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Research Expertise and Interests

Dr. Albert Jin's current research focuses in the areas of biomedical imaging, macromolecular biophysics, nano-optics, biotechnology, and nanomedicine. Most recently, his research has focused on studies of biological and lipid membranes, malaria vaccine proteins, subcellular trafficking and cellular dynamics, biomechanics, muscle proteins, G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR), nanoparticles, polymers, and biomaterials. Dr. Jin's primary research tools are atomic force microscopy (AFM) and high-resolution optical and fluorescent spectroscopic imaging, and he has also built several precision biomedical research instruments used at NIH. Additionally, in an effort to optimize data interpretation and outcomes, he consistently seeks to improve strategies for complex data analysis and biomedical modeling methods.

Dr. Jin now has over 15 years experience in interdisciplinary biomedical research at NIH. His current projects include independent initiatives, collaborations with scientists and clinicians across the NIH campus, as well as cooperative research with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and various universities here in America and abroad. He holds a physics degree from Nanjing University in China, a Master's degree in experimental physics from Penn State University, and he received his doctoral degree in theoretical/mathematical physics from the University of Maryland College Park in 1992.

Dr. Jin regularly supports new research in his field through work with various scientific journals, and because of his well-defined expertise, he is often asked to review grants and theses. Currently a guest researcher at NIST, he is also a member of the Biophysical Society, the American Society for Cell Biology, the American Physical Society, the BIO IT Coalition, and the American Academy of Nanomedicine.

For more information on Dr. Jin's research, see the LBPS Biomedical Instrumentation and Multiscale Imaging page and associated links.

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Selected Publications

• Biomedical Sciences: Molecular and cellular biophysics; atomic force, optical, and spectroscopic imaging; biomedical instrumentation development; lipid bilayers, liposomes, membrane microdomains, and membrane fusion; triskelion and clathrin-coated vesicles (CCVs); titin and muscle proteins; rhodopsin, GPCRs and membrane proteins; tuberculosis, malaria proteins, and vaccines.

Hayakawa E, Tokumasu F, Nardone GA, Jin AJ, Hackley VA  and Dvorak JA: A Mycobacterium tuberculosis-derived lipid inhibits membrane fusion by modulating lipid membrane domains, Biophys J., 93, 4018-30, 2007.

Jin AJ, Prasad K, Smith PD, Lafer EM and Nossal RJ: Measuring the elasticity of clathrin coated vesicles via atomic force microscopy. Biophys J, 90 , 3333-44, 2006.

Forbes J, Jin AJ, Ma K, Gutierrez-Cruz G, Tsai W and Wang K: Titin PEVK segment: Charge-driven elasticity of the open and flexible polyampholyte. J Muscle Res Cell Motil, 27, 291-301, 2005.

Choi EJ , Jin AJ, Niu S-L, Smith PD and Litman BJ: Visualizing individual rhodopsin (a G-protein coupled receptor) molecules in native disk and reconstructed membranes via atomic force microscopy. Tech. Proc. 2004 Nanotech. & Trade, 1, 63-66, 2004.

Tokumasu F, Jin AJ, Feigenson GW and Dvorak JA: Nanoscopic lipid domain dynamics revealed by atomic force microscopy. Biophys J, 84, 2609-2618, 2003.

Tokumasu F, Jin AJ, Feigenson GW, and Dvorak JA: Atomic Force Microscopy of Nanometric Liposome Adsorption and Nanoscopic Membrane Domain Formation, Ultramicroscopy, 97: 217-227, 2003.

Sinz A, Jin AJ and Zschornig O: Evaluation of the metal binding properties of a histidine-rich fusogenic peptide by electrospray ionization fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectroscopy. Journal of Mass Spectrometry, 38, 1150-1159, 2003.

Tokumasu F, Jin AJ and Dvorak JA: Lipid membrane phase behaviour elucidated in real time by controlled environment atomic force microscopy. J Electron Microsc, 51, 1-9, 2002.

Wang K, Forbes JG and Jin AJ: Single molecule measurements of titin elasticity. Prog Biophys Mol Biol, 77, 1-44, 2001.

Forbes JG, Jin AJ and Wang K: Atomic force microscope study of the effect of the immobilization substrate on the structure of force-extension curves of a multimeric protein. Langmuir, 17, 3067-3075, 2001.

Jin AJ and Nossal R: Rigidity of triskelion arms and clathrin nets. Biophys J, 78, 1183-1194, 2000.

Jin AJ, Huster D, Gawrisch K and Nossal R: Light scattering characterization of extruded lipid vesicles. Eur. Biophys. J. Biophys. Lett, 28, 187-199, 1999.

Jin AJ, Edidin M, Nossal R and Gershfeld NL: A singular state of membrane lipids at cell growth temperatures. Biochemistry, 38, 13275-13278, 1999.

Huster D, Jin AJ, Arnold K and Gawrisch K: Water permeability of polyunsaturated lipid membranes measured by 0-17 NMR. Biophys J, 73, 855-864, 1997.

McQueen PG, Jin AJ, Pierpaoli C and Basser PJ: Development of a finite element model of molecular diffision in living brain from in vivo magnetic resonance. Biomed. Engineer. Conf. Proc. 1996 15th Southern, 289-292, 1996.

Jin AJ and Nossal R: Topological mechanisms involved in the formation of clathrin-coated vesciles. Biophys J, 65, 1523-1537, 1993.

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• Physical Sciences: Statistical mechanics, renormalization group theory, thermodynamics, phase transition and criticality, surface and interface physics, wetting, and materials.

Fisher ME, Jin AJ and Parry AO: On the stiffness of an interface near a wall, Ber Bunsenges. Phys. Chem., 98, 357-361, 1994.

Jin AJ and Fisher ME: Stiffness instability in short-range critical wetting, Phys. Rev. B., 48, 2642-2659, 792-795, 1993.

Jin AJ and Fisher ME: Effective interface Hamiltonian for short-range critical wetting, Phys. Rev. B., 47, 7365-7388, 1993.

Fisher ME and Jin AJ: Is short-range "critical" wetting a first-order transition? Phys Rev Lett, 69, 792-795, 1992.

Fisher ME and Jin AJ: Effective potentials, constraints, and critical wetting theory, Phys. Rev. B., 44, 1430-1433, 1991.

Jin AJ, Bjurstrom MR and Chan MHW: Thermodynamic evidence of first-order melting of Xe on graphite. Phys Rev Lett, 62, 1372-1375, 1989.

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Patents

Gershfeld NL, Mudd CP, Jin AJ and Fukada K: Excitation/relaxation calorimeter and method for simultaneous measurement of thermal conductivity and specific heat of fluids. USA Patent #5,988,875, 2439-2451, 1999.