Structural Biology (SB)

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Project Summary/Abstract: Structural Biology Facility The overall goal of the Structural Biology (SB) Facility is to apply three-dimensional structural visualization techniques to the analysis of important cancer-related biological macromolecules. Such structural data can provide basic knowledge of disease mechanism and drive research. Atomic visualization of active sites and protein-protein interactions can direct the synthesis of novel therapeutics. The co-directors and staff of the SB Facility make access to these sophisticated, highly-technical biophysical methods easy for members of the cancer center. The SB Facility was initiated ten years ago, through funding from the Nebraska Research Initiative (NRI) and the Vice Chancellor for Research. The SB Facility has five complimentary laboratory components: Protein expression and purification (PrEP), crystal screening and growth (CSG), X-ray crystallography data collection, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data collection and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data collection. The PrEP component is a central part of the facility and prepares samples for CSG (and subsequently X-ray crystallography), SAXS and/or NMR. The SB Facility is run with a solid “collaborative” business plan that includes fees collected upon production of samples and/or use of the instrumentation, as well as, inclusion of costs in collaborative grant proposals. Data provided from the SB Facility has helped fund numerous external grant proposals including those from NIH, NSF and NASA. Numerous collaborative, peer-reviewed publications in cancer research as well as invited review articles have resulted from the SB Facility.