By Nidhi Baheti

Eric Shinn, a QCB postdoctoral researcher, works on integrative, whole-cell modeling of the red blood cell. His research brings together structural, proteomics, lipidomics and glycomics data to build molecular models that can be studied using molecular dynamics simulations.

Working under the guidance of Emad Tajkhorshid at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Erik Lindahl at Stockholm University and KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Shinn develops and applies cell-scale modeling methods designed to efficiently assemble large molecular models.

A central scientific interest behind his work is understanding how metabolic gases, including oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitric oxide, move across biological membranes. That interest has helped shape both his current research at QCB and the work he will pursue next through the PULSE Fellowship in Sweden.

Building a research connection through QCB

Shinn credits QCB with creating the opportunity for him to connect directly with Lindahl, who works in the molecular dynamics simulation community.

“It’s one thing to be in the same community, and it’s another thing to be introduced to him,” Shinn said.

Through QCB, Shinn was able to speak with Lindahl and ask him to serve as a co-advisor for his fellowship at the center. Over the following year, they explored fellowship opportunities that would allow Shinn to continue his research in Sweden.

Lindahl eventually recommended that Shinn apply for the PULSE Fellowship, the Program for Future Leaders in Life Science. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions COFUND fellowship will provide Shinn with three years of funding to conduct the research he proposed in his application.

Modeling gas movement across cell membranes

Shinn’s proposed research builds directly on the technical expertise he developed while working at Illinois.

During his time at QCB, he has conducted atomistic simulations of biological membranes, with a particular focus on how gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide permeate through them.

For the PULSE Fellowship, Shinn plans to expand this work by developing cell-scale models of the red blood cell membrane. He will use these models to study concentration gradients of nitric oxide across the membrane and investigate how those gradients might contribute to the regulation of vasodilation within the microcirculation.

The project allows him to carry the simulation experience he developed at Illinois into a broader model of biological membrane behavior.

Connecting computational models with experiments

One of the most valuable aspects of Shinn’s time at QCB has been the center’s interdisciplinary environment.

He explained that computational researchers can sometimes become highly focused on narrow technical problems, such as optimizing a particular simulation. However, the ultimate purpose of those simulations is to create models capable of making predictions about the real world.

“The aim of QCB is to integrate experimental data into our computational models so that our models can make predictions about life,” Shinn said.

At QCB, he had opportunities to attend seminars presented by professors working across different areas of research. He also interacted with students conducting experiments as part of their day-to-day work.

These exchanges allowed him to see how experimental findings could inform computational models and how simulations could, in turn, contribute to questions being explored experimentally.

“I really liked the interdisciplinary aspect of the QCB,” he said. “We got to listen to seminars from professors in all different areas of research and also interface with all the different students who are actually doing the experiments.”

For Shinn, getting to know the people across the center was another meaningful part of the experience.

“It’s really cool,” he said. “And getting to meet everyone too.”

Looking ahead to life in Sweden

Beyond the fellowship and his research, Shinn is also looking forward to experiencing everyday life in Sweden.

He visited the country in March, observing some cultural and environmental similarities between Sweden and places he already knows. Sweden’s cold climate and dark winters remind him in some ways of Illinois, as well as aspects of Korean culture.

Living in Champaign, he believes, has prepared him well for the Swedish weather. Although his father warned him that Sweden would be cold, Shinn found that its seasonal temperatures fall within a narrower range than those in Champaign.

“Champaign gets colder in the winter and hotter in the summer,” he said. “Even though it might get dark there in the winter, I don’t think it’ll be as cold.”

As Shinn prepares for this next chapter, he will carry forward both the technical expertise and interdisciplinary perspective he developed at QCB. The fellowship will allow him to continue building computational models of biological membranes while extending the research relationships that began through his work with QCB.