activity
2010: P-G. de Gennes Prize - awarded at the international conference "From Solid State To Bio-Physics",
Dubrovnik,Croatia
2010: Physics Alumni Faculty Fellow, University of Missouri

Research Interests in Theoretical and Computational Biophysics

The main motivation and goal of my research in biophysics is to understand how living matter is organized and functions at different (e.g., atomic or microscopic, sub-cellular or mesoscopic) levels. In my research, I employ and develop computational methods widely used in molecular modeling (e.g., large scale, parallel molecular dynamics simulations, molecular visualization, stochastic modeling and analysis), as well as, analytical methods used in theoretical physics.

Topics of my research include: theoretical and computational modeling of peptide-lipid membrane interactions, molecular and ion transport through channel proteins and artificial nanopores, reconstruction of free energy profiles in biomolecular systems from nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations, effect of dynamic disorder on the spectral and optical properties of chromophores in pigment-protein complexes, biomechanical properties and dynamics of multicellular systems, anomalous dynamics of lipid atoms and molecules in phospholipid bilayers, and molecular dynamics based quality assessment of predicted protein structures.

Selected Publications

  • King, G. M.; Kosztin, I. Towards a Quantitative Understanding of Protein–Lipid Bilayer Interactions at the Single Molecule Level: Opportunities and Challenges. J Membrane Biol 2021, 254 (1), 17–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00232-020-00151-0.

  • Matin, T. R.; Utjesanovic, M.; Sigdel, K. P.; Smith, V. F.; Kosztin, I.; King, G. M. Characterizing the Locus of a Peripheral Membrane Protein–Lipid Bilayer Interaction Underlying Protein Export Activity in E. Coli. Langmuir 2020, 36 (8), 2143–2152. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.9b03606.

  • Utjesanovic, M.; Matin, T. R.; Sigdel, K. P.; King, G. M.; Kosztin, I. Multiple Stochastic Pathways in Forced Peptide-Lipid Membrane Detachment. Scientific Reports 2019, 9 (1), 451. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-36528-4.

  • Matin, T. R.; Sigdel, K. P.; Utjesanovic, M.; Marsh, B. P.; Gallazzi, F.; Smith, V. F.; Kosztin, I.; King, G. M. Single-Molecule Peptide–Lipid Affinity Assay Reveals Interplay between Solution Structure and Partitioning. Langmuir 2017, 33 (16), 4057–4065. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b00100.

  • Shafiee, A.; McCune, M.; Forgacs, G.; Kosztin, I. Post-Deposition Bioink Self-Assembly: A Quantitative Study. Biofabrication 2015, 7 (4), 045005. https://doi.org/10.1088/1758-5090/7/4/045005.

  • McCune, M.; Shafiee, A.; Forgacs, G.; Kosztin, I. Predictive Modeling of Post Bioprinting Structure Formation. Soft Matter 2014, 10 (11), 1790–1800. https://doi.org/10.1039/C3SM52806E.

  • Das, J.; Flenner, E.; Kosztin, I. Anomalous Diffusion of Water Molecules in Hydrated Lipid Bilayers. J. Chem. Phys. 2013, 139 (6), 065102. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4817322.

  • Kosztin, I.; Vunjak-Novakovic, G.; Forgacs, G. Colloquium: Modeling the Dynamics of Multicellular Systems: Application to Tissue Engineering. Rev. Mod. Phys. 2012, 84 (4), 1791–1805. https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.84.1791.

  • Flenner, E.; Das, J.; Rheinstadter, M. C.; Kosztin, I. Subdiffusion and Lateral Diffusion Coefficient of Lipid Atoms and Molecules in Phospholipid Bilayers. Phys. Rev. E 2009, 79 (1), 011907. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.79.011907.

  • Norotte, C.; Marga, F.; Neagu, A.; Kosztin, I.; Forgacs, G. Experimental Evaluation of Apparent Tissue Surface Tension Based on the Exact Solution of the Laplace Equation. EPL 2008, 81 (4), 46003. https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/81/46003.

  • Forney, M. W.; Janosi, L.; Kosztin, I. Calculating Free-Energy Profiles in Biomolecular Systems from Fast Nonequilibrium Processes. Phys. Rev. E 2008, 78 (5), 051913. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.78.051913.

  • Kosztin, I.; Barz, B.; Janosi, L. Calculating Potentials of Mean Force and Diffusion Coefficients from Nonequilibrium Processes without Jarzynski’s Equality. J. Chem. Phys. 2006, 124 (6), 064106. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2166379.

  • Janosi, L.; Kosztin, I.; Damjanovic, A. Theoretical Prediction of Spectral and Optical Properties of Bacteriochlorophylls in Thermally Disordered LH2 Antenna Complexes. J. Chem. Phys. 2006, 125 (1), 014903. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2210481.

  • Kosztin, I.; Bruinsma, R.; O’Lague, P.; Schulten, K. Mechanical Force Generation by G Proteins. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 2002, 99 (6), 3575–3580. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.052209199.

  • Kosztin, I.; Leggett, A. Nonlocal Effects on the Magnetic Penetration Depth in D-Wave Superconductors. Physical Review Letters 1997, 79 (1), 135–138. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.79.135.