Past CSB News Articles


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Corey Seacrist receives Dean's Award for Exceptional Achievement in Graduate Studies

Corey Seacrist, of the Blind Lab, was an inaugural recipient of the new Dean's Award for Exceptional Achievement in Graduate Studies, which honors outstanding graduate students in the School of Medicine who are entering their 4th year of study. The award provides each student $5,000/year of stipend support for two years.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Research Spotlight: Hassane Mchaourab

CSB investigator Hassane Mchaourab and his lab have identified central structural-functional correlations of substrate and ion transport in a key MATE transporter. Read the PNAS paper.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Marilyn Holt - Dissertation Defense 7/31/2018

Marilyn Holt, of the Chazin Lab, presents: "Contribution to template priming from the human DNA primase [4Fe4S] cluster domain" on Tuesday, July 31, at 3:00pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Garrett Warren presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 7/17/2018

Garrett Warren, of the Eichman Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: “Conformational dynamics of the RecG replication fork remodeler” on Tuesday, July 17, at 12:20pm-1:10pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Carlos Lopez presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 7/3/2018

Dr. Carlos Lopez, Biochemistry, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: “A systems approach to study reaction flux and information flow in an allosteric regulation networks” on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:20pm-1:10pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Ray Blind & Zdravka Tzankova present MBTP/CSB Seminar on 6/26/2018

Dr. Ray Blind, Dept. of Medicine Diabetes Research Center, and Dr. Zdravka Tzankova, Sociology, present the RCR Special Session: "Can science and technology move too fast?" on Tuesday, June 26, at 12:20pm-1:10pm in 214 Light Hall. Please note the different location for this seminar.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Veronica Farmer presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 6/19/2018

Veronica Farmer, of the Zanic Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Investigating the role of the GTP hydrolysis rate in regulating microtubule dynamics" on Tuesday, June 19, at 12:20 - 1:10 pm in 202 Light Hall.

Please note the different location for this seminar.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Diana Chavez - Dissertation Defense 6/12/2018

Diana Chavez, of the Eichman Lab, presents: "Replication Fork Remodeling by Helicase-Like Transcription Factor" on Tuesday, June 12, at 2:00 pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Ian Setliff presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 5/15/2018

Ian Setliff, of the Georgiev Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Population-level Analysis of Antibody Responses to HIV-1 Infection" on Tuesday, May 15, at 12:20pm-1:10pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Tony Capra presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 4/24/2018

Dr. Tony Capra, Biological Sciences, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: “Integrating Structural Biology and Population Genetics to Enable Personalized Medicine” on Tuesday, April 24, at 12:20pm-1:10pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Brennica Marlow presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 4/17/2018

Brennica Marlow, of the Meiler Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: “Modelling cholesterol interactions with membrane proteins” on Tuesday, April 17 at 12:20pm-1:10pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Darwin Fu - Dissertation Defense 4/12/2018

Darwin Fu, of the Meiler Lab, presents: "Improving Protein-Small Molecule Structure Predictions with Ensemble Methods, or Using Computers to Guess How Tiny Things Fit Together" on Thursday, April 12, at 11:15am in 8380-B Medical Center East.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Steve Fesik expands partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim

CSB researcher Steve Fesik is launching a new partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim to discover and develop cancer therapies targeting MCL1. This is the third such partnership between the pharmaceutical giant and the Fesik lab. Congratulations!

Read the complete press release here.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Alyssa Rodriguez and Noah Bradley awarded NSF Research Fellowships

Alyssa Rodriguez and Noah Bradley, both of the Eichman Lab, have each been awarded a 2018 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship. Each student will receive funding for three years.

NSF received more than 12,000 applications from all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories. Alyssa and Noah were selected among a group of 2,000 diverse awardees from more than 443 institutions. Read the NSF press release here.

Congratulations, Alyssa and Noah!


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Tim Cover presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 4/3/2018

Dr. Tim Cover, Medicine and Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Helicobacter pylori toxins and protein secretion systems: structure, function and relevance to gastric cancer pathogenesis" on Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at 12:20pm-1:10pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

William Wan presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 3/27/2018

Former MBTP trainee Dr. William Wan, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Determining structures in complex environments using cryo-electron tomography" on Tuesday, March 27, at 12:20pm-1:10pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Adrian Olivares presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 3/6/2018

Dr. Adrian Olivares, Biochemistry, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "How cellular machines sense and use mechanical force for biochemical processes" on Tuesday, March 6, at 12:20pm-1:10pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

BRET Office presents MBTB/CSB Seminar on 2/27/2018

Representatives from the BRET Office presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "The ASPIRE program and BRET Office of Career Development: Professional development resources for trainees" on Tuesday, February 27, at 12:20pm-1:10pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Ann McDermott presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 2/20/2018

Student invited speaker Ann McDermott, Columbia University, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: “Protein Dynamics in Signaling NMR Studies of Ion Channels and Amyloids” on Tuesday, February 20, at 12:20pm-1:10pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Amanda Duran - Dissertation Defense 2/15/2018

Amanda Duran, of the Meiler Lab, presents: "Improving Membrane Protein Modeling and Design using Empirical Data" on Thursday, February 15, at 10:00 am in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Marija Zanic presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 2/6/2018

Marija Zanic, Cell & Developmental Biology, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Dynamic architecture of the microtubule cytoskeleton" on Tuesday, February 6, at 12:20pm-1:10pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Meredith Frazier receives Karpay Award

Congratulations to Meredith Frazier for being named the 2018 recipient of The Karpay Award in Structural Biology. “I am very honored to be recognized with the Karpay award,” Meredith said.

Meredith joined the Jackson Lab in 2014 and studies the AP4 vesicle coat, a non-clathrin coat that buds from the trans Golgi network. Her research mainly focuses on how the AP4 complex interacts with tepsin, its currently only known accessory protein. During the course of her graduate studies, she has collaborated with the Chazin, Graham and Creanza labs at Vanderbilt, the Borner group at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry and the Robinson group at the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research.

Meredith loves going to baseball games, live music and begging her friends to let her play with their dogs.

The Karpay Award was established in 2010 to honor the memory of Dr. Anne Karpay who died after a four-year battle with breast cancer. It recognizes one senior graduate student who is a well-rounded colleague and scientist, who is collaborative and collegial and who has performed exceptional research in the field of structural biology. Karpay exemplified each characteristic and demonstrated a passion for science, for friendship and for life.

“Although I never knew Anne,” said Meredith, “her work and her legacy have been very inspiring.”

Meredith presents “Along for the ride: structural and functional studies of AP4 and its accessory protein tepsin” on Tuesday, January 16, in 1220 MRB3 as part of the MBTP/CSB Seminar Series. The seminar begins at 12:30pm with a reception and award presentation to follow.

The Karpay Award is funded entirely by donations to an endowment managed through the Development Office of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Make a donation to the fund through the Giving to Vanderbilt website with a credit or debit card or through payroll deduction.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Axel Fischer - Dissertation Defense 1/10/2018

Axel Fischer, of the Meiler Lab, presents: "In silico prediction of protein structures and ensembles" on Wednesday, January 10, at 1:00pm in 202 LH.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Drew Kellum presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 12/19/2017

Drew Kellum, of the Stone Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Structural Studies into Discrimination of O6-Methylguanine from Guanine by the Oligonucleotide Probe ExBIM in Duplex DNA" on Tuesday, December 19, at 12:20pm-1:10pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Bill Martin - Dissertation Defense 12/15/2017

Bill Martin, of the Reiter and Egli Labs, presents: "RNA Recognition by the Histone Demethylase LSD1 and Proteinaceous RNaseP" on Friday, December 15, at 1:00pm in 208 Light Hall.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Borden Lacy elected AAAS fellow

Center for Structural Biology core faculty member Borden Lacy, Ph.D., has been elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Dr. Lacy, the Edward and Nancy Fody Chair in Pathology in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology and professor of biochemistry, is honored for contributions to the field of bacterial pathogenesis, particularly for the structures of bacterial toxins and the understanding of their interactions with the host.

Dr. Lacy is among fifteen Vanderbilt University researchers and 396 fellows nationwide to be distinguished by their peers this year. They will be recognized on Feb. 18 at the AAAS annual meeting in Chicago.

To see a complete list of the Vanderbilt University faculty selected and their achievements, read the full article online at the Reporter website.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Ivelin Georgiev presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 11/28/2017

Dr. Ivelin Georgiev, Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology, presents the RCR Special Session: "Patenting your work: process and challenges" on Tuesday, November 28, at 12:20pm-1:10pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Marilyn Holt presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 11/21/2017

Marilyn Holt, of the Chazin Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Optimus Primase: Investigating the transformations of primase during the catalytic cycle" on Tuesday, November 21, at 12:20pm-1:10pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Borden Lacy honored with endowed chair

Congratulations to CSB core faculty member Borden Lacy, Ph.D., on being named to an endowed chair. She and other faculty members were honored by Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Susan R. Wente during an October 23 celebration.

