BioDE Lab · University of Patras

Biomolecular Dynamics & Engineering

We study how biological molecules move, fold, and interact — and use that understanding to engineer new tools for biology and medicine.

Research Focus

Photosynthesis & Light Harvesting

How plants and microalgae capture sunlight, route the energy, and switch to photoprotection when light becomes too much.

Research Focus

Gene Editing & Biomolecular Engineering

Simulating CRISPR-Cas and Fanzor nucleases to understand specificity — and engineering variants, enzymes and transporters with new functions.

Research Focus

Molecular Simulation on HPC

Enhanced-sampling molecular dynamics, DFT and machine learning on European supercomputers, to connect structure and motion to biological function.

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Our Mission

Decoding — and designing — the molecules of life

The BioDE Lab (Biomolecular Dynamics & Engineering) at the University of Patras uses molecular simulation and theory to explain how biomolecular machines work — how they move, fold, and assemble — and applies that knowledge to engineer new molecular tools. We work at all-atom resolution, in close dialogue with experimental collaborators.

Our interdisciplinary team draws on physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering to tackle open questions at the molecular scale — from fundamental mechanisms to translational applications.

57Publications
3PhD Candidates
Est. 2023Founded
What We Study

Research Areas

Three connected pillars, from solar energy conversion to engineered molecular tools.

Photosynthesis & Light Harvesting

The antenna complexes of plants and diatoms: how light is captured, funnelled to the reaction centre, and safely dissipated under stress.

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Heme Proteins & Bioenergetics

How proteins tune metal centres to reduce oxygen, detoxify nitric oxide and bind small ligands — probed with DFT, QM/MM and spectroscopy.

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Gene Editing & Biomolecular Engineering

Simulating CRISPR-Cas and Fanzor nucleases to explain specificity, and engineering nucleases, enzymes and transporters with improved function.

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Join the Lab

We're always interested in hearing from motivated students and researchers who want to work at the interface of physics, biology, and engineering.

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Latest

News from the Lab

October 2026

Invited lecture at the 12th Hellenic Crystallographic Conference

Probing intrinsically disordered proteins with computational tools — Athens, 23–25 October 2026.

2026

Cas12j target-strand cleavage in Protein Science

Karvounis IG and Daskalakis V reveal a dual gating mechanism with implications for nickase engineering.

2026

SPROUT Doctoral Network funded

The Horizon Europe MSCA network SPROUT (2027–2031) funds doctoral training on stress and photosynthesis.

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