Structural Biology of Macromolecular Assemblies: A Research Training Group at Florida State University

该奖项支持一个新的、多学科的研究培训计划，重点是大分子组件的结构生物学。来自生物科学、化学和物理系的15名教员开发了一个全面的、具有挑战性的课程，以培训本科生、研究生和博士后，掌握一系列关于结构和功能的最先进的实验和理论方法。需要重点研究的领域包括负责膜结构、细胞结构和运动性的丝状大分子组件的研究。来自佛罗里达州立大学和佛罗里达农工大学的本科生将在学年和夏季学期获得研究经验。研究生将完成一系列关于大分子组装结构、动力学和计算优化的必修课。短而密集的研讨会将提供各种技术的实践培训，并将举行年度研讨会，并由外部专家进行项目审查。研究生和博士后培训的一个不同寻常和重要的方面将是强调开发新的方法。另一个是，各级学员将能够使用国家强磁场实验室独特的设施，该实验室的工作人员包括几名参与其中的教职员工。通过这个项目培训的学生应该对细胞结构和运动的重要生物学现象有批判性的理解，以及成功研究它们所需的强大的新生物物理技术。

This award supports a new, multidisciplinary research training program focused on the structural biology of macromolecular assemblies. A group of 15 faculty drawn from the Departments of Biological Science, Chemistry and Physics have developed a comprehensive and challenging program to train undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students in a wide range of state-of-the-art experimental and theoretical approaches to structure and function. Research areas to be emphasized include study of filamentous macromolecular assemblies responsible for membrane structure and cell structure and motility. Participating undergraduate students from Florida State University and Florida A& M will gain research experience during the academic year and summer term. Graduate students will complete a required set of new courses in macromolecular assembly structure, dynamics, and computational optimization. Short, intense workshops will provide hands-on training in a variety of techniques, and there will be an annual symposium coupled with a program review by external experts. An unusual and important aspect of the training at both graduate and postdoctoral levels will be an emphasis on development of new methodology. Another is that trainees at all levels will be able to use the unique facilities of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, whose staff includes several of the participating faculty. The students trained through this program are expected to have a critical understanding of important biological phenomena of cellular structure and motility, and of the powerful new biophysical techniques needed to investigate them successfully.