An endowed chair is the highest honor that a university can bestow upon its professors. Dr. Lacy was named the Edward and Nancy Fody Chair in Pathology.

To see a complete list of the faculty honored, read the full article in the Research News at Vanderbilt.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Eva Nogales presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 11/14/2017

Dr. Eva Nogales, University of California - Berkeley, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Cryo-EM in the Study of Structure, Dynamics and Interactions" on Tuesday, November 14, at 12:20-1:10pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Steven Damo spotlighted for contributions to Fisk University's scientific research

CSB member and Fisk University assistant professor Steven Damo, Ph.D., was recently featured on Nashville Public Radio as one of the institution’s rising research stars. Read the online article on the Nashville Public Radio website.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Yan Xia - Dissertation Defense

Yan Xia, of the Meiler Lab, presents: "Integrated Structural Biology for Understanding Membrane Proteins: A TSPO Story" on Wednesday, November 15, at 8:00 am in 202 Light Hall.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Matthew Tyska presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 10/3/2017

Dr. Matthew Tyska, Cell & Developmental Biology, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Building the brush border: shaping the cell surface with actin polymerization and adhesion" on Tuesday, October 3, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Piotr Sliz presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 9/26/2017

Dr. Piotr Sliz, Harvard Medical School, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "SBGrid: a computing environment for structural and computational biologists" on Tuesday, September 26, at 12:30pm-1:20 pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Marion Sauer presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 9/19/2017

Marion Sauer, of the Meiler Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Working towards hitting a moving target: Predicting glycoprotein intermediate backbone and sequence dynamics" on Tuesday, September 19, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Borden Lacy presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 9/5/2017

Dr. Borden Lacy, Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Structures and Functions of the Clostridium difficile toxins TcdA and TcdB" on Tuesday, September 5, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Lauren Salay presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 8/15/2017

Lauren Salay, of the Chazin Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Do the Fe-S cluster and charge transport through DNA have roles in template priming by DNA primase?" on Tuesday, August 15, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Darwin Fu presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 7/25/2017

Darwin Fu, of the Meiler Lab, presents the RCR Special Session: "#SciComm: Outreach in the age of social media" on Tuesday, July 25, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 512 Light Hall.

Please note the room change for this seminar.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Brett Collins presents the BioSci/CSB Seminar on 7/24/2017

Brett Collins, University of Queensland, presents: "The endosome at atomic resolution" at a special seminar sponsored by Biological Sciences & Center for Structural Biology on Monday, July 24, at 3:10 pm in 214 Light Hall.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB receives funding for TIPs intiative

Vanderbilt University has awarded funding to the Center for Structural Biology (CSB) Trans-Institutional Programs (TIPs) initiative: “A Reinvestment in Cryo-Electron Microscopy at Vanderbilt – VRA.” Initiative participants include CSB faculty and School of Medicine clinical faculty.

The project will reinvest in the CSB by acquiring a new microscope that will enable the laboratory to remain on the cutting-edge of research. The Titan Krios will replace an aging microscope that is insufficient to support the high-resolution cryo-EM needs of Vanderbilt faculty.

The 2017 awards market the midpoint of the $50 million TIPs initiative, launched by Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos in 2015, which serves as a foundation of the university’s Academic Strategic Plan. The awards also support projects and groups that collectively aim to answer big questions and address grand challenges.

Vanderbilt has a thriving group of highly productive researchers who share the goal of using molecular structure to understand cellular function, including 22 structural biology faculty experts in the CSB. These and many other investigators on campus are working on biologically compelling and structurally challenging problems that have become accessible to structural analysis as a result of the revolution in the capabilities of modern cryo-EM instrumentation.

TIPs awards are either Vanderbilt Initiative Awards (ViAs), seed grants that serve as incubators for exciting new ideas, or Vanderbilt Reinvestment Awards (VRAs), which are larger grants for existing initiatives, centers or institutes. The CSB initiative received a VRA award.

Collaborating CSB faculty include: Teru Nakagawa, Tina Iverson, Walter Chazin, Yi Ren, Borden Lacy, Brandt Eichman and Lauren Jackson.

To learn more about this and the other projects awarded funding, read the article online at Vanderbilt News.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Introduction to DEER Spectroscopy Workshop - 7/31/2017

Join us for the Introduction to DEER Spectroscopy Workshop on Monday, July 31, from 9:30am-5:00pm in 419-D Light Hall.

Double Electron-Electron Resonance (DEER) is a pulsed EPR technique capable of routinely measuring 20 to 60 Å distance distributions between spin labels, and distances over 100 Å have been measured. DEER is widely applicable in the studies of the structure and functional dynamics of proteins, other biomolecules and their complexes.

Topics include:
1. What is the DEER experiment?
2. What can I learn from doing DEER?
3. What is needed to do DEER?
4. Collecting optimal DEER data.
5. Analyzing DEER data.
6. Using DEER results to model structure/dynamics.

Instructors are Eric Hustedt and Richard Stein. If you have questions or plan to attend, please email Eric Hustedt.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Justin Marinko presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 7/18/2017

Justin Marinko, of the Sanders Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "There and Back Again a Proteins Tale: Function and Intracellular Trafficking of Peripheral Myelin Protein 22 (PMP22)" on Tuesday, July 18, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Chrystal Starbird - Dissertation Defense 7/17/2017

Chrystal Starbird, of the Iverson Lab, presents: "Structural insights into the role of assembly factors in the assembly, function and flavinylation of Complex II" on Monday, July 17, at 11:00 am in 206 Preston Research Building.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Ray Blind presents MBTB/CSB Seminar on 7/11/2017

Dr. Ray Blind, Department of Medicine, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Crystal structure of the human IPMK orthologue: implications for drug design and gene regulation" on Tuesday, July 11, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Research Spotlight - Walter Chazin

CSB Researcher Walter Chazin, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow Aaron Ehlinger, Ph.D., and colleagues have shown that an ancient primase polymerase – PrimPol – helps replicate DNA from cell to cell where there is damage to DNA.

The study, published in Nature Communications, demonstrate that PrimPol is recruited to reprime DNA synthesis through its interaction with the essential single-stranded DNA binding Replication Protein A (RPA). The findings provide significant molecular insights into PrimPol’s role in restarting stalled replication forks.

Read the more online in Research News@Vanderbilt.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Joe Alvin - Dissertation Defense 6/22/2017

Joe Alvin, of the Lacy Lab, presents: "Structural and functional studies of large clostridial toxin glucosyltransferase domains" on Thursday, June 22, at 10:00am in 206 Preston Research Building.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Cheryl Law presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 6/20/2017

Cheryl Law, of the Sanders Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Structural studies of triple mutant KCNE1TVG" on Tuesday, June 20, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Steffen Lindert presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar on 6/13/2017

Dr. Steffen Lindert, Ohio State University, presents the MBTP/CSB Special Seminar: "CryoEM-Guided Iterative Molecular Dynamics – Rosetta Protein Structure Refinement Protocol Improves Protein Model Quality" on Tuesday, June 13, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB researchers honored as emeriti faculty

Congratulations to CSB Researchers Al Beth and Paul Bock on being honored with the emeritus title. Drs. Beth and Bock were among the thirty-two retiring faculty members to be recognized during Vanderbilt's Commencement ceremony on May 12.

Both have an extensive record of service mentoring graduate students and postdoctoral fellows as well as an active involvement in graduate education. To read more about their contributions to science and to Vanderbilt University, click here.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Puck Ohi presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 6/6/2017

Dr. Ryoma "Puck" Ohi, Cell & Developmental Biology, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Mitotic Spindle Assembly in Animal Cells" on Tuesday, June 6, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Elwood Mullins receives VICC Award

Congratulations to Elwood Mullins, of the Eichman Lab, on being named the VICC Postdoctoral Fellow of the Year.

The Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) recently held its annual scientific retreat presenting the topic “Cancer Epigenetics – From Mechanisms to Therapies.” The event featured guest speakers from various academic medical centers and research laboratories, as well as a poster presentation session featuring research from more than 100 VICC investigators. Elwood was recognized for his work during the event.

Read the story online.

Congratulations, Elwood!


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Marija Zanic presents MBTP/CSB Seminar 05/23/2017

Dr. Marija Zanic, Cell & Developmental Biology, presents the RCR Special Session: "Lab Dynamics" on Tuesday, May 23, at 12:30-pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Joe Alvin presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 5/16/2017

Joe Alvin, of the Lacy Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: “A Structural Analysis of Glucosyltransferases Domains in Large Clostridial Toxins” on Tuesday, May 16, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Lauren Jackson presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 5/9/2017

Dr. Lauren Jackson, Biological Sciences, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Molecular mechanisms of coat assembly & regulation in membrane trafficking" on Tuesday, May 9, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Research Spotlight - Brandt Eichman

CSB Researcher Brandt Eichman, Ph.D., and colleagues have discovered a structure of a novel DNA glycosylase that can repair DNA cross-links.

