Professor Ulrich Zachariae
Chair of Molecular Biophysics
Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, School of Life Sciences
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Biography
Professor Ulrich Zachariae obtained his PhD in the structural biophysics lab of Wolfgang Baumeister at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Munich in 2004. Subsequently, he worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher with Helmut Grubmüller and Bert de Groot at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany. He gained industry experience as a computational drug designer for AstraZeneca in Alderley Park and, following this, started his independent research career at the University of Edinburgh in 2011, building up a team of researchers at the interface between physics, drug discovery, and the life sciences.
He then joined the University of Dundee in 2013 as a Reader and was promoted to Professor of Molecular Biophysics in 2019. His research interests are the function of membrane proteins and their interaction with small molecules, data-driven approaches to tackling antimicrobial resistance, biomolecular simulations, and ion channels. Professor Zachariae is also the programme lead for the MSc in Biological Data Science and leads teaching modules in Biomolecular Structure and Interactions for Biological and Biomedical Sciences degrees.
Research
Professor Zachariae’s research investigates the mechanistic basis for the function of membrane proteins, especially ion channels and cell surface receptors, which form the majority of human drug targets. His group also aims for an improved understanding of drug resistance to inform the design of new antibacterial agents.
The research is based mainly on computational methods: from biomolecular simulations and in silico electrophysiology via computational drug discovery to data-driven approaches.
Recent highlights comprise the elucidation of ion selectivity mechanisms in ion channels, molecular rules to improve the bioavailability of antibiotics in bacteria, and State-Specific Information (SSI), an information-theoretic method that unravels the correlated dynamics of proteins and functional water molecules.
Selected Publications
- W Kopec, DA Köpfer, ON Vickery, A Bondarenko, TLC Jansen, BL de Groot, U Zachariae: Direct knock-on of desolvated ions governs strict ion selectivity in K+ channels. Nature Chemistry 10, 813-820 (2018).
- D Gurvic, AG Leach, U Zachariae: Data-driven derivation of molecular substructures that enhance drug activity in gram-negative bacteria. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 65, 6088-6099 (2022).
- CM Ives, NJ Thomson, U Zachariae: A co-operative knock-on mechanism underpins Ca2+-selective cation permeation in TRPV channels. Journal of General Physiology 155, e202213226 (2023).
- D Gurvic, U Zachariae: Multidrug efflux in Gram-negative bacteria: structural modifications in active compounds leading to efflux pump avoidance. npj Antimicrobials and Resistance 2, 6 (2024).
- M Vögele, NJ Thomson, ST Truong, J McAvity, U Zachariae, RO Dror: Systematic analysis of biomolecular conformational ensembles with PENSA. The Journal of Chemical Physics 162, 014101 (2025).
- NJ Thomson, U Zachariae: Mechanism of negative μ-opioid receptor modulation by sodium ions. Structure 33, p196-205.e2 (2025).
Media availability
I am available for media commentary on my research.
Computational Biophysics and Drug Discovery
Contact Corporate Communications for media enquiries.
Areas of expertise
- AI/automation
- Antimicrobial resistance
PhD Projects
Principal supervisor
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- PhD opportunity
AI-based approach to address drug-resistance in infectious disease
Stories
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- News
Fighting back against antimicrobial resistance
Research from the School of Life Sciences hopes to accelerate the drug discovery process by providing key data that will aid in the design of new treatments to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
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- News
New postgraduate courses appoint programme leads
Programme leads have been appointed for two new taught postgraduate courses that will commence in the autumn.
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- News
Study could help to defend humans and crops from yeast infection
Clues to the mechanism of yeast infections, which present risks to both humans and crops, have been identified.