Dr. Rafael Tapia Rojo

Biography

Rafael Tapia-Rojo received his bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Zaragoza in 2011 and a Master’s degree in Biophysics from the University of Barcelona in 2012. He completed his PhD in Physics at the University of Zaragoza in 2016, where he developed theoretical computational models to investigate a range of biological problems, particularly DNA-protein interactions and protein folding. After his PhD, he joined the laboratory of Prof. Julio Fernandez at Columbia University as a Postdoctoral Researcher, where he developed and applied single-molecule magnetic tweezers instrumentation to study the mechanisms of protein folding under force, especially focusing on force-sensing proteins like talin. In late 2020, Rafael moved to King’s College London to work with Prof. Sergi Garcia-Manyes, and was awarded the King’s Prize Fellowship to continue his work on the nanomechanics of talin protein. In 2023, he began his role as a Lecturer in Biological Physics within the Biological Physics & Soft Matter Group in the Physics Department. His research focuses on developing and implementing novel single-molecule technologies to study how proteins behave under mechanical forces, principles integral to their biological functions. Through his experimental approaches, he aims to evaluate the properties of protein-protein interactions and chemical modifications that correlate to the protein's biological functions.

Research Interests