The findings, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shed light on fundamental mechanisms of DNA repair, which have implications for cancer therapeutics and bacteria-host pathogenesis.

Read the more online in Research News@Vanderbilt.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Nicole Perry receives P.E.O. Scholar Award

Congratulations to Nicole Perry, of the Iverson Lab, on receiving a P.E.O. Scholar Award from the P.E.O. Sisterhood, a philanthropic organization based in Des Moines, Iowa. She was sponsored by the P.E.O International Chapter AU in Maryville, Tennessee and is one of 100 doctoral students to receive an award this year.

P.E.O. Scholar Awards provide support for study and research for women in the United States and Canada who are pursuing a doctoral-level degree at accredited college or university. The P.E.O. Sisterhood was founded in 1869 at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.

Congratulations, Nicole!


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Research Spotlight - Teru Nakagawa and Chuck Sanders

CSB Researcher Teru Nakagawa, Ph.D., has received a two-year Brain and Behavior Research Foundation grant to continue his studies of the molecular keystones of autism and other brain disorders. He is one of 40 scientists to receive 2017 NARSAD Independent Investigator grants from the foundation formerly known as the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression.

The NARSAD grant will support studies of GSG1L, a membrane protein and component of the AMPA receptor that was discovered in Dr. Nakagawa’s laboratory in 2012, and which has been linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). His research may lead to the development of novel drugs to treat ASD and other brain disorders.

Read the complete article online at VUMC Reporter site.





CSB Investigator Chuck Sanders, Ph.D., and former Vanderbilt graduate student, Catherine Deatherage, Ph.D., are leading a research team to solve the molecular structure of the corresponding region of Notch protein, to look for differences that might guide the development of selective inhibitors of gamma-secretase action.

Their research, reported in Science Advances, suggests that the way the Notch region is shaped and the way it interacts with the membrane is distinctly different from APP and, in contrast to APP, the Notch region does not bind cholesterol. The findings provide hope that it might be possible to develop compounds that selectively interact with either of the proteins and/or with gamma-secretase in a way that inhibits the APP pathway but leaves the Notch pathway alone.

Deatherage is now a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University. Other Vanderbilt investigators who contributed to the research included Zhenwei Lu, Ph.D., Brett Kroncke, Ph.D., Sirui Ma, Jarrod Smith, Ph.D., and Markus Voehler, Ph.D.

Read the complete article online at VUMC Reporter site.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Amanda Duran presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 5/2/2017

Amanda Duran, of the Meiler Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Computational prediction of membrane protein stability and design" on Tuesday, May 2, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Mona Minkara presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 4/25/2017

Dr. Mona Minkara, University of Minnesota, presents the special MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Molecular Simulation Studies Aiding Drug Design and Delivery" on Tuesday, April 25, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Megan Dumas presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 4/18/2017

Megan Dumas, of the Ryoma Ohi Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Target Based Screen to Identify Inhibitors of the Mitotic Kinesin Kif15" on Tuesday, April 18, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Ivelin Georgiev presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 4/4/2017

Dr. Ivelin Georgiev, Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Neutralization fingerprinting analysis of polyclonal antibody responses to HIV-1 infection" on Tuesday, April 4, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Ben Spiller presents MBTP/CSB RCR Seminar on 3/28/2017

Dr. Ben Spiller, Pharmacology, presents the RCR Special Session: "When Do Errors Become Fraud?" on Tuesday, March 28, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Brennica Marlow Awarded NSF Fellowship

Congratulations to Brennica Marlow, of the Meiler Lab, on receiving a prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship for her research on Cholesterol Membrane Protein Interactions.

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based Master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions.

Congratulations, Brennica!


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Research Spotlight - Brandt Eichman

CSB Researcher Brandt Eichman, Ph.D., has been featured as a “Member Tale” as part of the SBGrid Consortium. Read more about his lab’s work on DNA remodeling done by the replication machinery and damage tolerance proteins as well as the discovery of novel glycosylases in bacteria, which could reveal new genotoxic agents with therapeutic value.

Read the complete article online at the SBGrid Consortium site.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Ben Spiller presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 2/7/2017

Dr. Ben Spiller, Pharmacology, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Antibody Neutralization of Influenza H5 and variants" on Tuesday, March 7, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Special Seminar in Structural Biology - 02/14/2017

Dr. Stefan Raunser, Max Planck Institute of Moleuclar Physiology, presents the special seminar: "Structural Insights into Tc toxin action" on Tuesday, February 14, at 3:00pm-4:00pm in 1220 MRB3. This Special Seminar in Structural Biology is co-sponsored by Center for Structural Biology and Department of Cell & Developmental Biology.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Carlos Lopez presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 1/31/2017

Dr. Carlos Lopes, Cancer Biology, presents the RCR Special Session: "Why good scientists do bad things" on Tuesday, January 31, at 12:30pm-1:20 pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Norie Sugitani presents Karpay Lecture at MBTP/CSB Seminar on 1/17/2017

Congratulations to Norie Sugitani for being named the 2017 recipient of The Karpay Award in Structural Biology. "I am very thankful and honored to receive the Karpay Award," Norie said.

Norie is a member of the Chazin Lab and is investigating the primary pathway for the repair of the resulting DNA lesions, nucleotide excision repair. She chose this research because of her lifelong dream of being an astronaut and one of the major health challenges facing astronauts is high exposure to radiation from the sun. Her research has led to collaborations with the labs of Tony Capra at Vanderbilt, Orlando Scharer at Cold Spring Harbor and Zachary Nagel at Harvard University.

Norie's aspirations of traveling to space began at an early age in her home in Western Japan. The chose to attend the University of Alabama - Huntsville (UAH) because of its close connections to NASA and space science. There, she began the scientific training required to become a payload scientist and honed her English skills. She eventually found a home in structural biology and earned her B.S. in Biology. After completing her degree, she came to Vanderbilt to work as a research assistant in the Chazin Lab and eventually joined the Chemistry graduate program. She later joined the Chazin Lab for her thesis research.

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with friends and her husband, baking, going to jazz concerts and star gazing.

Norie presents "Scaffolding branches: XPA in DNA repair and graduate school survival" on Tuesday, January 17, in 1220 MRB3 as part of the MBTP/CSB Seminar series. The seminar begins at 12:30pm with a reception and award presentation to follow.

"Although I didn't get the opportunity to meet Dr. Karpay in person," said Norie. "Learning about her through her friends and all the previous award talks has been definitely inspiring for me as a graduate student."

The Karpay Award, established in 2010 to honor the memory of Dr. Anne Karpay, recognizes one senior graduate student who is a well-rounded colleague and scientist, who is collaborative and collegial and who has performed exceptional research in the field of structural biology. Dr. Karpay exemplified each characteristic and demonstrated a passion for science, friendship and life in general.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Terry Lybrand presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar on 1/10/2017

Dr. Terry Lybrand, Chemistry, presents the MBTP/CSB SEminar: "Oligonucleotide aptamers for therapeutic and biotechnology applications: Challenges and possibilities" on Tuesday, January 10, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Teru Nakagawa presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 11/29/2016

Dr. Teru Nakagawa, Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, presents the RCR Special Session: "Tips on incorporating new approaches into your research" on Tuesday, November 29, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Research Spotlight: Ray Blind

CSB Researcher Ray Blind, Ph.D., has received a two-year V Foundation grant to examine how proteins induce cancerous tumors to grow. The research could enable the development of new therapies for liver cancer patients and help physicians determine which drugs might work best for individual patients.

Read the complete article online at VUMC Reporter site.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Research Spotlight: Chuck Sanders

CSB Investigator Chuck Sanders, Ph.D., is leading a research team to come up with the first detailed molecular explanation for a factor that may contribute to the so-called cystic fibrosis (CF) “gender gap.”

The researchers believe their findings, which were published in Science Advances, an offshoot of Science magazine, may lead to improved treatments for CF.

Read the complete article online at VUMC Reporter site.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Ben Kesler presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 11/15/2016

Ben Kesler, of the Neuert Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar:"Investigating the Dynamics of X-Chromosome Inactivation in Single Cells" on Tuesday, November 15, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Brandt Eichman presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 11/1/2016

Dr. Brandt Eichman, Biological Sciences, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Structural adventures in the repair of DNA damage from anti-microbial alkylating agents" on Tuesday, November 1, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Tasia Pyburn presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 10/18/2016

Tasia Pyburn, of the Mel Ohi Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Structural studies of the Helicobacter pylori pore-forming toxin VacA" on Tuesday, October 18, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB Poster Winner at Personalized Medicine Day

Congratulations to Jonathan Sheehan and his team for placing 3rd in the poster presentation at Personalized Medicine Day on Friday, September 23. The team's presentation was titled "Program in Personalized Structural Biology at Vanderbilt University."


