curriculum vitae
Paulo Ferrand Almeida
Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Wilmington, NC 28403
phone: (910) 962-7300
fax: (910) 962-3013
e-mail: almeidap@uncw.edu
Education:
Licenciatura 1985, Biochemistry
University of Coimbra, Portugal
Ph.D. 1992, Biochemistry (T.E. Thompson)
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virgina
Training:
Post-doctoral Research Associate, 1994–1995 (R.L. Biltonen)
University of Virginia
Department of Pharmacology, Charlottesville, Virginia
Academic Positions:
University of Algarve, Portugal, 1992–1993 and 1996–1998
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
University of Coimbra, 1998–2001
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Assistant Professor, 2001–2006
Associate Professor, 2006–2011
Professor,
since 2011
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Professional Activities
• Member of the Editorial Board of Biophysical Journal, since 2010.
• Member of the Biophysical Society, since 1989.
• Member of the American Chemical Society, since 1999.
• Chair of the Membrane Structure and Assembly Subgroup of the Biophysical Society, 2011.
• Member of the Advisory Committee of the Membrane Structure and Assembly Subgroup
of the Biophysical Society, 2009–2012.
• Reviewer for professional journals in the areas of biochemistry and biophysics.
• Reviewer for external granting agencies.
Editor of Biophysical Journal
As member of the Editorial Board of the Biophysical Journal, I have been the editor for about
50 manuscripts since 2010.
Reviewer of manuscripts for professional journals
Since 2006, I have reviewed about 120 manuscripts. The journals for which I have reviewed are
the following: Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, Biophysical
Journal (Biophysical Society), Journal of the American Chemical Society (ACS), Biochemistry
(ACS), Journal of Physical Chemistry (ACS), Langmuir (ACS), FEBS Letters (Federation of the
European Biochemical Societies), Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, FASEB Journal (Federation
of American Societies of Experimental Biology), Biophysical Chemistry, European Biophysics
Journal, Biochemical Journal, Soft Matter (Royal Society of Chemistry), Peptides, An International Journal.
Reviewer for external granting agencies
Since 2007, I have reviewed several external grants, for the National Science Foundation (NSF),
Research Corporation, Petroleum Research Fund (American Chemical Society), and the Villum
Foundation (Denmark).
Grants and Awards
1. Mechanisms of amphipathic and cargo-delivery peptides. NIH 2R15 GM072507-03 02/03/2012–
01/31/2015, (PI, Paulo Almeida). $268,326.
2. Mechanisms of amphipathic and cargo-delivery peptides. NIH 3R15 GM072507-02S2 09/30/2009–
09/30/2010, (PI, Paulo Almeida). $88,683.
3. High sensitivity calorimetry instrumentation to study interactions in biochemical systems
North Carolina Biotechnology Center 2009-IDG-1031 04/01/2009–04/01/2010, (PI, Paulo
Almeida). $171,000.
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4. Thermodynamics of membrane domains in mixtures containing cholesterol Research Corporation, Cottrel College Award CC6246 07/01/2008–07/01/2010, (PI, Paulo Almeida).
$54,000.
5. Mechanisms of amphipathic and cargo-delivery peptides. NIH 2R15 GM072507-02 03/01/2008–
03/01/2011, (PI, Paulo Almeida). $207,000.
6. Mechanisms of amphipathic and cargo-delivery peptides. NIH 3R15 GM072507-02S1 07/01/2008–
04/30/2009, (PI, Paulo Almeida). $7,488.
7. Staphylococcal adaptations to platelet microbicidal proteins (PMPs) NIH AI039108, subcontract on grant to UCLA 04/01/2008–04/01/2009, (PI, Antje Pokorny, UNCW). $
50,000.
8. Mechanisms of amphipathic and cargo-delivery peptides. NIH 1R15 GM072507-01 03/01/2005–
03/01/2008, (PI, Paulo Almeida). $187,770.
