Dr. Reid Alderson

Reid Alderson is driven by a fundamental interest in uncovering the molecular principles that govern protein structure, dynamics, and interactions. His research focuses on how proteins explore dynamic conformational ensembles and how these motions regulate biological function, particularly under conditions of cellular stress. In particular, he seeks to understand how spatiotemporal changes in the cellular environment enable molecular chaperones and proteolytic enzymes to recognize, stabilize, and remodel client proteins, and how these processes interface with protein degradation pathways to regulate protein turnover under normal and stress conditions.

Reid is particularly focused on developing and applying advanced NMR spectroscopy methods to characterize protein dynamics at atomic resolution. His research integrates measurements of structural propensities and conformational interconversion to link molecular motions with functional outcomes. By combining experimental and computational approaches, he aims to establish general principles that govern how protein dynamics contribute to stability, interaction specificity, and adaptive responses to stress.

Reid obtained his DPhil in structural biology and NMR spectroscopy from the University of Oxford in 2019. Much of his thesis was completed at the National Institutes of Health with Ad Bax. Reid was awarded prizes from the Nuffield Department of Medicine at Oxford and the Ampere Society for his PhD thesis. Subsequently, Reid was awarded Banting and CIHR Fellowships from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to work with Lewis Kay at the University of Toronto. In 2024, he established his independent research group at the Helmholtz Center Munich, through a Helmholtz Investigator Grant, where he leads efforts to investigate the structural and dynamical basis of protein function in complex biological environments.