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Chuck Sanders presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 9/27/2016

Dr. Chuck Sanders, Biochemistry, presents the RCR Special Session: "Navigating Letters of Reference ... By You and About You" on Tuesday, September 27, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Karpay Award in Structural Biology - Call for nominations

The Karpay Award Committee is now soliciting applications for the 2017 Karpay Award. This award was established in 2010 to commemorate Dr. Anne Karpay, whose studies were focused on membrane protein structural biology under the guidance of Professors Chuck Sanders and Tina Iverson. Her career ended prematurely following a 4-year battle with breast cancer, which claimed her in 2008. Click here to learn more about Dr. Anne Karpay and this award.

Detailed instructions for the application process can be found on the Karpay Award web page, but in brief should consist of the following documents:

1) A cover page, completed by the applicant
2) A 2 page description of current research
3) A 1 page description of future goals
4) A current curriculum vitae
5) A letter from the PhD advisor that emphasizes activities that identifies strengths of the students, from perspectives of scientific achievements and their relationship to the Molecular Biophysics community

Past winners of the Karpay Award include:

• Yoana Dimitrova (2011, Chazin lab)
• Chris Brosey (2012, Chazin lab)
• Paul Barrett (2013, Sanders lab)
• Nicole Chumbler (2014, Lacy lab)
• Kathleen Mittendorf (2015, Sanders lab)
• Qiuyan Chen (2016, Iverson/Gurevich labs)

The awardee will be chosen based on his/her scientific accomplishments in the area of structural biology, and the nature of his/her future aspirations. It is equally important that the awardee is a well-rounded colleague, who is collegial and collaborative, traits that defined Dr. Anne Karpay. A $1,500 honorarium accompanies the award, which is contingent upon the winner giving the first MBTP seminar in January when the award will be presented.

Applications will be accepted until 5 PM, October 15, 2016. Decisions on the awardee will be made prior to November 15, and the award itself will be presented on January 17, 2017.

Please send complete application materials to Karen D. Davis.

We wish all the applicants the best of luck in competing for this Award, which has become an important tradition of the Vanderbilt Structural Biology community.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Teru Nakagawa presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 9/6/2016

Dr. Teru Nakagawa, Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Ionotropic glutamate receptors: synaptic function and mechanism of modulation" on Tuesday, September 6, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Stephanie Bamberger presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 8/16/2016

Stephanie Bamberger, of the Stone Lab, presents the seminar: "Characterization of the 2,6-Diamino-4-hydroxy-N5-(methyl)-formamidopyrimidine DNA Lesion" on Tuesday, August 8, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Gregor Neuert presents MBTP/CSB RCR Special Session on 7/26/2016

Dr. Gregor Neuert, Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, presents the RCR Special Session: "Data Acquisition and Management" on Tuesday, July 26, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Meredith Frazier presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 7/19/2016

Meredith Frazier, of the Jackson Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Adaptor protein complex 4 and its binding partner tepsin" on Tuesday, July 19, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Katie Winarski - Dissertation Defense 7/15/2016

Katie Winarski, of the Spiller Lab, presents: "Analysis of a Vaccine-Elicited Anti-H5N1 Antibody and its Unmutated Common Ancestor" on Friday, July 15, at 2:00 pm in C2303 MCN.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Jens Meiler presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 7/5/2016

Jens Meiler, Chemistry, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Computational Design of Antibodies Targeting HIV" on Tuesday, July 5, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Caleigh Azumaya presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 6/21/2016

Caliegh Azumaya, of the Nakagawa Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "AMPAR auxiliary subunit interactions" on Tuesday, June 21, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Lauren Jackson named Pew Scholar

Congratulations to CSB faculty member Lauren Jackson on being named a 2016 Pew Scholar by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Lauren received the honor for her work in cell and structural biology the biomedical sciences.

Her research focuses on the molecular systems that direct the trafficking of cargo such as proteins and fatty lipid molecules around the inside of a cell. Vesicles covered with coat proteins carry out the trafficking and determine where they will be taken. Lauren investigates the lesser-known coat proteins to determine how they assemble, recognize cargo and direct the material to the correct destination, which could lead to novel treatments for neurodegenerative and neurological disorders as they relate to molecule trafficking in nerve cells.

Lauren will receive four years of flexible funding to pursue research and becomes part of a committed community of scientists dedicated to collaboration and mentorship.

Read the press release here, and Lauren’s abstract here.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

John York presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 6/7/2016

Dr. John York, Biochemistry Department Chair, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Inositol Phosphates act as Structural Cofactors to Regulate Biological Processes" on Tuesday, June 7, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Lauren Jackson presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 5/24/2016

Dr. Lauren Parker Jackson, Biological Sciences, presents the RCR Special Session: "Lessons on conduct from consulting and academia, or, 'There, and Back Again'" on Tuesday, May 24, at 12:30pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Eva Harth presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 5/17/2016

Dr. Eva Harth, Chemistry, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Matrices for the Delivery of Proteins and Small Molecule Therapeutics" on Tuesday, May 17, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Special Seminar hosted by Mchaourab & Meiler Labs on 5/10/2016

Dr. Jose Faraldo-Gomez, National Institute of Health, presents the special seminar: "Rationalizing Strict Coupling in Ion-driven Membrane Transport Through Free-Energy Landscapes" on Tuesday, May 10, at 12:00pm-1:00pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Diana Chavez presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 5/3/2016

Diana A. Chavez, of the Eichman Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Characterization of the HIRAN domain in HLTF DNA Damage Tolerance" on Tuesday, May 3, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Mary Keithly - Dissertation Defense 4/26/2016

Mary Keithly, of the Armstrong Lab, presents: "Structure, Substrate Selectivity, and Catalytic Mechanism of the Fosfomycin Resistance Enzyme, FosB, from Gram-Positive Pathogens" on Tuesday, April 26, at 3:00pm in 206 PRB.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Brandt Eichman and Puck Ohi present MBTP/CSB Seminar on 4/26/2016

Dr. Brandt Eichman, Biological Sciences, and Dr. Ryoma "Puck" Ohi present the RCR Special Session: "Tips for Navigating Scientific Conferences" on Tuesday, April 26, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Julie Forman-Kay presents MBTP/CSB Seminar 4/19/2016

Dr. Julie Forman-Kay, University of Toronto and Hospital for Sick Children, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Dynamic interactions of disordered proteins in biological regulation and cellular organization" on Tuesday, April 19, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Research Spotlight - Jens Meiler

CSB Researcher Jens Meiler, Ph.D., and Vanderbilt colleague James Crowe, Jr., M.D. led a study isolating antibodies that binds tightly to HIV and disables it – even in people not infected by the virus.

The findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest it might be possible to use a structure-based vaccine design approach to induce neutralizing antibodies against HIV in people who have not previously been exposed to the virus.

The research demonstrates an increased chance that a large proportion of the vaccinated population could respond to HIV with a broad and potent antibody response.

Read the complete article online at Research News @ Vanderbilt.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Mike Stone presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 04/05/2016

Dr. Mike Stone, Chemistry, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar on Tuesday, April 5, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Heidi Hamm presnts MBTP/CSB Seminar on 3/22/2016

Dr. Heidi Hamm, Pharmacology, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Mechanisms of receptor-mediated G protein activation" on Tuesday, March 22, at 12:30pm-1:30pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Catherine Deatherage - Dissertation Defense 3/17/2016

Catherine Deatherage, of the Sanders Lab, presents "Comparative Biochemical and Structural Analysis of Alzheimer's Disease Related to Proteins" Thursday, March 17, at 3:00pm in 206 Preston Research Building.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Daniel Putnam - Dissertation Defense 3/17/2016

Daniel Putnam, of the Meiler Lab, presents "BCL::SAS - Small Angle X-Ray/Neutron Scattering Profiles to Assist Protein Structure Prediction" Thursday, March 17, at 2:15pm in 512 Light Hall.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Axel Fischer presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 3/15/2016

Axel Fischer, of the Meiler Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Prediction of protein structure from limited experimental data" on Tuesday, March 15, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Michelle LaFrance - Dissertation Defense 3/7/2016

Michelle LaFrance, of the Lacy Lab, presents "Identification of Host Factors Including an Epithelial Cell Receptor Responsible for Clostridium difficile TcdB-Induced Cytotoxity" Monday, March 7, at 2:00 pm in 206 PRB.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Bill Martin presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 2/23/2016

Bill Martin, of the Reiter Lab, presents "ncRNA and Epigenetics: The Regulation of a Histone Demethylase by Structured RNAs" on Tuesday, February 23, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Research Spotlight: Hassane Mchaourab and Jens Meiler

CSB Researchers Hassane Mchaourab, Ph.D., Jens Meiler, Ph.D., and colleagues report the dynamics of a drug resistance transporter in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Antibiotic resistance impedes treatment of bacterial infections, and contributing to this resistance are proteins, such as the Escherichia coli EmrE transporter.