9. Annexin organization of membranes. NIH 2R15 GM064443-02 04/01/2005–04/01/2008.
(PI, Anne Hinderliter, NDSU) $56,000.
10. Summer Pedagogy Development Award, Center for Teaching Excellence, UNCW, 2007,
(PI, Paulo Almeida).
11. Dynamics of membrane domains. Research Corporation, Cottrel College Award CC6246
05/01/2005–30/04/2007, (PI, Paulo Almeida). $51,683.
12. Interaction of the C2 domain and annexins with lipid bilayers. NIH R01 GM59205 06/01/2004–
04/30/2005, (PI, Rodney Biltonen, UVa). $41,461.
13. Student Involvement in Teaching Award, Center for Teaching Excellence, UNCW, 2004,
(PI, Paulo Almeida).
14. Summer Pedagogy Development Award, Center for Teaching Excellence, UNCW, 2003,
(PI, Paulo Almeida).
15. Summer Research Initiative Award, UNCW, 2002, (PI, Paulo Almeida).
16. Charles Cahill Award, UNCW, 2002, (PI, Paulo Almeida).
17. Praxis/PCNA/P/BIO/73/96, 1997-2000, FCT, Portugal (PI, Paulo Almeida).
18. Praxis/P/BIO/12015/1998, 2000-2001, FCT, Portugal (PI, Paulo Almeida).
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Scientific Publications
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
[1] Spaller, B.L., J.M. Trieu, and P.F. Almeida (2013) Hemolytic activity of membrane-active
peptides correlates with the thermodynamics of binding to 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3phosphocholine bilayers. J. Membr. Biol. Jan 18, 2013. [Epub ahead of print]
[2] Daly, T., P.F. Almeida, S.L. Regen. 2012. Sorting of lipidated peptides in fluid bilayers: A
molecular-level investigation. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134:17245–17252.
[3] Svetlovics, J.A., S.A. Wheaten, and P.F. Almeida. 2012. Phase separation and fluctuations
in mixtures of a saturated and an unsaturated phospholipid. Biophys. J. 102, 2526–2535.
[4] Almeida, P.F., A.S. Ladokhin, and S.H. White. 2012. Hydrogen-bond energetics drive helix
formation in membrane interfaces Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 1818, 178–182.
[5] Turkyilmaz, S., P.F. Almeida, and S.L. Regen. 2011. Effects of isoflurane, halothane and
chloroform on the interactions and lateral organization of lipids in the liquid-ordered phase.
Langmuir 27, 14380–14385.
[6] Almeida, P.F., A. Best, and A. Hinderliter. 2011. Monte Carlo simulation of protein-induced
lipid demixing in a membrane with interactions derived from experiment Biophys. J. 101,
1930–1937.
[7] Clark, K.S., J. A. Svetlovics, A.N. McKeown, L.J. Huskins, and P.F. Almeida. 2011. What
determines the activity of antimicrobial and cytolytic peptides in model membranes. Biochemistry 50, 7919–7932.
[8] Dunkin, C.M., A. Pokorny, P.F. Almeida, and H.-S. Lee. 2011. Molecular Dynamics studies
of transportan 10 (Tp10) interacting with a POPC lipid bilayer. J. Phys. Chem. B, 115:1188–
1198.
[9] McKeown, A.N., J.L. Naro, L.J. Huskins, and P.F. Almeida. 2011. A thermodynamic approach to the mechanism of cell-penetrating peptides in model membranes. Biochemistry 50,
654–662.
[10] Almeida, P.F. 2011. A simple thermodynamic model of the liquid-ordered state and the
interactions between phospholipids and cholesterol. Biophys. J. 100, 420–429 .
[11] Almeida, P.F.F., and A. Pokorny. 2009. Mechanisms of antimicrobial, cytolytic, and cellpenetrating peptides: from kinetics to thermodynamics. Biochemistry 48, 8083–8093.
