Ben McFarland runs a research group investigating protein-protein interactions and protein design at Seattle Pacific University. Current areas of interest involve antibody interactions with the pathogen Mycoplasma genitalium in collaboration with Gwendolyn Wood’s lab at UW.
Previous areas of research included analyzing the NKG2D-MICA immunoreceptor-protein interaction, redesigning that interaction as a scaffold for tunable binding, siderocalin-siderophore interactions.
The McFarland Lab hybridizes research and teaching by bringing research into the undergraduate teaching lab for all these projects.
Key MICA-NKG2D publications:
“Mutations Designed to Destabilize the Receptor-Bound Conformation Increase MICA-NKG2D Association Rate and Affinity” in the Journal of Biological Chemistry
“Preparative Protein Production from Inclusion Bodies and Crystallization: A Seven-Week Biochemistry Sequence” in the Journal of Chemical Education
“Combining different design strategies for rational affinity maturation of the MICA-NKG2D interface” in Protein Science