The Adams group has a strong background in physical chemistry and soft matter physics, utilizing spectroscopic methods. Key research topics include solvation dynamics, specific ion effects, and protein-water interactions¹. In recent years, the group has developed spectroscopic methods for probing the solvent environment in biomolecular condensates, which revealed that release of hydration water is an entropic driving force for liquid-liquid phase separation^1,2.

1. Adams EM, Pezzotti S, Ahlers J, Rüttermann M, Levin M, Goldenzweig A, Peleg Y, Fleishman SJ, Sagi I, Havenith M. Local Mutations Can Serve as a Game Changer for Global Protein Solvent Interaction. JACS Au. 2021;1(7):1076-1085. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacsau.1c00155
2. Ahlers J, Adams EM, Bader V, Pezzotti S, Winklhofer KF, Tatzelt J, Havenith M. The key role of solvent in condensation: Mapping water in liquid-liquid phase-separated FUS. Biophys J. 2021;120(7):1266-1275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2021.01.019