[12] Yandek, L.E., A. Pokorny, and P.F.F. Almeida. 2009. Wasp mastoparans follow the same
mechanism as the cell-penetrating peptide transportan 10. Biochemistry 48, 7342–7351.
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[13] Gregory, S.M., A. Pokorny, and P.F.F. Almeida. 2009. Magainin 2 revisited: A test of the
quantitative model for the all-or-none permeabilization of phospholipid vesicles. Biophys. J.
96, 116–131.
[14] Almeida, P.F.F. 2009. Thermodynamics of Lipid Interactions in Complex Bilayers. Biochim.
Biophys. Acta 1788, 72–85.
[15] Pokorny, A., E.M. Kilelee, D. Wu, and P.F.F. Almeida. 2008. The activity of the amphipathic peptide δ-lysin correlates with phospholipid acyl chain structure and bilayer elastic
properties. Biophys. J. 95, 4748–4755.
[16] Yandek, L.E., A. Pokorny, and P.F.F. Almeida. 2008. Small changes in the primary structure
of transportan 10 alter the thermodynamics and kinetics of its interaction with phospholipid
vesicles. Biochemistry 47, 3051–3060.
[17] Gregory, S.M., A. Cavenaugh, V. Journigan, A. Pokorny, and P.F.F. Almeida. 2008. A
quantitative model for the all-or-none permeabilization of phospholipid vesicles by the antimicrobial peptide cecropin A. Biophys. J. 94, 1667–1680.
[18] Yandek, L.E., Pokorny, A., Floren, A., Knoelke, K., Langel, U., and Almeida, P.F.F (2007).
Mechanism of the cell-penetrating peptide Tp10 permeation of lipid bilayers. Biophys. J. 92,
2434–2444.
[19] Frazier, M.L., Wright, J.R., Pokorny, A., and Almeida, P.F.F. (2007). Investigation of
domain formation in sphingomyelin/cholesterol/POPC mixtures by fluorescence resonance
energy transfer and Monte Carlo simulations. Biophys. J. 92, 2422–2433.
[20] Kertz, J. A., Almeida, P.F.F., Frazier, A.A., and Hinderliter, A. (2007). The cooperative
response of synaptotagmin I C2A. A hypothesis for a Ca2+ -driven molecular hammer. Biophys.
J. 92, 1409–1418.
[21] Pokorny, A., Yandek, L., Elegbede, A., Hinderliter, A., and Almeida, P.F. (2006). Temperature and composition dependence of the interaction of δ-lysin with ternary mixtures of
sphingomyelin/cholesterol/POPC. Biophys. J. 91, 2184–2197.
[22] Zhang, J., Cao, H., Jing, B., Almeida, P.F., and Regen, S.L. (2006). Cholesterolphospholipid association in fluid bilayers: a thermodynamic analysis from nearest-neighbor
recognition measurements. Biophys. J. 91, 1402–1406.
[23] Almeida, P.F.F., and Wiegel, F.W.(2006). A Simple Theory of Peptide Interactions on a
Membrane Surface: Excluded Volume and Entropic Order. J. Theor. Biol. 238, 269–278.
[24] Almeida, P.F.F., Pokorny, A., and Hinderliter, A. (2005). Thermodynamics of membrane
domains. Biochim.Biophys.Acta 1720, 1–13.
[25] Almeida, P.F.F., Sohma, H., Rasch, K., Wieser, C.M., and Hinderliter, A. (2005). Allosterism in membrane binding: a common motif of the annexins? Biochemistry 44, 10905–10913.
[26] Almeida, P.F.F., Vaz, W.L.C., and Thompson, T.E. (2005). Lipid diffusion, free area, and
molecular dynamics simulations Biophys. J. 88, 4434–4438.
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[27] Pokorny, A., and Almeida, P.F.F.(2005). Permeabilization of Raft-Containing Lipid Vesicles
by δ-Lysin: a Mechanism for Cell Sensitivity to Cytotoxic Peptides. Biochemistry 44, 9538–
9544.
