Gennady Miloshevsky Home Page

I am a Research Associate in the Department of Chemistry at Brandeis University. My current research at Brandeis is at the interface between the physical sciences and the biological and biomedical sciences. I am focusing my efforts to understand the theoretical principles underlying the function of biological molecules known as ion channels. Understanding their behavior is crucial for developing molecular level insights into the origin of many diseases. Ion channels are key components of cell membranes and are responsible for electrical signaling in nerve and muscle cells. Ailments such as heart arrhythmia and seizures occur through the malfunctioning of ion channels. Thus, the research on the theoretical principles underlying the function of ion channels is vital to understanding the causes of, and possibly cures for, a number of neurological and muscular disorders, such as epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis and Alzheimer’s disease, and genetic disorders which result from the genetic mutation of ion channels. My research is specifically targeted on the development of efficient computational approaches for treating large ion channel proteins at the atomic level, with the goal of predicting proteins’ detailed function from knowledge of their atomic structure. Computer modeling and simulation of biomolecules is an important ongoing challenge, since molecular systems obey complex physical laws. The control of electrical signaling (termed gating) requires significant structural rearrangement of the ion channel proteins, the details of which are inaccessible experimentally. Current computational approaches for studying such large-scale conformational changes in proteins are inadequate for most practical applications. The development of special- purpose computational tools to attack this problem is required.

My past research was devoted to the development of computer models of real physical systems. The overriding aim was to develop computer tools to reliably predict behavior in physical systems in domains where direct experiments are expensive or unfeasible. My particular interest was to develop and apply new computational methods to a wide range of physical and technological problems. I participated in numerous international research projects concentrating my efforts on developing and implementing methods for analyzing the following specific subjects:

Development of a computational model for numerical evaluation of the effect of high-energy radiation on geometrically complex and compositionally diverse three-dimensional solid-state targets. The model was used to predict the probability of failures of electronic chips on spacecrafts due to the effects of space radiation. It was part of a long-term collaboration with the Scientific Research Institute "Electronstandart", Saint Petersburg, Russia. This model was also used by the Efremov Institute of Electrophysical Apparatus, Saint Petersburg, Russia to model the effect of wide electron beams on materials.

Development of a computer model simulating interaction between magnetized electrons and a diverter in controlled fusion devices and to estimate the diverter’s erosion rate. This model was used for calculations of the energy deposition to a carbon plasma layer with density, temperature and magnetic field profiles and to a graphite diverter shielded by this plasma layer. This work was conducted over a period of years in cooperation with Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, the Institute for Pulsed Power and Microwave Technology, Germany.

Development of a two-dimensional gas dynamics model of the plasma spraying process based on numerical TVD-schemes. The model was used to predict conditions arising at the treatment of solid surfaces by sprayed materials, and to optimize and control the operating parameters in experimental devices. This work was performed in collaboration with Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut des Materiaux et Procedes, Font-Romeu, France.

Development of a model based on a Monte Carlo method to simulate the transport of low energy electrons in a biological medium. This was designed to simulate sources used in radiation therapy to treat carcinomas. This work was performed in cooperation with Ben-Gurion University, Beer Sheva, Israel.

Biographical Sketch

My pre-doctoral training at Belarus State University in Minsk was in the fields of physics, mathematics and computer science. In 1990, I received a Masters of Science degree from the Physics Department, with a specialization in atomic, molecular and plasma physics. In 1998, I was awarded a Ph.D. degree in physics from the Institute of Heat and Mass Transfer at the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus with specializations in 1) thermo-physics and molecular physics and 2) physics and chemistry of plasmas. After finishing my doctoral degree, I continued to work as a Researcher in the Heat and Mass Transfer Institute until October 2000, when I joined Brandeis University as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Chemistry. In October 2002, I was promoted to the position of Research Associate.