Proteins constitute one of the most fascinating classes of soft matter.
They are involved as central players in essentially all the biochemical
reactions taking place in the cell, including those required for the
control of gene expression, metabolism, transport, and enzymatic
catalysis. In order to function, many proteins need to fold into a
well-defined compact structure, which is determined by the amino acids
along the protein sequence and their mutual interactions. The protein
sequence and therefore the protein structure and function are
continuously subject to mutation and selection. Hence, for proteins,
structure, function, and evolution are three facets of the very same
phenomenon. In my talk, I will give a short general introduction to
these three entangled aspects and then present some of my own work in
this area, focusing on protein structure and evolution, and outline
research perspectives in these fields.