The research team combined double electron-electron resonance spectroscopy and molecular modeling to explore EmrE dynamics, noting that EmrE assumes different shapes when it binds a proton, a substrate or neither. The structural model of transport offers a novel perspective on proton-coupled multidrug transport.

Read the complete article online at Research News @ Vanderbilt.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Irina Kaverina presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 2/2/2016

Dr. Irina Kaverina, Cell & Developmental Biology, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "A new function of Golgi-derived microtubules: revisiting insulin secretion” on Tuesday, February 2, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Melanie Ohi presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 1/26/2016

Dr. Melanie Ohi, Cell & Developmental Biology, presents the RCR Special Session: "Who owns your time?" on Tuesday, January 26, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Karpay Award Recipient Qiuyan Chen presents MBTP/CSB Seminar 1/19/2016

2016 Karpay Award Winner Qiuyan Chen, of the Iverson & Gurevich labs, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Arrestin activation? Just press the right buttons" on Tuesday, January 19, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3. Reception to follow.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Walter Chazin presents MBTP/CSB Seminar 1/5/2016

Dr. Walter Chazin, Director, Molecular Biophysics Training Program, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Mechanisms of action of RPA and DNA primase in the initiation of genome duplication" on Tuesday, January 5, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Darwin Fu presents MBTP/CSB Seminar 12/15/2015

Darwin Fu, Meiler Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "A Murder of Molecules and a Gaggle of GPCRs" on Tuesday, December 15, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Kevin Jagessar presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 11/17/2015

Kevin Jagessar, of the Mchaourab Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Dynamics of H+/Drug Antiport in an Archaeal MATE Transporter" on Tuesday, November 17, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB Researcher discovers new class of DNA repair enzyme

CSB Researcher Brandt Eichman, Ph.D., and colleagues have discovered a new class of DNA repair enzyme. Their findings, reported online in the journal Nature, define a new a new type of DNA glycosylase.

DNA glycosylases were discovered by Tomas Lindahl, who received this year’s Nobel Prize for recognizing that these enzymes removed damaged DNA bases through a process called base-excision repair, the first of about 10 different DNA repair pathways biologists have identified to date.

In base-excision repair, a specific glycosylase molecule binds to DNA at the location of a lesion and causes the damaged base to flip from the inside of the helix to the outside.

The Vanderbilt research shows that a glycosylase called AlkD found in Bacillus cereus does not require base flipping to recognize damaged DNA or repair it. The discovery illustrates that a much broader range of DNA damage can be repaired or removed in ways not previously thought possible.

Read the complete article online at Research News @ Vanderbilt. Find more information in Nature News & Views.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Jens Meiler wins Bessel Research Award

Congratulations to CSB core faculty member Jens Meiler, Ph.D., on receiving a Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award from the Humboldt Foundation.

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, which is located in Bonn, Germany, awards this prestigious honor to nominated scientists based on outstanding research accomplishments and exceptional promise for the future. In addition to a monetary prize, award winners are invited to spend a period of up to one year collaborating on a long-term research project with colleagues at Leipzig University in Germany.

Dr. Meiler, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Associate Professor of Pharmacology, was recognized for his international renown as a scientist and his cutting-edge research record in the field of structural biology. In collaboration with researchers from Leipzig University and colleagues here at Vanderbilt University he researches G-Protein Coupled Receptors, an important class of sensor molecules that are often targeted by therapeutics. Leipzig Professor Annette Beck-Sickinger nominated Dr. Meiler for this award.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Jens Meiler presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 10/27/2015

Jens Meiler, Chemistry, presents the RCR Special Session: “Have a nice weekend, see you tomorrow – OR – A Ph.D. is a bridge to wherever you decide to go!" on Tuesday, October 27, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Joe Alvin presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 10/20/2015

Joe Alvin, of the Lacy Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Structural investigation of C. difficile toxin glucosyltransferases" on Tuesday, October 20, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Qiuyan Chen - Disseration Defense 10/1/2015

Qiuyan Chen, Iverson and Gurevich Labs, presents: "Structural Basis of Arrestin Mediated GPCR Signaling" on Thursday, October 1, at 1:00 pm in 206 PRB.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Qiuyan Chen receives Karpay Award

Congratulations to Qiuyan Chen on being named the 2016 recipient of The Anne Karpay Award in Structural Biology. “It is a tremendous honor for me to be chosen as the receipt of this year's Karpay Award,” Qiuyan said.

Qiuyan joined the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in 2010 after receiving her BA in Biotechnology from Tongii University in Shanghai, China. She is co-mentored by Dr. Tina Iverson and Dr. Seva Gurevich in the Department of Pharmacology and focuses her work on the structural basis of arrestin mediated G protein coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling.

She has also collaborated with the Sanders Lab at Vanderbilt University, the Hubbel Lab at UCLA, the Klug Lab at Medical College of Wisconsin and the Dalby Lab at UT-Austin, using NMR, EPR, crystallography and other various techniques to look at arrestin dynamics.

Qiuyan will present the MBTP/CSB Seminar on January 19, 2016, at which time she will also receive her award.

Outside the lab, Qiuyan enjoys outdoor exercises and traveling.

The Karpay Award was established in 2010 to honor the memory of Dr. Anne Karpay who died after a four-year battle with breast cancer. It recognizes one senior graduate student who is a well-rounded colleague and scientist, who is collaborative and collegial and who has performed exceptional research in the field of structural biology. Karpay exemplified each characteristic and demonstrated a passion for science, for friendship and for life.

The Karpay Award is funded entirely by donations to an endowment managed through the Development Office of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Make donations to the fund through the Giving to Vanderbilt website. Contact Karen D. Davis in the CSB for more information or assistance in making a donation.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Hassane Mchaourab presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 10/6/15

Dr. Hassane Mchaourab, Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Principles of Alternating Access by Active Transporters" on Tuesday, October 6, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Walter Chazin named Biophysical Society Fellow

Center for Structural Biology Director Walter Chazin, Ph.D., has been named as a 2016 Society Fellow of the Biophysical Society. The award honors the Society’s distinguished members who have demonstrated sustained scientific excellence.

Dr. Chazin, professor of Biochemistry, is recognized for his pioneering work using NMR and other biophysical techniques to relate the structure and dynamics of proteins to their biological function in processes ranging from calcium sensing to DNA repair.

He and the eight other Fellows named this year will be honored at the Award Ceremony during the Biophysical Society’s 60th Annual Meeting on February 29, 2016 in Los Angeles.

For more information on this award, the Society or the 2016 Annual Meeting, visit the Biophysical Society website.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Sophia Gayek presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 8/25/2015

Sophia Gayek, of the Puck Ohi Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "The Source of Bipolar Disorders During Mitosis" on Tuesday, August 25, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Laurence Zwiebel presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 8/18/2015

Dr. Laurence Zwiebel, Biological Sciences, presents the RCR Special Session: "An RCR Case Study: Responding to a Questionable Publication" on Tuesday, August 18, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.

Attendees are asked to read these articles prior to the seminar:


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Chuck Sanders named interim journal editor

CSB Investigator Chuck Sanders, Ph.D., has been named interim editor of the journal Biochemistry. His appointment follows the death of CSB colleague Richard Armstrong, Ph.D., professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry, who had served as the journal’s editor-in-chief since 2004.

Biochemistry is an eminent journal for publishing research articles about the molecular structure, mechanisms and interactions of important biological molecules. Dr. Sanders, who has served as an associate editor of the journal, joins a distinguished group as only three individuals have served as editor in its 55-year history. He will serve as interim editor until a new editor-in-chief is named.

Dr. Sanders is professor of Biochemistry and Medicine and the Aileen M. Lange and Annie Mary Lyle Professor of Cardiovascular Research. Read more about his appointment in The Reporter.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Anne Kenworthy presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 8/4/2015

Dr. Anne Kenworthy, Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Impact of novel disease-associated mutations on caveolae assembly and function" on Tuesday, August 4, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Research Spotlight - Stephen Fesik

CSB Researcher Stephen Fesik, Ph.D., was recently highlighted in ACS Chemical Research in Toxicology for his research involving the antiapoptotic protein myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1).

Dr. Fesik led a team to identify small molecule inhibitors that bind Mcl-1, which is overexpressed and amplified in many human cancers. Mcl-1 is also associated with poor survival, as it allows cancer cells to evade apoptosis and is implicated in chemotherapy resistance.

