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Department of Physics
Students in summer on north campus, red gears in background. © Roland Baege​/​TU Dortmund

Research Topics

The Risselada group employs molecular simulation techniques to tackle re­le­vant problems in the field of biophysics and related molecular fields within a multidisciplinary and inter­dis­ci­plin­ary re­search environment (e.g., the Resolv excellence cluster). Particularly, we focus on the development of enhanced sampling and multiscale methods to study phenomena occurring at fluid (e.g., biological lipid membranes) and solid interfaces (e.g., metal interfaces and graphene). An im­por­tant current focuses is on a subject coined "facial recognition of fluid interfaces", i.e., how can (bio)mol­ecules optimally recognize and bind fluid interfaces despite their highly disordered and dynamic nature. To this aim, we develop evolutionary molecular dynamics simulations (evo-MD) methods which couple evolutionary algorithms (sampling of chemical space) to coarse-grained molecular dynamic simulations (sampling of phase-space) to resolve the global optima in chemical space. In essence, evo-MD enables mol­ecules to adapt themselves to optimally recognize fluid interfaces in the course of a simulated evolution. Our re­search may yield unique insights on how biomolecules such as peptides and proteins recognize distinct fluid features in biological lipid membranes with interesting applications for the fields of drug de­sign, surfactant de­sign, and the de­sign of (bio)sensors.

Protein-mediated membrane fusion

Illustration for section Protein-mediated membrane fusion © Herre Jelger Risselada​/​TU Dortmund

Selected publications

  • E.M. Blokhuis, M. D'Agostino, A. Mayer, H.J. Risselada
    Fusion pores live on the edge
    J. Chem. Phys. Lett., 11(4):1204–1208, 2020
  • Y.G. Smirnova, H.J. Risselada, M. Müller
    Thermodynamically reversible paths of the first fusion intermediate reveal an important role for membrane anchors of fusion proteins
    PNAS 116(7): 2571-2576, 2019
  • M. D'Agostino, H. J. Risselada, A. Lürick, C. Ungermann, and A. Mayer
    A tethering complex drives the terminal stage of SNARE-dependent membrane fusion
    Nature, 551: 634-638, 2017
  • M. D'Agostino, H.J. Risselada, A. Mayer
    Steric hindrance of SNARE transmembrane domain organization impairs the hemifusion-to-fusion transition
    EMBO reports, 17(11):1590-1608, 2016
  • H.J. Risselada
    Simulations Move Toward a Cure for Viral Diseases
    Structure, 23(3):439-440, 2015
  • H.J. Risselada, Y. Smirnova, H. Grubmüller
    Free energy landscape of rim-pore expansion in membrane fusion
    Biophys. J., 107: 2287-2295, 2014
  • H.J. Risselada, G. Bubnis, H. Grubmüller
    Expansion of the fusion stalk and its implication for biological membrane fusion
    Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA., 111:11043-110487, 2014

Latteral organisation of membranes

Illustration for section Latteral organisation of membranes © Herre Jelger Risselada​/​TU Dortmund

Selected publications

  • H.J. Risselada
    Membrane fusion stalks and 'lipid rafts': A love-hate Relationship
    Biophysical J. (Letter), 112(12): 2475-2478, 2017
  • D. Milovanovic, A. Honigmann,..., H.J. Risselada, ..., S.W. Hell, G. Van den Bogaart, R. Jahn
    Hydrophobic mismatch sorts SNARE proteins into distinct membrane domains
    Nature communications, 6:5984, 2015
  • T. Fischer, H.J. Risselada, R.L.C Vink
    Membrane lateral structure: The influence of immobilized particles on domain size
    Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 14:14500-14508, 2012
  • G. Van den Bogaart, K. Meyenberg K, H.J. Risselada, H. Amin, K.I. Willig, B.E. Hubrich, M. Dier, S.W. Hell, H. Grubmüller, U. Diederichsen, R. Jahn
    Membrane protein sequestering by ionic protein-lipid Interactions
    Nature, 479:552-55, 2011
  • H.J. Risselada, S.J. Marrink, M. Müller
    Curvature-dependent elastic properties of liquid-ordered domains result in inverted domain sorting on uni-axially compressed vesicles
    Phys. Rev. Lett., 106: 148102, 2011

