Theoretical and Computational Biophysics
Update in progress
The Beckman Institute website is under construction! Things may not look quite right until our transition to a new site is complete. If you have an urgent issue related to the website, please contact communications@beckman.illinois.edu.

Helping the world visualize the motion of molecules
The molecules that make up the human body are tiny, somewhat elusive and incredibly important. Cell membranes and their proteins, for example, are especially important in developing new medicines. Almost half of non-antibiotic compounds currently in use work on membrane proteins highlighting their importance in medicine and pharmacology.
Helping the world visualize the motion of molecules
The molecules that make up the human body are tiny, somewhat elusive and incredibly important. Cell membranes and their proteins, for example, are especially important in developing new medicines. Almost half of non-antibiotic compounds currently in use work on membrane proteins highlighting their importance in medicine and pharmacology.
Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group members are developing new computational technologies and tools for modeling and simulating molecular structures using high-poweredcomputers and for visualizing the results of these simulations in the best and most efficient way possible. This research advances molecular medicine, rational drug design and new bio-inspired materials.
If you’re a scientist who does modeling, chances are, you’re familiar with the group’s open-source NAMD and VMD software programs. More than 150,000 researchers around the world use theseprograms, and they’re citing it in their research papers at a rate of one new citation per 45 minutes.
TCBG members couple their effort with the NSF Science and Technology Center for Quantitative Cell Biology to development whole-cell models across time to transform our understanding of how cells function and what a diseased cell looks like. The National Institutes of Health funds TCBG’s work.
Group leader
- Emad Tajkhorshid
Labs within this group
- Beckman researchers bring cells to life in 3D with Minecraft
- Beckman researchers selected for 2024–2025 JumpStart cohort to tackle challenges in cancer detection, treatment and care
- Simon Rogers reveals new 'brittility factor'
- 12 Beckman researchers join inaugural Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago cohort
- Folded peptides are more electrically conductive than unfolded peptides
- New hydrogel enhances cancer post-surgical wound healing
Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology