Faculty
4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
Thuwal 23955-6900
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Samir M. Hamdan
Assistant Professor, Bioscience
Ph.D. Chemistry, Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, 2002
M.S. Chemistry, Western Michigan University, 1998
B.S. Chemistry, Yarmouk University, Jordan, 1995
Research Interests
Professor Hamdan's research combines biochemical, biophysical, and structural tools with single-molecule techniques to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the multi-protein DNA replication machinery, the replisome, and its interplay with DNA repair and recombination.
The ability to observe enzymatic activities in real time at the single molecule level has profoundly changed how biochemical reactions are studied.
By eliminating ensemble averaging, the distributions and fluctuations of molecular properties can be characterized, transient intermediates can be observed and identified, and catalytic mechanisms can be elucidated. Applying this multidisciplinary approach will provide a true molecular understanding of the mechanisms involved in replication, repair, and recombination.
It will also extend the technique of single-molecule analysis from a few proteins to large multi-protein complexes, often containing many enzymatic activities
Selected Publications
- Gosh S, Hamdan SM and Richardson CC. "Two modes of interaction of the single-stranded DNA binding protein of Bacteriophage T7 with the DNA polymerase/thioredoxin complex". Journal of Biological Chemistry, 285(23):18103-12, 2010.
- Hamdan SM and Van Oijen AM. "Timing, Coordination, and Rhythm: Acrobatics at the Replicaiton Fork". Journal of Biological Chemistry, 285(25):18979-83, 2010.
- Lee SJ, Zhu B, Hamdan SM and Richardson CC. "Sequence-specific template recognition by the DNA primase of Bacteriophage T7. Revised to Nucleic Acids Research", ahead of print, 2010.
- Etson CM, Hamdan SM, Richardson CC, and van Oijen AM. "Thioredoxin suppresses microscopic hopping of T7 DNA polymerase on duplex DNA". Proceedings of the National Academic of Science,107(5):1900-5,K 2010.
- Hamdan SM and Richardson CC. Motors, switches, and contacts in a Replisome. Annual Review of Biochemistry. 78, 205-43, 2009.