Faculty Directory
Igal Szleifer

Christina Enroth-Cugell Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Professor of Chemistry

Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Professor of Medicine

Contact

2170 Campus Drive
Silverman Hall 4629
Evanston, IL 60208-2850

847-467-0674Email Igal Szleifer

Website

Igal Szleifer Reseach Group

Departments

Biomedical Engineering

Affiliations

Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Graduate Program

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Education

Ph.D. summa cum laude, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

B.Sc. Chemistry, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel


Research Interests

The focus of our research is in the molecular modeling of biointerphases. Our work is aimed at the fundamental understanding of the properties of complex molecular systems that encompass problems at the interface between medicine, biology, chemistry, physics and materials science. Our group concentrates on the development and application of theoretical approaches that enable the study of the systems of interest at the molecular level. The results of these studies are then used in the design of optimal materials that interact with biological environments, Most of our projects are carried out in close collaboration with experimental collaborators. Our theoretical work has the dual purpose of: 1) the fundamental understanding of what are the molecular factors that determine the properties and behavior of the interactions between biological environments and synthetic systems, and 2) the ability to predict in a quantitative way experimental systems in order to use the theoretical approaches as a device tool for the engineer of new materials, such as biocompatible materials and drug carriers.

Specific systems of interest include: chromatin, protein adsorption and biocompatible materials, lipid layers and model cell membranes, drug delivery systems, ligand-receptor binding and smart (responsive) materials.


Selected Publications

  • Li, Wing Shun; Carter, Lucas M.; Almassalha, Luay Matthew; Gong, Ruyi; Pujadas-Liwag, Emily M.; Kuo, Tiffany; MacQuarrie, Kyle L.; Carignano, Marcelo; Dunton, Cody; Dravid, Vinayak; Kanemaki, Masato T.; Szleifer, Igal; Backman, Vadim, Mature chromatin packing domains persist after RAD21 depletion in 3D, Science Advances (2025).
  • Almassalha, Luay M.; Carignano, Marcelo; Pujadas Liwag, Emily; Li, Wing Shun; Gong, Ruyi; Acosta, Nicolas; Dunton, Cody L.; Gonzalez, Paola Carrillo; Carter, Lucas M.; Kakkaramadam, Rivaan; Kröger, Martin; MacQuarrie, Kyle L.; Frederick, Jane; Ye, I. Chae; Su, Patrick; Kuo, Tiffany; Medina, Karla I.; Pritchard, Josh A.; Skol, Andrew; Nap, Rikkert; Kanemaki, Masato; Dravid, Vinayak; Szleifer, Igal; Backman, Vadim, Chromatin conformation, gene transcription, and nucleosome remodeling as an emergent system, Science Advances (2025).
  • Nap, Rikkert J.; Carillo Gonzalez, Paola; Coraor, Aria E.; Virk, Ranya K.A.; de Pablo, Juan J.; Backman, Vadim; Szleifer, Igal, The impact of charge regulation and ionic intranuclear environment on the nucleosome core particle, Journal of Chemical Physics (2024).
  • Shim, Anne R.; Frederick, Jane; Pujadas, Emily M.; Kuo, Tiffany; Ye, I. Chae; Pritchard, Joshua A.; Dunton, Cody L.; Gonzalez, Paola Carrillo; Acosta, Nicolas; Jain, Surbhi; Anthony, Nicholas M.; Almassalha, Luay M.; Szleifer, Igal; Backman, Vadim, Formamide denaturation of double-stranded DNA for fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) distorts nanoscale chromatin structure, PloS one (2024).
  • Gonzalez Solveyra, Estefania; Perez Sirkin, Yamila A.; Tagliazucchi, Mario; Szleifer, Igal, Orientational Pathways during Protein Translocation through Polymer-Modified Nanopores, ACS nano (2024).
  • Li, Yue; Agrawal, Vasundhara; Virk, Ranya K.A.; Roth, Eric; Li, Wing Shun; Eshein, Adam; Frederick, Jane; Huang, Kai; Almassalha, Luay; Bleher, Reiner; Carignano, Marcelo A.; Szleifer, Igal; Dravid, Vinayak P.; Backman, Vadim, Author Correction, Scientific reports (2022).
  • Li, Yue; Agrawal, Vasundhara; Virk, Ranya K.A.; Roth, Eric; Li, Wing Shun; Eshein, Adam; Frederick, Jane; Huang, Kai; Almassalha, Luay; Bleher, Reiner; Carignano, Marcelo A.; Szleifer, Igal; Dravid, Vinayak P.; Backman, Vadim, Analysis of three-dimensional chromatin packing domains by chromatin scanning transmission electron microscopy (ChromSTEM), Scientific reports (2022).
  • Qin, Shiyi; Nap, Rikkert J.; Huang, Kai; Szleifer, Igal, Influence of Membrane Permittivity on Charge Regulation of Weak Polyelectrolytes End-Tethered in Nanopores, Macromolecules (2022).