Prof. Dror Noy

Photosynthesis, photosynthetic pigments, solar energy conversion, computational protein design

1992 B.Sc. in Chemistry, Tel Aviv University
1995 M.Sc. in Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science
2000 Ph.D. in Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science

2000-2004 Postdoctoral fellow, Biochemistry and Biophysics Dept., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA, USA
2004-2005 Postdoctoral fellow, Structural biology Department, Weizmann Institute of Science
2005-2006 Staff scientist, Structural biology Department, Weizmann Institute of Science
2007- 2013 Senior Researcher, Plant Sciences Department, Weizmann Institute of Science
2013- Principal Investigator, Migal-Galilee Research Institute
2018- Head of Molecular and Computational Biosciences and Biotechnology department, Migal-Galilee Research Institute
2021- Head of Biotechnology Program, Tel-Hai Academic College

My primary interest is to learn from the fundamental processes of photosynthesis how to convert solar energy to useful fuel products. In the lab, me and my research group members are aiming to design and construct artificial photosynthetic systems by making novel protein-cofactor complexes that serve as minimal versions of natural photosynthetic enzyme. For this purpose, we implement state-of-the-art computational and empirical tools of protein design, recombinant protein production and purification techniques, and a wide range of spectroscopic and analytical methods for characterizing the structure and function of the new complexes. We hope that by reverse engineering natural photosynthesis we will be able to provide the building blocks of novel solar energy conversion devices.

• Photosynthesis
• Methods for identifying and characterizing biomolecules
• Select topics in plant sciences

Publications since 2012:

1.  Grzyb J, Xu F, Nanda V, Luczkowska R, Reijerse E, Lubitz W, Noy D: Empirical and computational design of iron-sulfur cluster proteins. Biochim. Biophys. Acta, Bioenerg. 2012, 1817:1256-1262.
2.  Tang K, Zeng X-L, Yang Y, Wang Z-B, Wu X-J, Zhou M, Noy D, Scheer H, Zhao K-H: A minimal phycobilisome: Fusion and chromophorylation of the truncated core-membrane linker and phycocyanin. Biochim. Biophys. Acta, Bioenerg. 2012, 1817:1030-1036.
3.  Wittenberg G, Sheffler W, Darchi D, Baker D, Noy D: Accelerated electron transport from photosystem I to redox partners by covalently linked ferredoxin. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2013, 15:19608-19614.
4.  Zeng X-L, Tang K, Zhou N, Zhou M, Hou HJM, Scheer H, Zhao K-H, Noy D: Bimodal Intramolecular Excitation Energy Transfer in a Multichromophore Photosynthetic Model System: Hybrid Fusion Proteins Comprising Natural Phycobilin- and Artificial Chlorophyll-Binding Domains. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135:13479-13487.
5. Wahadoszamen M, Margalit I, Ara AM, van Grondelle R, Noy D: The role of charge-transfer states in energy transfer and dissipation within natural and artificial bacteriochlorophyll proteins. Nature Comm. 2014, 5:1-8.
6.  Bednarczyk D, Takahashi S, Satoh H, Noy D: Assembly of water-soluble chlorophyll-binding proteins with native hydrophobic chlorophylls in water-in-oil emulsions. Biochim. Biophys. Acta, Bioenerg. 2015, 1847:307-313.
7.  Bednarczyk D, Dym O, Prabahar V, Peleg Y, Pike DH, Noy D: Fine Tuning of Chlorophyll Spectra by Protein-Induced Ring Deformation. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2016, 55:6901-6905.
8.  Bednarczyk D, Noy D: Water in Oil Emulsions: A New System for Assembling Water-soluble Chlorophyll-binding Proteins with Hydrophobic Pigments. J. Vis. Exp. 2016:e53410-e53410.
9.  Kell A, Bednarczyk D, Acharya K, Chen J, Noy D, Jankowiak R: New Insight into the Water‐Soluble Chlorophyll‐Binding Protein from Lepidium virginicum. Photochem. Photobiol. 2016, 92:428-435.
10. Nanda V, Senn S, Pike DH, Rodriguez-Granillo A, Hansen WA, Khare SD, Noy D: Structural principles for computational and de novo design of 4Fe–4S metalloproteins. Biochim. Biophys. Acta, Bioenerg. 2016, 1857:531-538.
11.  Prabahar V, Afriat-Jurnou L, Paluy I, Peleg Y, Noy D, (2019). New homologues of Brassicaceae water‐soluble chlorophyll proteins shed light on chlorophyll binding, spectral tuning and molecular evolution. Febs Journal, 287: 991-1004.
12.  Jagilinki BP, Ilic S, Trncik C, Tyryshkin AM, Pike DH, Lubitz W, Bill E, Einsle O, Birrell JA, Akabayov B, Noy D, Nanda V (2020). In Vivo Biogenesis of a De Novo Designed Iron–Sulfur Protein. ACS Synth. Biol, 9(12), 3400–3407.
13. Bednarczyk D, Tor-Cohen C, Das PK, Noy D (2021). Direct Assembly in Aqueous Solutions of Stable Chlorophyllide Complexes with Type II Water-soluble Chlorophyll Proteins. Photochem. Photobiol., 97, 732–738.
14.  Ben-Zvi O, Grinberg I, Orr AA, Noy D, Tamamis P, Yacoby I, Adler-Abramovich L (2021). Protection of Oxygen-Sensitive Enzymes by Peptide Hydrogel. ACS Nano. 15, 6530–6539
15.  Salinas N, Tayeb-Fligelman E, Sammito MD, Bloch D, Jelinek R, Noy D, Usón I, Landau M (2021). The amphibian antimicrobial peptide uperin 3.5 is a cross-α/cross-β chameleon functional amyloid. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 118(3), e2014442118.
16.  Lahav Y, Noy D, Schapiro I (2021). Spectral tuning of chlorophylls in proteins – electrostatics vs. ring deformation. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 23, 6544–655
17. Niu N, Lu L, Peng P, Fu Z, Miao D, Zhou M, Noy D, Zhao K (2021) The phycobilisome core‐membrane linkers from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and red‐algae assemble in the same topology. Plant J 107, 1420–1431.
18.  Jagilinki, B, Paluy, I, Nanda, V, Noy, D (2021) Anaerobic Expression and Purification of Holo-CCIS, an Artificial Iron-sulfur Protein. Bio-protocol 11(20), e4169.
19.  Jagilinki, B, Paluy, I, Tyryshkin, A, Nanda, V, Noy, D (2021) Biophysical Characterization of Iron-Sulfur Proteins. Bio-protocol 11(20), e4202.

Personal website at Migal

ORCID