The Consortium of Molecular Design at BYU provides cutting edge interdisciplinary research opportunities for students to push the envelope for protein engineering and drug discovery.
We use close collaboration between laboratories at BYU in Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science, LifeSciences, and Engineering to tackle these challenging topics from all angles.
We actively seek industrial collaboration and support for our efforts and are excited to explore mutually beneficial application of all state-of-the-art technologies to revolutionize molecular design.
News and Events
Selected Publications
Objective
To investigate the dose-response relationship between dietary sugar and T2D risk.
Methods
MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science and Cochrane databases were searched through July 9, 2024 for prospective cohorts reporting relative measures of incident T2D risk by categories of dietary sugar (total, free, added, fructose, sucrose) or two beverage sources (non-diet SSB, fruit juice) in healthy adults (Prospero ID: CRD42023401800). Linear and restricted cubic spline dose-response models were fitted for each exposure and study-specific slopes and confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Heterogeneity was evaluated using Q-statistics. Risk of bias was evaluated using ROBINS-E tool GRADE approach was applied to assess the certainty of evidence.
Results
Of 10,384 studies, 29 cohorts were included: SSB:18 (n = 541,288); fruit juice:14 (n = 490,413); sucrose: 7 (n = 223,238); total sugar: 4 (n = 109,858); fructose: 5 (n = 158,136); and added sugar: 2 (n = 31,004). Studies were conducted in Europe (13), USA (11), Asia (6), Australia (4), and Latin America (3). Each additional serving of SSB and fruit juice was associated with a higher risk of T2D (RR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.17–1.35 and RR: 1.05; 95% CI: >1.00–1.11, respectively; moderate certainty). In contrast, 20 g/d intakes of total sugar and sucrose were inversely associated with T2D (RR: 0.96; 95% CI: 0.94–0.98; low certainty; and RR: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.91– <1.00; moderate certainty, respectively). No associations for added sugar (RR: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.96–1.01; low certainty) or fructose (RR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.83–1.15; very low certainty).
Conclusion
These findings suggest that dietary sugar consumed as a beverage (SSB and fruit juice) is associated with incident T2D risk. The results do not support the common assumption that dietary sugar (i.e., total sugar and sucrose), irrespective of type and amount, is consistently associated with increased T2D risk.
A general method for designing proteins with high conformational specificity is desirable for a variety of applications, including enzyme design and drug target redesign. To assess the ability of algorithms to design for conformational specificity, we introduce MotifDiv, a benchmark dataset of 200 conformational specificity design challenges. We also introduce CSDesign, an algorithm for designing proteins with high preference for a target conformation over an alternate conformation. On the MotifDiv benchmark, CSDesign designs protein sequences that are predicted to prefer the target conformation. We apply this method in vitro to redesign human MAP kinase ERK2, an enzyme with active and inactive conformations. Out of two designs for the active conformation, one increased activity sufficiently to retain activity in the absence of activating phosphorylations, a property not present in the wild type protein.
Purpose
To examine the associations and substitutions of dietary sugars [extrinsic (free) or intrinsic (non-free)] as well as dietary starch and fiber intakes for indices of body fat and cardiometabolic health.
Methods
Dietary intake was assessed at multiple times using multi-day 24-hour recalls over 18-months for indices of body fat (body fat %, waist circumference, BMI, and weight change) (n = 1066) and at baseline and 12 months for cardiometabolic outcomes (LDL, HDL, HbA1c) (n = 736). Bayesian modeling was applied to analyze the probabilistic impact of dietary carbohydrate components using credible intervals for association and substitution analyses with repeated measures random effects modeling.
Results
A higher starch intake significantly associated with higher body fat %, BMI and waist circumference (WC) (all CrI > 0). Conversely, intrinsic sugar and fiber intakes were significantly linked to lower body fat indices, while free sugar showed no association. A 20 g substitution of free sugars with intrinsic sugars significantly associated with lower body fat (CrI: -4.2; -1.0%), BMI (CrI: -1.8; -0.4) and WC (CrI: -4.2; -1.0 cm), while substituting intrinsic sugars with starch resulted in significantly higher body fat, BMI, WC and weight change. Replacing starch with fiber associated with higher HDL-C (CrI: -0.0; 0.3) and lower LDL-C (CrI: -0.6; 0.1). Replacing free sugars with starch associated with a higher HbA1c level (CrI: 0.0;0.2).
Conclusion
These results underscore the importance of distinguishing between intrinsic versus extrinsic sugars and highlight the potential benefits of increasing intrinsic sugars and fiber while reducing starch for better body fat management and cardiometabolic health.