Despite the remarkable advances in artificial intelligence (AI), particularly with tools like AlphaFold, the prediction of membrane protein structures remains a major challenge in structural biology. These proteins, which represent 30% of the proteome and 60% of therapeutic targets, are still significantly underrepresented in the Protein Data Bank (PDB), with only 3% of their structures resolved. This rarity is due to the difficulty in maintaining their native state in an amphiphilic environment, which complicates their study, especially with classical structural techniques.

This PhD project aims to overcome these challenges by combining the predictive capabilities of AlphaFold with experimental small-angle scattering (SAXS/SANS) data obtained under physiological conditions. The study will focus on the translocator protein TSPO, a key marker in neuroimaging of several serious pathologies (cancers, neurodegenerative diseases) due to its strong affinity for various pharmacological ligands.

The work will involve predicting the structure of TSPO, both in the presence and absence of ligands, acquiring SAXS/SANS data of the TSPO/amphiphile complex, and refining the models using advanced modeling tools (MolPlay, Chai-1) and molecular dynamics simulations. By deepening the understanding of TSPO’s structure and function, this project could contribute to the design of new ligands for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.