Connie Darmanin

Division of Materials Science and Engineering

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Connie Darmanin is a leading researcher in biophysics and structural biology, with a focus on the design and characterization of self-assembling lipid systems. Her work bridges materials science and structural biology, particularly through the development of high-throughput methods for producing and analyzing lipidic cubic phases—complex, viscous materials that serve as matrices for membrane protein crystallization. Her most-cited paper, "High-Throughput Production and Structural Characterization of Libraries of Self-Assembly Lipidic Cubic Phase Materials" (2012, 43 citations), introduced a groundbreaking protocol that overcomes the traditional challenges of handling highly viscous lipid phases using standard liquid handling robotics. This innovation enabled the rapid screening of lipid libraries, significantly accelerating the discovery of optimal conditions for membrane protein structure determination. Darmanin’s contributions have had a lasting impact on the field, providing researchers with efficient tools to explore lipid self-assembly and its applications in drug delivery and structural biology. Her work exemplifies the power of interdisciplinary approaches, combining automation, materials science, and biophysics to solve fundamental challenges in molecular research.