Antje Almeida

Antje Pokorny Almeida obtained a master's degree from The University of Bonn in Germany, and a PhD in the area of biophysics in Osnabrück, also in Germany. After post-doctoral research at the University of Virginia and in Portugal, at the Universities of the Algarve and Coimbra, Dr. Almeida returned to the US, where she has been a faculty member in UNCW's Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry since 2006. Her current research focuses on the study of peptide-lipid interactions, specifically those that lead to a remodeling of the lipid distribution in the plane of a lipid bilayer, for instance, a cell membrane.

Education

Diplom (MS) in Biology/Biochemistry, University of Bonn (Germany), University of Virginia
Dr.rer.nat. (PhD) in Biophysics, University of Osnabrück (Germany)

Specialization in Teaching

My current teaching assignments are in General Chemistry I and II, and Biochemistry.

Research Interests

My interest in membrane lipids and lipid biochemistry dates back to my earliest research in Dr. Thomas E. Thompson's lab at the University of Virginia. Since then, I have expanded my interests from pure lipid systems to the interaction of peptides and lipophilic antibiotics with lipid bilayers. Currently, my research interests fall into three broad categories. One, the influence of lipid structure on the properties of bacterial cell membranes. The lipids found in bacterial cytoplasmic membranes include branched-chain and headgroup-modified bacterial lipids, which do not exist in eukaryotic cells, but modulate the bulk properties of lipid bilayer and the bacterial response to antibiotics, for instance. Second, the interaction of amphipathic peptides with lipid bilayers. This area has been a major focus in my lab for the past 20 years, much of it in collaboration with Paulo Almeida. Third and more recently, I have studied the function of lipophilic, calcium-ion dependent peptide antibiotics. We have learned that calcium-ion dependent peptide antibiotics are able to remodel the bacterial membrane and their antibacterial and bacteriostatic effects appear to be in large parts due the calcium-ion dependent interaction with bacterial membrane components. This phenomenon of calcium-mediated reshuffling of membrane lipid species by peptides and proteins turns also out to be an important facet of signal transduction in eukaryotic cells, which is where much of our current focus lies. Moreover, I have an express interest in undergraduate education, in particular regarding the deliberate exposure of undergraduates to research. For more information: https://sites.google.com/view/antjepauloalmeida/antje-pokorny-almeida

Honors & Awards

• Editorial Board Member, Biophysical Journal
• Publications Committee, Biophysical Society
• Discere Aude Award for Outstanding Student Teaching and Mentoring. UNCW, 2012, 2019.
• James F. Merritt Million Dollar Club, UNCW