nmalvankar

Protein Nanowire Lab

Dr. Malvankar is a tenured associate professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University and a core faculty member of the Yale Microbial Sciences Institute. Dr. Malvankar has significant expertise in microbial electron transfer via type IV pili, using both in vitro and in vivo approaches using microbial biofilms and nanowires as a model system (e.g. Gu et al. Nature’21). He has pioneered innovative techniques that have set forth discoveries impacting the field. He did MS-PhD in material physics and nanowires and has expertise in bioelectronics, solid-state devices, and protein nanowire synthesis and characterization. His lab also has expertise in single-molecule AFM measurements, electron transfer chemistry, and ultrafast optical characterizations.

Trained as a Physicist, Dr. Malvankar has worked on protein nanowires since 2006 and pioneered methods to quantify and visualize electron transport and storage via Geobacter nanowires in living bacteria. He discovered high conductivity in these nanowires and led the discovery of their structure and composition. He has over a decade of experience managing business and research teams (Funded by DOE, NSF, ONR, and DARPA) and has received management training at the School of Management, UMass, Amherst.

Dr. Malvankar will work directly within the teams and coordinate interactions with collaborators within the team. He will assist in designing experiments, including charge and force imaging, quantifying bacterial electron transfer, and functional validation. Dr. Malvankar will also oversee the development of the experimental protocol necessary to identify nanowire assembly and conductivity mechanisms and electron export pathways and help prepare manuscripts and talks to divulge the acquired knowledge. He will also be responsible for reporting progress and leading the efforts to publish the results of the proposed study.

February 2025