Towards developing principles of protein folding and dynamics in the cell

Proteins must fold and function in the immensely complex environment of a cell, i.e. the cytoplasm-this is far from the ideal test-tube setting of a dilute solution. Here we review the advances in protein folding and dynamics inside the cell. In developing principles of protein behavior in vivo, we also begin to understand the organization and dynamics of the cytoplasm, unifying the single protein scale with the many-protein architectures at the subcellular scale. Our group has significantly contributed to this frontier by characterizing the effect of macromolecular crowding on the distribution of protein conformations. Additionally, we provide a personal perspective on becoming a theoretical biological physicist in the era of interdisciplinary research that has been greatly influenced by Dr Kamal Shukla. We also share our view on the future direction of protein folding inside a cell.