Protein Structure, Function and Dynamics
EDUCATION
Ph.D.
2014-2017
Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
MRes
2012-2013
Institute of Chemical Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK
M.Sc.
2007-2010
Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, USA
M.Sc.
2004-2007
Department of Chemical Engineering, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Türkiye
B.Sc.
2000-2004
Department of Chemical Engineering, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Türkiye
RESEARCH SUMMARY
BvK LaB uses radiation-based methods to unravel the structures and dynamics of biologically important proteins and protein complexes for understanding the mechanisms of biological phenomena.
The research in our lab comprises molecular biology, recombinant or native protein production and purification, protein characterization, sample preparation for crystallography, electron microscopy or time-resolved laser absorption spectroscopy, structure modelling, biochemical measurements, enzyme kinetics, and complementary techniques such as cross-linking mass spectrometry, SAXS (Small Angle X-ray Scattering), and CD (Circular Dichroism) Spectroscopy. We are currently interested in membrane protein complexes involved in bacterial protein quality control, and nitrogen fixation proteins.
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE
Principal Investigator
2020-2025
Turkish Accelerator and Radiation Laboratory (TARLA), Ankara, Türkiye
Visiting Senior Research Associate
2019-present
School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
Postdoctoral Research Associate
2017-2019
School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Mehmet Caliseki, Christiane Schaffitzel, Burak Veli Kabasakal, The versatile role of YidC in membrane protein biosynthesis and quality control (2025), Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Molecular Cell Research, Volume 1872, Issue 5, 119956, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbamcr.2025.119956
H Akkulak, HK Ince, G Göç, C Lebrilla, BV Kabasakal, S Ozcan, Structural proteomics of a bacterial mega membrane protein complex: FtsH-HflK-HflC, International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, (2024), 269, 131923, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131923
B.V. Kabasakal, CAR Cotton, JW Murray, Dynamic lid domain of Chloroflexus aurantiacus Malonyl-CoA Reductase controls the reaction, Biochimie, (2024), 219, 12-20, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biochi.2023.11.003
Burak V Kabasakal, Ciaran R McFarlane, Charles AR Cotton, Anna Schmidt, Andrea Kung, Lucas Lieber, James W Murray, The crystal structure of the Shetha Protein II (FeSII) from Azotobacter vinelandii suggests a domain swap, Acta Cryst. D, (2024), Volume 80, Part 8, 599-604, https://doi.org/10.1107/S2059798324005928
Macdonald JT, Kabasakal BV, Godding D, Kraatz S, Henderson L, Barber J, Freemont PS, Murray JW. Synthetic beta-solenoid proteins with the fragment-free computational design of a beta-hairpin extension. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. (2016) 113(37):10346-51, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1525308113
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Günce Göç, Sathish K. N. Yadav, George Orriss, Ufuk Borucu, Imre Berger, Christiane Schaffitzel, Burak V. Kabasakal, Cryo-EM Structure of the FtsH Periplasmic Domain Reveals Functional Dynamics (2026), ACS Chem. Biol. 2026, 21, 4, 844–851, https://doi.org/10.1021/acschembio.5c01025
Georgia Balchin, Burak V Kabasakal, Alessandro Strofaldi, Sophie Hall, Charlotte Fletcher, Dora Buzas, Joshua C Bufton, Sathish KN Yadav, Dakang Shen, Frederic Garzoni, H Adrian Bunzel, Jennifer J McManus, Christiane Schaffitzel, Imre Berger, Engineering the ADDomer Nanoparticle Vaccine Scaffold for Improved Assembly and Enhanced Stability (2026). ACS Synth. Biol., https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.5c00757
Caliseki, M., Borucu, U., Yadav, S. K. N., Schaffitzel, C. & Kabasakal, B. V., Off-target structural insights: ArnA and AcrB in bacterial membrane-protein cryo-EM analysis. (2025) Acta Cryst. D81, 545-557, https://doi.org/10.1107/S2059798325007089
Günce Göç, Nasim Allahyari, Mehmet Çalıseki, Burak V. Kabasakal, Efficient Detergent Removal Using a Polydivinylbenzene Adsorbent in Membrane Protein Solubilization (2025), Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering, 48 (11), 1873-1881, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-025-03218-1
B.V. Kabasakal, S. Ozcan (2025) Tissue, serum, and saliva sampling for proteomic analysis, Reference Module in Chemistry, Molecular Sciences and Chemical Engineering, Elsevier, ISBN 9780124095472, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-15978-7.00082-5
For the complete list of departmental publications (2002+), please click here.
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