The findings, published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, report that C-ring modifications can enhance Mcl-1 interactions and improve binding affinity, as can substituting methyl groups at R1 or R2 positions.

Although there are currently no available therapies that selectively target Mcl-1, the compounds that successfully neutralize it can potentially restore successful regulation of apoptosis and enhance responses to cancer treatment.

Read the review in ACS Chemical Research in Toxicology.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Research Spotlight - Brandt Eichman

CSB Researcher Brandt Eichman, Ph.D., and graduate student Diana Chavez, working in collaboration with a research team at Stanford University, have discovered how the protein HLTF (helicase-like transcription factor) recognizes and remodels stalled replication “forks.” Their findings, published in Molecular Cell, shed light on processes that help cells tolerate DNA damage and have implications for cancer therapies that target DNA replication and repair.

Although a fundamental process in biology, DNA replication isn’t fully understood and doesn’t always proceed smoothly. DNA damage and other problems can cause the proteins that copy DNA to stall, leading to mutations and possibly cancer or other diseases. The HLTF remodeling ensures that DNA is copied if fork-stalling lesions are present.

Understanding how cells tolerate and repair DNA damage has implications for cancer therapies. HLTF and other proteins like it may also be targets for new cancer therapies as well.

Read the complete article online at Research News @ Vanderbilt.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Catherine Deatherage wins Cunningham Award

Congratulations to Catherine Deatherage, of the Sanders Lab, on winning the 2015 Leon W. Cunningham Award for Excellence in Biochemistry. Catherine presented “C99, and GSAP, and Notch, Oh My!: Structural and Biophysical Characterization of Alzheimer's Disease Related Proteins” as part of the award presentation on June 10.

The award is given annually and recognizes a third-year student in the Biochemistry Graduate Student Program who shares Dr. Cunningham’s commitment to excellence in scientific discovery. The recipient is selected by a committee of faculty members based on outstanding accomplishment in biochemistry.

“Catherine is a most deserving student,” said PI Chuck Sanders. “She continually strives for and achieves excellence in her research.”

Catherine’s research focuses on the structural and biophysical characterization of the essential transmembrane protein Notch1, but she has also worked on other Alzheimer’s disease related proteins. Once she obtains her Ph.D., she plans to further her skill set with a post-doctoral appointment and hopes to ultimately work in industry.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Marilyn Holt presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 7/21/2015

Marilyn Holt, of the Chazin Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Cracking the Case of a Molecular Calculator: Primase and DNA Charge Transport" on Tuesday, July 21, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Kate Mittendorf - Dissertation Defense 7/8/2015

Kate Mittendorf, of the Sanders Lab, presents "The Interactions of Two Disease-Linked Membrane Proteins with Their Bilayer Milieu" on Wednesday, July 8, at 1:00 pm in 206 PRB.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Dylan Burnette presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 6/30/2015

Dr. Dylan Burnette, Cell & Developmental Biology, presents the RCR Special Session:"TO CATCH A FORGER: Practical Methods for Detecting Scientific Image Manipulation" on Tuesday, June 30, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Karpay Award: Call for Applications

We are now accepting applications for the 2016 Karpay Award. As a reminder to the molecular biophysics community, the Karpay Award was established in 2010 in the memory of Dr. Anne Karpay and recognizes one senior graduate student each year in the area of structural biology (broadly defined). A $1500 honorarium accompanies the award, which is contingent upon the winner giving the first MBTP seminar in January when the award will be presented. Please visit the Karpay Award webpage to learn more about Dr. Anne Karpay and this award.

Applications will be accepted until 5 PM on the September 21 deadline. Decisions on the awardee will be announced sometime in October, and the award itself will be presented on Jan 19th, 2016. Download the 2016 Karpay application instructions.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Passing of Richard Armstrong

Below you can find the formal announcement from the Department of Biochemistry of the passing of our colleague Richard Armstrong earlier this week. The CSB, of which Richard was a Core Faculty member, joins the Department in mourning the loss of our colleague.

As noted by Dr. York, Richard played a number of important roles within the institution. I will highlight here just one, selected because it is in my eyes a shining example. I am referring to the invaluable role he has played for many years in educating our first year IGP students as they begin their formal didactic training, i.e in teaching the very first part of their first semester course that is now called Bioregulation. Among his many contributions, this stands out to me because he was crystal clear that this teaching was in no way a burden, but rather a responsibility that he must take on. He was driven to provide all of our students the key underpinning for understanding all that was to come in their biomedical research training because it was what every student needed and it had to be done right. And as a consummate biochemist there was no one more qualified. I am grateful to Richard for showing true leadership in his absolutely characteristic 'roll up his sleeves and get it done' manner, and reflect upon the hundreds and hundreds of students he touched at this critical moment in launching their graduate careers.

While mourning his passing I urge you to also celebrate Richard Armstrong's life and many achievements.

Walter Chazin

***********************************************
Dear Colleagues and Friends: It is with great sadness that I share news of the passing of Richard Armstrong, Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry. Richard served as Editor-in-chief for the journal Biochemistry and held a Foreign Adjunct Professorship at the Karolinska Institutet.

Richard made tremendous contributions to both science and education since arriving at Vanderbilt in 1995. His research focused on how enzymes detoxify foreign molecules including drugs, toxins and chemicals. Taking a multipronged chemical, structural and molecular approach, his work illuminates how these enzymes execute this incredibly important task, which is essential for surviving chemical assaults. Among many honors and recognitions, Richard was elected as a Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Chemical Society and won both the ACS Repligen Award and Vanderbilt Stanley Cohen Award. Richard was also a 2014 Arthur C. Cope Scholar. As a teacher, scholar and advisor, Richard’s efforts stood among the very best. Guiding students through the rigors of Chemistry and Biochemistry, he emphasized fundamentals through his numerous lectures each year across the campus. He selflessly served the department and community in many ways: notably through committee work, meeting organization, grant reviews and activities of professional societies. Remarkably, Richard somehow managed to find time to serve the worldwide community as Editor-in-chief of Biochemistry, an honor held by only two other brilliant scientists in the journal’s distinguished 53-year history.

Please bear the Armstrong family in your thoughts.

John D. York, Ph.D.
Natalie Overall Warren Professor
Chair, Department of Biochemistry


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Aidan Fenix presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 6/16/2015

Aidan Fenix, of the Burnette Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Expansion of non-muscle myosin II filaments drives cellular contractile system formation in interphase and mitosis" on Tuesday, June 16, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by stephen.m.doster@Vanderbilt.Edu:

CSB Research Spotlight - Jens Meiler

James Crowe Jr., Ph.D., and CSB Researcher and Chancellor Faculty Fellow Jens Meiler, Ph.D., recently reported findings in the Journal of Clinical Investigation which suggest that computer-redesigned antibodies may speed the search for an effective therapy or vaccine for a virus that so far has eluded all attempts to eradicate it. With the help of a computer program called “Rosetta,” the researchers have “redesigned” an antibody that has increased potency and can neutralize more strains of the AIDS-causing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) than can any known natural antibody. Visit Research News@Vanderbilt for the full story.

The researchers have also received a five-year, $9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to design more effective flu vaccines and novel antibody therapies. The Vanderbilt researchers, in collaboration with scientists from The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, are using a computer program named “Rosetta,” which predicts protein structure from the amino acid sequence. Their goal is to design antibodies that hone in on influenza’s “Achilles’ heel.” For more information, read the full article in the VUMC Reporter.


News posted by stephen.m.doster@Vanderbilt.Edu:

CSB Research Spotlight - Borden Lacy

CSB Researcher and Chancellor Faculty Fellow Borden Lacy and colleagues have identified a cellular receptor for a toxin from Clostridium difficile (C. diff).

C. diff is the leading cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea in the United States. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention estimates CDI caused nearly 500,000 infections in the US in 2011 and 29,000 deaths within a month of initial diagnosis. The two main virulence factors of C. diff are the large toxins, TcdA and TcdB, which enter colonic epithelial cells and cause fluid secretion, inflammation, and cell death.

In a recent PNAS article, Lacy and her colleagues at Vanderbilt have identified poliovirus receptor-like 3 (PVRL3) as a cellular factor necessary for TcdB-mediated cytotoxicity. Their findings suggest PVRL3 is a physiologically relevant binding partner that can serve as a target for the prevention of TcdB-induced cytotoxicity in C. diff infection (CDI). The targeted disruption of toxin-receptor interactions could provide novel therapeutic strategies that can either augment or replace the need for antibiotic therapies in the treatment of CDI.

For more information, read the online article or the PNAS article .


