WELCOME TO THE RAINEY LAB!

Link to Lab Photo Sharing Website

Click here for Lab Wiki (under development)

Winter 2024

Research in the Rainey lab focuses on developing molecular- and atomic-level understanding of biological processes involving proteins. A variety of structural biology techniques are exploited, including NMR spectroscopy and scanning probe microscopy alongside computation in order to use biophysical results. We tackle two classes of protein that function in supramolecular assemblies: membrane proteins and fibrous proteins. In the realm of membrane proteins, we currently focus on: (1) the apelin receptor (APJ), a G-protein coupled receptor, its peptidic ligands and the processing of precursors of these ligands to produce bioactive forms; and, (2) the fusion-associated small transmembrane (FAST) proteins, a recently identified family of uniquely small viral membrane fusion proteins. Our main fibrous protein of focus at the moment is a recombinant protein based on the type of silk spiders use to wrap their prey. This also happens to be one of the toughest known materials. We also use peptide synthesis and recombinant protein expression to engineer peptides capable of self-assembly that are inspired by collagen and intermediate-filament proteins. We also have fun developing NMR methods to characterize other materials, such as soft polymeric nanoparticles.

The beautifully renovated laboratory is located on the 10th floor of the Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building. Tupper is on Dalhousie's Carleton Campus right between downtown Halifax and the main (Studley) Dal campus. A big plus of being on the 10th floor is that the lab gives great views of the historic Halifax Citadel, downtown, Halifax Harbour, and the Atlantic Ocean.