Soft (bio)materials @ solid surfaces

Illustration for section Soft (bio)materials @ solid surfaces © Herre Jelger Risselada​/​TU Dortmund

Selected publications

  • L.A. Belyaeva, L. Jiang, A. Soleimani, J. Methorst, H.J. Risselada, G.F. Schneider
    Liquids relax and unify strain in graphene
    Nat. Comm. 11(898), 2020
  • A. Gladytz, B. Abel, H.J. Risselada
    Gold-Induced Fibril Growth:The Mechanism of Surface-Facilitated Amyloid Aggregation
    Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 55:12242-46, 2016

Morphologies of (bioinspired) surfactant assemblies

Illustration for section Morphologies of (bioinspired) surfactant assemblies © Herre Jelger Risselada​/​TU Dortmund

Selected publications

  • Laura J. Endter, H.J. Risselada
    Where are those lipidic nano rings?
    J. Colloid Interface Sci., 587:789-796, 2020
     
  • Laura J. Endter, Y.G.Smirnova, H.J. Risselada
    Density Field Thermodynamic Integration (DFTI): A ’soft’ approach to calculate the free energy of surfactant self-assemblies
    J. Phys. Chem. B, 124(31):6775–6785, 2020
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Location & approach

The campus of TU Dort­mund University is located close to interstate junction Dort­mund West, where the Sauerlandlinie A 45 (Frankfurt-Dort­mund) crosses the Ruhrschnellweg B 1 / A 40. The best interstate exit to take from A 45 is “Dort­mund-Eichlinghofen” (closer to South Campus), and from B 1 / A 40 “Dort­mund-Dorstfeld” (closer to North Campus). Signs for the uni­ver­si­ty are located at both exits. Also, there is a new exit before you pass over the B 1-bridge leading into Dort­mund.

To get from North Campus to South Campus by car, there is the connection via Vogelpothsweg/Baroper Straße. We recommend you leave your car on one of the parking lots at North Campus and use the H-Bahn (suspended monorail system), which conveniently connects the two campuses.

TU Dort­mund University has its own train station (“Dort­mund Uni­ver­si­tät”). From there, suburban trains (S-Bahn) leave for Dort­mund main station (“Dort­mund Hauptbahnhof”) and Düsseldorf main station via the “Düsseldorf Airport Train Station” (take S-Bahn number 1, which leaves every 20 or 30 minutes). The uni­ver­si­ty is easily reached from Bochum, Essen, Mülheim an der Ruhr and Duisburg.

You can also take the bus or subway train from Dort­mund city to the uni­ver­si­ty: From Dort­mund main station, you can take any train bound for the Station “Stadtgarten”, usually lines U41, U45, U 47 and U49. At “Stadtgarten” you switch trains and get on line U42 towards “Hombruch”. Look out for the Station “An der Palmweide”. From the bus stop just across the road, busses bound for TU Dort­mund University leave every ten minutes (445, 447 and 462). Another option is to take the subway routes U41, U45, U47 and U49 from Dort­mund main station to the stop “Dort­mund Kampstraße”. From there, take U43 or U44 to the stop “Dort­mund Wittener Straße”. Switch to bus line 447 and get off at “Dort­mund Uni­ver­si­tät S”.

The AirportExpress is a fast and convenient means of transport from Dortmund Airport (DTM) to Dortmund Central Station, taking you there in little more than 20 minutes. From Dortmund Central Station, you can continue to the university campus by interurban railway (S-Bahn). A larger range of international flight connections is offered at Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), which is about 60 kilometres away and can be directly reached by S-Bahn from the university station.

The H-Bahn is one of the hallmarks of TU Dort­mund University. There are two stations on North Campus. One (“Dort­mund Uni­ver­si­tät S”) is directly located at the suburban train stop, which connects the uni­ver­si­ty directly with the city of Dort­mund and the rest of the Ruhr Area. Also from this station, there are connections to the “Technologiepark” and (via South Campus) Eichlinghofen. The other station is located at the dining hall at North Campus and offers a direct connection to South Campus every five minutes.

The facilities of TU Dortmund University are spread over two campuses, the larger Campus North and the smaller Campus South. Additionally, some areas of the university are located in the adjacent “Technologiepark”.

Site Map of TU Dortmund University (Second Page in English).