[28] Pokorny, A. and Almeida, P.F.F.(2004). Kinetics of dye efflux and lipid flip-flop induced by
δ-lysin in phosphatidylcholine vesicles and the mechanism of graded release by amphipathic,
α-helical peptides. Biochemistry 43, 8846–8857.
[29] Hinderliter, A., Biltonen, R.L., and Almeida, P.F.F.(2004). Lipid modulation of proteininduced membrane domains as a mechanism for controlling signal transduction. Biochemistry
43, 7102–7110.
[30] Pokorny, A., Birkbeck, H., and Almeida, P.F.F.(2002). Mechanism and Kinetics of δ-lysin
interaction with phospholipid vesicles. Biochemistry 41, 11044–11056.
[31] Hinderliter, A.K., Almeida, P.F.F., Creutz, C.E., and Biltonen, R.L.(2001). Domain formation in a fluid mixed bilayer modulated through binding of the C2 protein motif. Biochemistry
40, 4181–4191.
[32] Pokorny, A., Almeida, P.F.F., and Vaz, W.L.C.(2001). Association of a Fluorescent Amphiphile with Lipid Bilayer Vesicles in Regions of Solid–Liquid-Disordered Phase Coexistence.
Biophys. J. 80, 1384–1394.
[33] Pokorny, A., Almeida, P.F.F., Melo, E.C.C., and Vaz, W.L.C.(2000). Kinetics of Amphiphile
Association with Two-Phase Lipid Bilayer Vesicles. Biophys. J. 78 267–280.
[34] Almeida, P.F.F.(1999). Lipid exchange between vesicles: effect of high vesicle concentration.
Biophys. J. 76, 1922–1928.
[35] Hinderliter, A.K., Almeida, P.F.F., Biltonen, R.L., and Creutz, C.E.(1998). Membrane
domain formation by calcium-dependent lipid-binding proteins: insights from the C2 motif.
Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1448, 227–235.
[36] Jerala, R., Almeida, P.F.F., and Biltonen, R.L.(1996). Simulation of Gel–Fluid Transition
in a Membrane composed of Lipids with Two Connected Acyl Chains: Application of a Novel
Monte Carlo Step. Biophys. J. 71, 609–615.
[37] Jerala, R., Almeida, P.F.F., Ye, Q., Biltonen, R.L., and Rule, G.S.(1996). 1 H, 15 N, and 13 C
Resonance Assignments and Secondary Structure of Group II Phospholipase A2 from Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus: Presence of an Amino-Terminal Helix in Solution. J. Biomol.
NMR. 7, 107–120.
[38] Vaz, W.L.C., and Almeida, P.F.F.(1993). Phase topology and percolation in multi-phase
lipid bilayers: is the biological membrane a domain mosaic? Current Opinion Struct. Biol. 3,
482–488.
[39] Almeida, P.F.F., Vaz, W.L.C., Thompson, T.E.(1993). Percolation and diffusion in threecomponent lipid bilayers: effect of cholesterol on an equimolar mixture of two phosphatidylcholines. Biophys. J. 64, 399–412.
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[40] Almeida, P.F.F., Vaz, W.L.C., and Thompson, T.E.(1992). Lateral diffusion and percolation
in two-phase, two-component lipid bilayers. Topology of the solid phase domains in-plane and
across the lipid bilayer. Biochemistry 31, 7198–7210.
[41] Almeida, P.F.F., Vaz, W.L.C., and Thompson, T.E.(1992). Lateral diffusion in the liquid
phases of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine/cholesterol lipid bilayers: a free volume analysis.
Biochemistry 31, 6739–6747.
[42] Vaz, W.L.C., and Almeida, P.F.(1991). Microscopic versus macroscopic diffusion in onecomponent fluid phase lipid bilayer membranes. Biophys. J. 60, 1553–1554.