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Teru Nakagawa presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 6/2/2015

Dr. Teru Nakagawa, Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, presents "AMPA receptors and their complexes" on Tuesday, June 2, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Drew Kellum presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 5/19/2015

Drew Kellum, of the Stone Lab, presents MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Probing the Conformational and Configurational Equilbria of 2’-Deoxyribosylurea Lesions within Single Strand and Duplex DNA" on Tuesday, May 19, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Samuel DeLuca - Dissertation Defense 5/6/2015

Samuel DeLuca, of the Meiler Lab, presents: "Development of Novel Methods for Computational Protein Design and Protein-Ligand Docking" on Wednesday, May 5, at 2:30 pm in 208 Light Hall.


News posted by stephen.m.doster@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB Postdoc exhibits technology entrepreneurship

Congratulations to Michael Feldkamp, postdoc in the Chazin Lab, on being a member of the 2015 TechVenture Challenge’s winning team. The TechVenture Challenge is an educational event that allows students to learn the process of commercializing early technologies and showcases emerging intellectual property from Vanderbilt University. “First Diagnostics,” Feldkamp’s team, presented Corafix (fluorocoxib A), a fluorescently labeled selective inhibitor of the COX-2 enzyme developed by Vanderbilt investigators.

Corafix increases the accuracy of conventional colonoscopy in animal studies when given 24 hours before the procedure. Under a special light, cancerous and pre-cancerous cells that bound Corafix now “glowed,” enabling better visualization.

Other team members were Elizabeth Conrad, graduate student in Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Biomedical Engineering graduate student Samantha Sarett, law student Hailey Verano, and team leader, Kelsey Beavers. Dr. Jashim Uddin, of the Marnett Lab, developed Corafix and served as the team’s scientific mentor.

The team also entered and won a similar competition for the Board of Trustees. That competition was comprised of other groups that had won various business pitch competitions on campus.

Michael’s current research is focused on finding compounds capable of selectively inhibiting RPA interactions.

Read more about the winning team in the VUMC Reporter. Find out more about the TechVenture Challenge here.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Paul Bock presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 4/5/2015

Dr. Paul Bock, Pathology, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Pathogen Activators of Plasminogen: invisible parts of the mechanism of plasminogen activation by streptokinase" on Tuesday, May 5, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Victoria D'Souza presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 4/28/2015

Student invited speaker Dr. Victoria D'Souza, Harvard University, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Unraveling viral RNA genomes: One segment at a time" on Tuesday, April 28, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Carl Johnson presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 4/7/2015

Dr. Carl Johnson, Biological Sciences, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Molecular Gears and Cogs of a Circadian Clockwork" on Tuesday, April 7, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Hassane Mchaourab presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 3/31/2015

Dr. Hassane Mchaourab, Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, presents the RCR Special Session: "Is a Ph.D. a bridge to nowhere?" on Tuesday, March 31, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

SAXS Workshop 03/23/2014

Dr. Greg Hura, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Center for Structural Biology will host a Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) workshop on Monday, March 23, at 1:00pm-4:00pm in 5131 MRB3.

If you would like to attend, please contact Karen D. Davis in the Center for Structural Biology.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Greg Hura presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 3/24/2015

Dr. Greg Hura, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Combining SAXS and Crystallography to build intuition in interaction networks and macromolecular engineering" on Tuesday, March 24, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Nicole Chumbler - Dissertation Defense 3/12/2015

Nicole Chumbler, of the Lacy Lab, presents: "Defining the Functions and Regulation of Clostridium difficile Toxins A and B Enzymatic Activities in Cellular Intoxication" on Thursday, March 12, at 3:00 pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

The Protein Society Annual Meeting - July 22-25

The 29th Annual Symposium of the Protein Society will be held July 22-25 in Barcelona, Spain. The meeting features prestigious speakers, numerous workshops and networking opportunities set against the architectural and cultural backdrop of Barcelona.

Fifty-five travel awards up to $1500 are available for students, postdocs and beginning investigators. Travel award applications are due March 31. To download an application, click here.

Chuck Sanders, CSB PI and Protein Society Council Member, encourages all CSB members whose research involves proteins to attend this meeting.

For more information, please visit The Protein Society Symposium website.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Nick Reiter presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 3/3/2015

Dr. Nick Reiter, Biochemistry, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "RNA-protein communications: From tRNA processing to the chromatin interface" on Tuesday, March 3, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Rescheduled: Marilyn Holt presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 2/24/2015

Please note this seminar was originally scheduled for February 17, but was cancelled due to inclement weather.

Marilyn Holt, of the Chazin Lab, presents the RCR Special Session: "Oops, I did it again: Retractions and misconduct in the scientific literature" on Tuesday, February 24, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Borden Lacy and Jens Meiler named Inaugural Chancellor Faculty Fellows

Congratulations to CSB core faculty members Borden Lacy, Ph.D., and Jens Meiler, Ph.D., for being selected as part of the first cohort of the Chancellor Faculty Fellows Program.

"The strong commitment to education, discovery and care demonstrated by these faculty members is having an enormous impact on Vanderbilt and its mission of serving society," Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos said.

Drs. Lacy and Meiler are among fifteen faculty members chosen for the program and will hold the title of Chancellor Faculty Fellow for two years while being supported by an unrestricted allocation of funds to be used for innovative research, scholarship and creative expression activities that further propel their careers.

Dr. Lacy, Associate Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology and Associate Professor of Biochemistry, focuses on understanding the mechanisms by which bacterial protein toxins contribute to pathogenesis using a combination of structural, biochemical and cell-based functional methods in her laboratory.

Dr. Meiler, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Associate Professor of Pharmacology, seeks to fuse computational and experimental efforts to investigate proteins, the fundamental molecules of biology and their interactions with small molecule substrates, therapeutics or probes with his research.

The Chancellor Faculty Fellows Program was launched in September 2014 to support outstanding faculty who have recently received tenure. The inaugural class includes representation from the humanities, social sciences, natural & physical sciences and the clinical sciences.

To see a complete list of the 2015 Chancellor Faculty Fellows, read the full article in the Vanderbilt News.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Marilyn Holt presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 2/17/2015

Marilyn Holt, of the Chazin Lab, presents the RCR Special Session: "Oops, I did it again: Retractions and misconduct in the scientific literature" on Tuesday, February 17, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Mel Ohi presents VICB Seminar on 2/11/2015

Mel Ohi, Cell & Developmental Biology, presents the VICB Seminar: "Studying the Molecular Function of Dynamic Molecular Machines" on Wednesday, February 11, at 12:15pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Structural Biology Symposium - March 6-7, 2015

You are invited a special symposium honoring the contributions of Prof. Walter Chazin in his scientific career thus far and in honor of his 60th birthday this year.

The aim of the symposium is to bring together the scientific family and friends who have been influenced and inspired by Prof. Chazin throughout his career, from his tenure at The Scripps Research Institute through the present at Vanderbilt University, including former students, postdocs, colleagues and collaborators.

The symposium will cover topics representing the various scientific chapters in Walter's structural biology career, and will include a reception and dinner on Friday, March 6th.

Registration is required to attend. For more information or to register, visit the Symposium website. Please contact the organizing committee with questions or to report cancellations.

This conference is hosted by the Department of Biochemistry at Vanderbilt University. The organizing committee thanks the VU faculty for their support.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Sten Heinze - Dissertation Defense 2/18/2015

Sten Heinze, of the Meiler Lab, presents: "Improvements for BCL::Fold de novo protein structure prediction" on Wednesday, February 18, at 12:00pm in 5502 Stevenson Center.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Clare McCabe presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 2/10/2015

Dr. Clare McCabe, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Understanding the Self-Assembly of Skin Lipids" on Tuesday, February 10, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRB3.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Jonathan Sachs presents Chemistry Colloquium Series on 2/2/2015

Professor Jonathan Sachs, University of Minnesota, presents the Chemistry Colloquium Seminar: "Understanding the chemistry and appreciating the importance of methionine-aromatic interactions in protein structure and function" on Monday, February 2, at 4:15pm-5:30pm in 5211 Stevenson Center. Refreshments will be served at 4:00pm in the seminar room.

Please refer to the "Colloquium Schedule" page on the Department of Chemistry website for the most up-to-date information regarding the Chemistry Colloquium Series.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Fesik Lab forms multi-year alliance to develop cancer treatment

Vanderbilt University and Boehringer Ingelheim have established a multi-year alliance to research and develop small molecule inhibitors of oncogenic Ras for cancer treatment. CSB Investigator Stephen Fesik, Ph.D., will lead the research of new medicines for the Ras protein family at Vanderbilt. The alliance aim is to combine the techniques and expertise of the Fesik Lab and Boehringer Ingelheim to address what has been a difficult drug to target.

The Boehringer Ingelheim group is a world-leading pharmaceutical company headquartered in Germany. The company, founded in 1885, focuses on research, development, manufacturing and marketing new medications of high therapeutic value.

For more information, please read the Boehringer Ingelheim press release.

Congratulations to Dr. Fesik and the Fesik Lab!


