Our group's research focuses on developing and utilizing statistical mechanics theories, bioinformatic, and simulation methods to explain and predict the behavior of biologically interesting macromolecules. The current research program aimed at the understanding of the molecular mechanisms and bioinformatic studies of protein folding, stability, and binding. The long-term goal of the proposed research is to elucidate the relations between the sequence, structure, and function of proteins and to uncover the molecular mechanism associated with solute-assisted protein denaturation and stabilization. This will be accomplished by designing simple (yet realistic) models and by developing statistical mechanics theories.