Operations and Maintenance Support: UBC Regional Structural Biology Facility

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Structural biology is a branch of the Life Sciences that seeks to provide atomic-level descriptions of the three-dimensional structures of biological molecules, including proteins, DNA, RNA and sugars. This structural information is critical for understanding the diverse functions of these biomolecules in living cells, and provides a "molecular blueprint" for applications spanning protein engineering to drug development. Modern structural biology is dependent upon three cornerstone technologies: nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy for investigating the structures and motions of small to medium sized biomolecues, X-ray crystallography for determining the highest resolution structures of a wide range of proteins, nucleic acids and carbohydrates, and cryo-electron microscopy for near atomic level characterization of very large macromolecular complexes. Each of these complementary technologies relies on access to sophisticated instrumentation and expert personnel in order to solve the most challenging problems of the Life Sciences. The goal of this application is to obtain funding to sustain the efficient on-going operation and maintenance of the UBC Regional Structural Biology Facility, including salaries for senior technical staff. Built over the past 25 years, this facility consists of a suite of high-field solution and solid-state NMR spectrometers, X-ray crystallography equipment with high-throughput crystallization robotics, and a soon to be installed cutting-edge cryo-electron microscope. Collectively, this instrumentation forms a unique scientific resource, available nowhere else in western Canada. Housed within the UBC Department of Chemistry and the Life Sciences Institute, the Structural Biology Facility is used extensively by many researchers and their trainees from the University of British Columbia (Vancouver and Okanogan), Simon Fraser University, the University of Victoria, and the University of Northern British Columbia, as well as by collaborators at regional research institutes. This instrumentation has enabled these research teams to make fundamental discoveries including, among many others, elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which proteins mediate cell signalling and development, designing enzymes that function under harsh conditions for biotechnological processes, and determining the chemical structures of bioactive natural products with anti-cancer and anti-bacterial properties. Hands-on access to NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography equipment, with guidance from senior technical staff, has provided valuable structural biology training to a large cohort of undergraduate and graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. Personnel with these skills are in high demand by the ever-growing Canadian biotechnology sector.