International Research Fellow Awards: Investigating the Structural Basis of Ligand-gated Ion Channel Opening and Desensitization

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9802304 Stowell The International Research Fellow Awards Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct three to twentyfour months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad. This award will support a twenty-one-month postdoctoral research visit by Dr. Michael H. B. Stowell to work with Dr. Nigel Unwin at MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England and with Dr. Yoshinori Fujiyoshi at Kyoto University on the investigation of the structural basis of ligand-gated ion channel opening and desensitization. This is supported jointly by the IRFAP and the U.S.-Japan Program. Specifically, they will be studying the structure of an acetylcholine receptor (AchR), which is a membrane protein/ ion channel, which functions as a transmitter in the brain which allows the transmission of neuronal signals so that we may perform such functions as walking and talking. Studying the structure of this receptor, is like looking at a blueprint for answering important biological and biophysical questions about the functioning of this protein. To do this, Dr. Stowell will use a liquid helium cooled electron microscope, developed by Dr. Fujiyoshi, a microscope thought to be the only one in the world sophisticated enough to do this research. He will use techniques devised by Dr. Unwin, helical crystal preparation and image analysis. ***