Tom Vlaar

My research focuses on developing and applying computational tools to investigate the mechanisms and transport properties of permeants, such as small molecules or peptide-like drugs, across membranes. These tools rely on Molecular Dynamics simulations, a powerful approach for estimating parameters like binding energies, residence times, and permeation rate constants, while providing atomic resolution insight into these rare events.
A major challenge in simulating rare events is the large separation of timescales, which makes such computational experiments extremely demanding. By using path sampling methodologies to more efficiently explore the relevant path space, we can significantly reduce the computational resources required to discover and analyze these rare events in complex biological systems.
Ultimately, gaining a detailed understanding of the kinetics of small drug molecules can substantially improve our ability to predict drug efficacy in cancer treatment.
 

Tom obtained his Master of Science in Chemistry from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 2024. His thesis focused on the computational development of Bax-inhibiting cyclic peptides, which sparked his interest in molecular dynamics simulations and advanced sampling methods. In 2025, he joined the BioMMedA group at Ghent University as a doctoral fellow, concentrating on membrane simulations.
 

• Lab address: campus UZ Gent, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, RTP building, entrance 97, 9000 Gent, Belgium
• BioMMedA
• LinkedIn
• ORCID
• Tom Vlaar is interested to receive invitations for presentations or talks