[43] Jones, J.D., Almeida, P.F., and Thompson, T.E.(1990). Spontaneous Interbilayer Transfer
of Hexosylceramides between Phospholipid Bilayers. Biochemistry 29, 3892-3897.
Book Chapters
[44] Almeida, P.F., and A. Pokorny. 2012. Interactions of antimicrobial peptides with lipid
bilayers. In: Comprehensive Biophysics, Edward H. Egelman, editor, Vol 5, Membranes, Lukas
Tamm. Oxford: Academic Press, 189–222.
[45] Almeida, P.F. 2011. Tools for predicting binding and insertion of CPPs into lipid bilayers.
Methods Mol. Biol., 683, 81-98.
[46] Almeida, P.F., and A. Pokorny. 2010. Binding and Permeabilization of Model Membranes
by Amphipathic Peptides. Methods Mol. Biol., 618, 155-169.
[47] Jerala, R., Almeida, P.F.F., Biltonen, R.L., and Rule, G.S.(1997). NMR Confirms the
Presence of an Amino-Terminal Helix of Group II Phospholipase A2 in Solution. Techn. Prot.
Chem. VIII.
[48] Almeida, P.F.F., and Vaz, W.L.C.(1995). Lateral diffusion in membranes. Handbook of
Physics of Biological Systems, vol 1: Structure and Dynamics of Membranes, 305–357. R.
Lipowsky & E. Sackmann, Eds. Elsevier.
Invited Talks
• Almeida, P.F. (2010) A simple thermodynamic model of the liquid-ordered state and the
interactions between phospholipids and cholesterol, Simon Fraser University, Dept. Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, November 12, 2010.
• Almeida, P.F. (2010) A Thermodynamic Approach to the Mechanism of Antimicrobial
Peptides, FASEB Summer Research Conference on Molecular Biophysics of Cellular Membranes, August 1–6, 2010, Saxtons River, Vermont.
• Almeida, P.F. (2010) Lipid Interactions in Membranes Containing Cholesterol, The University of Chicago, Institute of Biophysical Dynamics, March 29, 2010.
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• Almeida, P.F.F., and Pokorny, A. (2006). Mechanism of the interaction of the peptide
δ-lysin with model membranes. 232nd ACS National Meeting, September 10–14, 2006,
San Francisco, CA.
• Almeida, P.F. (2010) Mechanism of the Interactions Between Antimicrobial Peptides and
Model Membranes: A Thermodynamic Hypothesis. Membrane Structure and Assembly
Subgroup Symposium. 54th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society, February 20–24,
2010, San Francisco, CA.
• Almeida, P.F.F. (2007). Investigation of domain formation in sphingomyelin/cholesterol/POPC
mixtures by fluorescence resonance energy transfer and Monte Carlo simulations. UNC
Chapel Hill, Dept. Biochemistry and Biophsyics Program, February 7, 2007.
• Almeida, P. F. F.(2005). Mechanism of the interaction of the cell-penetrating peptide
TP10 with phospholipid vesicles. Wenner-Gren Symposium: Cell-penetrating peptides
and applications. May 18–21, 2005, Stockholm, Sweden.
• Almeida, P. F. F.(1998). Applications of percolation theory to the study of mixed phase
lipid bilayer membranes. PowBioSys, a symposium on Power Laws in Biological Systems,
Gulbenkian Insitutte of Science, Oeiras, Portugal, 4–7 October 1998.
Publications outside professional field
• Almeida, N.F., Almeida, P. F., Gonçalves, H., Sequeira, F., Teixeira, J., and Almeida,
F.F.(2002) Anfı́bios e Répteis de Portugal, 249 pp. FAPAS, Porto, Portugal.
• Almeida, P.F. (1983). Un marché d’oiseaux au Portugal. LHomme et l’Oiseau 21, 98–99.
• Almeida, P.F. (1981). Protection des oiseaux au Portugal. LHomme et l’Oiseau 19, 276–
279.
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