Alberto has been awarded an NWO Veni!
The project is described below:
PLASTIC-JUNC: Predicting nanoPLASTIC risks to animal JUNCtional protein integrity.
Nanoplastics are specks of plastic a million times smaller than a millimeter. Recently, researchers found nanoplastics in our food, organs and even in the placenta. Nanoplastic accumulation can lead to organ failure and reduced coordination and memory in different animals. Scientists do not yet understand how nanoplastics trespass the protective cell layer around our organs, the endothelium. Here, I use computer simulations to discover how nanoplastics weaken key adhesive, i.e., junctional, proteins in the endothelium. With artificial intelligence I can obtain insights about these processes and identify the most damaging nanoplastics; providing valuable information for biomedicine and public health.