Modeling Facility for Molecular Biology

该奖项将为各种蛋白质和核酸的结构分析提供技术援助和设备方面的资金。这些设备包括用于分析和解释通过X射线结晶学和核磁共振光谱学获得的数据的计算工具，以及用于准备通过这些技术进行分析的样品的其他仪器。将从该奖项中受益的研究人员包括使用这些结构分析技术的国际知名专家和其他同样受人尊敬的生物学家，他们的研究将从与结构专家的合作中受益匪浅。发展和应用二维核磁共振波谱和X射线结晶学来研究生物大分子的结构和功能是目前生物学研究中最活跃的领域之一。近年来，在计算工具的开发方面取得了快速进展，这些工具允许将这些技术应用于各种分子，而不是像以前那样应用于最适合进行这种分析的少数几个分子。分子遗传学和其他生物化学技术的同时发展也增加了可用这些技术解决的结构问题的多样性和复杂性。该奖项提供的设备和技术援助将使一群杰出的分子遗传学家能够在使用最新进展方面进行合作并相互指导。

This award will provide funds for technical assistance and for equipment useful in structural analysis of various proteins and nucleic acids. The equipment items include computational tools useful for the analysis and interpretation of data obtained through X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy, and other instruments useful in the preparation of samples for analysis by these techniques. The group of investigators who will benefit from the award include internationally known experts in use of these techniques of structural analysis and other, equally respected biologists whose research will benefit greatly from collaboration with the structural experts. The development and application of 2-dimensional NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography to the study of the structure and function of biological macromolecules is currently one of the most exiting areas of biological research. In recent years, rapid progress has been made in the development of computational tools that allow these techniques to be applied to a variety of molecules rather than, as previously, to the few molecules most amenable to such analysis. The simultaneous development of molecular genetic and other, biochemical techniques have also increased the variety and sophistication of the structural questions that can be approached with these techniques. The equipment and technical assistance provided by this award will enable a group of outstanding molecular geneticists to collaborate and to instruct each other in the use of the most recent advances.