Tharin obtained a BSc in Molecular Sciences from the University of São Paulo (Brazil) in 1994, and a PhD in Biochemistry from the Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo (Brazil) in 2000. She then moved to Canada, where she used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to study protein structure and dynamics as a postdoctoral fellow in Prof. Brian Sykes’s laboratory, in the University of Alberta (2000-2005), before moving to London to work with Prof. Steve Matthews, at Imperial College (2005-2007).

Research interests in the Blumenschein group involve using NMR spectroscopy to investigate structural and dynamic properties of proteins, particularly intrinsically disordered proteins. Current projects include studies of Chlamydia effectors, plant pathogen effectors, muscle regulatory proteins, and cell signalling in cancer.

Selected publications

Structures of Phytophthora RXLR effector proteins: a conserved but adaptable fold underpins functional diversity.
L. S. Boutemy, S. R. King, J. Win, R. K. Hughes, T. A. Clarke, T. M. A. Blumenschein, S. Kamoun and M. J. Banfield
Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2011, 286, 35834-35842. 
DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M111.262303

Is there nascent structure in the intrinsically disordered region of troponin I?
O. Julien, P. Mercier, C. N. Allen, O. Fisette, C. H. Ramos, P. Lagüe, T. M. A. Blumenschein and B. D. Sykes
Proteins: Structure, Function, and Bioinformatics, 2011, 79, 1240-1250.
DOI: 10.1002/prot.22959

Structure, dynamics and RNA interaction analysis of the human SBDS protein
J. F. de Oliveira, M. L. Sforça, T. M. A. Blumenschein, B. G. Guimarães, C. C. de Oliveira, N. I. T. Zanchin and A.-C. Zeri
Journal of Molecular Biology, 2010, 396, 1053-1069. 
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2009.12.039

Atomic resolution insight into host cell recognition by Toxoplasma gondii.
T. M. A. Blumenschein, N. Friedrich, R. A. Childs, S. Saouros, E. P. Carpenter, M. A. Campanero-Rhodes, P. Simpson, W. Chai, T. Koutroukides, M. J. Blackman, T. Feizi, D. Soldati-Favre and S. Matthews
EMBO Journal, 2007, 26, 2808-2820. 
DOI:  10.1038/sj.emboj.7601704