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Qi Sun - Dissertation Defense 1/15/2015

Qi Sun, of the Fesik Lab, presents "Discovery of K-Ras Inhibitors for the Treatment of Cancer" on Thursday, January 15, in 214 Light Hall at 3:00 pm.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Bock research honored by Journal of Biological Chemistry

CSB Investigator Paul Bock and his Vanderbilt colleague Ingrid Verhamme have been honored by the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Their paper, Rapid binding of plasminogen to streptokinase in a catalytic complex reveals a three-step mechanism has been designated as one of the best papers published by the JBC in 2014.

JBC editors selected only twenty-one papers from thousands published last year. One paper was chosen from each JBC affinity group. The Bock paper was chosen to represent the Enzymology Affinity Group as it characterizes the journal’s mission of publishing the very best papers in biological chemistry.

Congratulations Professor Bock!


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Chuck Sanders presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 1/6/2015

Chuck Sanders, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Why Protein Stability Matters to Personalized Medicine" on Tuesday, January 6, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by stephen.m.doster@vanderbilt.edu:

Research Spotlight - Ben Spiller

CSB member Ben Spiller and Tara Archuleta, Ph.D., (of the Jackson Lab) were featured in the Aliquots section of the VUMC Reporter.

In a recent PLOS Pathogens article, they present the structure of the Chlamydial gatekeeper, CopN, bound to a translocator-specific chaperone. The structure identifies a previously unknown interface between gatekeepers and translocator chaperones and reveals that in the gatekeeper-chaperone complex the canonical translocator-binding groove is free to bind translocators. Structure-based mutagenesis of the homologous complex in Shigella reveals that the gatekeeper-chaperone-translocator complex is essential for translocator secretion and for the ordered secretion of translocators prior to effectors.

View other Aliquots features here.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Eric Dawson

It is with great sadness that I pass along the message that our colleague Eric Dawson, who was an integral part of our community and served a key role in the CSB Computation Education & Outreach program for many years, has passed away.

Eric was recently diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, and succumbed on December 1 from cardiac complications. We mourn the loss of our colleague and offer condolences to his wife, Toni Renee Dawson (Dr. Susan Wente’s Lab Manager in Cell and Developmental Biology), and family.

Funeral services for Eric will be held Thursday, December 4, at 7:00 pm at the Woodfin Funeral Chapel in Murfreesboro. Visitation will take place at the chapel from 5:00 – 7:00 pm. The chapel is located at 1488 Lascassas Pike, Murfreesboro, Tennessee 37130.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Musella Foundation for Brain Tumor Research. In memory of Eric, the members of the CSB staff will make a donation to fund brain cancer research. If you would like to send a personal card to the Dawson family or if you would like more information regarding ways to provide assistance to the family, please contact Jen Smith in the Biochemistry Department or Susan Walker in the CDB.

You can find a brief reflection of Eric’s research and scholarship posted here.

Walter Chazin


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Kallie Stavros presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 12/9/2014

Kallie Stavros, of the Stone Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Understanding the sequence dependence of the food mutagen 2-methyl-3-amino-[4,5-f]imidazoquinoline in the NarI recognition sequence" on Tuesday, December 9, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Shane Hutson presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 12/2/2014

Shane Hutson, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "From non-specific environmental stresses to adverse developmental outcomes: the role of cellular mechanics" on Tuesday, December 2, at 12:30-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Catherine Deatherage presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 11/18/2014

Catherine Deatherage, of the Sanders Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Notch your average membrane protein" on Tuesday, November 18, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Vittorio Luzzati presents VICB Seminar on 11/5/2014

Renowned X-ray crystallographer Dr. Vittorio Luzzati presents the VICB Seminar: "Souvenirs of a Paleo-Protein-Crystallographer" on Wednesday, November 5, at 12:15pm-1:15pm in 1220 MRBIII.

Dr. Luzzati, Research Director Emeritus, CNRS, France, worked as a crystallographer in the early-postwar years when crystallography met with biology. He witnessed first-hand the discovery of the structure of DNA and the determination of the 3D structure of proteins. The Luzzati Plot was named for him.

He will participate in a Q&A session in which audience members can ask questions about the pioneering years of protein X-ray crystallography, particularly about the Protein Structure Program (1950-1959) headed by Professor Harker at Brooklyn.

Dr. Luzzati will also present the Holocaust Lecture Series: "Science and the Holocaust in Italy" on Tuesday, November 4, at 7:00pm in the Commons Center MPR.

The VICB Seminar will also feature introductory presentations by CSB researchers Borden Lacy, Ph.D., ("X-Ray Crystallography of Bacterial Toxins") and Martin Egli, Ph.D. ("X-Ray Crystallography of the Nucleic Acids").


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Borden Lacy presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 11/4/2014

Borden Lacy, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Structural analysis of the Clostridium difficile Toxins" on Tuesday, November 4, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB Research Spotlight - Hassane Mchaourab

CSB researcher Hassane Mchaourab, Ph.D., and his research team have been featured in the VUMC Reporter for their new view of transporter dynamics.

The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, identifies two coupling mechanisms for substrate binding and release using an electron paramagnetic spectroscopy method called double electron-electron resonance or DEER.

Dr. Mchaourab, a national leader in the study of protein “dynamics,” shows the importance of transporters as drug targets because they regulate the supply of essential signaling molecules such as neurotransmitters. The findings may aid in the development of more precise and effective treatments for depression.

Read more about the research in the Aliquots section of the Reporter.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Steven Combs presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 10/28/2014

Steven Combs, Ph.D., presents the RCR Special Session: "Health and life expectancy disparity in rich and poor nations" on Tuesday, October 28, at 12:30pm - 1:20 pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Kendra Vann presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 10/21/2014

Kendra Vann, of the Osheroff Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Metabolites of olive leaf plants as covalent topoisomerase II poisons" on Tuesday, October 21, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

2014 Vanderbilt Translational Research Forum

The Office for Clinical & Translational Scientist Development is sponsoring the 2014 Vanderbilt Translational Research Forum on November 7 in Sarratt Cinema on the Vanderbilt University Campus.

The 2014 event features more than 15 nationally recognized Vanderbilt researchers presenting their translational science, as well as guest speaker David Ransohoff,MD, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at UNC-Chapel Hill and the inaugural speaker at NIH’s “Mind the Gap” seminar series.

Plenary sessions begin at 8:00am with breakout sessions starting at 10:00am. For more information regarding the sessions, see the agenda here.

Everyone is welcome to attend. Although RSVPs are not necessary, they do help in planning for the event. You may RSVP on the forum homepage.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Kate Mittendorf wins Karpay Award

Congratulations to Kate Mittendorf for being named the 2015 recipient of The Anne Karpay Award in Structural Biology. "I am honored and humbled to have been selected as the recipient of the Karpay Award," Kate said.

Kate joined the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in 2010 after receiving her BA in Biochemistry from DePauw University. Since joining the Sanders lab and Department of Biochemistry in 2011, her research has focused on human membrane proteins related to disease, primarily peripheral myelin 22, which plays a role in heritable neuropathies. She has collaborated extensively with the Mel Ohi lab by utilizing electron microscopy to study this integral membrane protein. She has also performed research in the development of novel bicelles, a membrane mimetic, for improved studies of membrane proteins by solution NMR.

Kate's pursuits outside the lab include painting, drawing, various outdoor activities and rock climbing.

The Karpay Award was established in 2010 to honor the memory of Dr. Anne Karpay who died after a four-year battle with breast cancer. It recognizes one senior graduate student who is a well-rounded colleague and scientist, who is collaborative and collegial and who has performed exceptional research in the field of structural biology. Karpay exemplified each characteristic and demonstrated a passion for science, for friendship and for life.

"It is very special to be included among the past Karpay Award recipients and to be selected for an award in honor of Anne, who left such an enduring legacy," said Kate. "I hold them all in very high regard."

The Karpay Award is funded entirely by donations to an endowment managed through the Development Office of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Make donations to the fund through the Giving to Vanderbilt website. Contact Karen D. Davis in the CSB for more information or assistance in making a donation.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Manuel Ascano presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 10/7/2014

Manuel Ascano, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "The roles of nucleic acid binding proteins in post-transcriptional gene regulation and innate immunity" on Tuesday, October 7, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Ben Spiller presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 9/30/2014

Ben Spiller, Ph.D., presents the RCR Special Session: "Avoiding the pitfalls of single particle cryo-electron microscopy: Einstein from noise, and associated RCR considerations" on Tuesday, September 30, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Norie Sugitani presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 9/46/2014

Norie Sugitani, of the Chazin Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Progress Towards the Investigation of XPA-DNA Interaction in Human Nucleotide Excision Repair (NER)" on Tuesday, September 16, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

New members appointed to the CSB Core Faculty

Carlos Lopez, Ph.D., of the Department of Cancer Biology and Jamaine Davis, Ph.D., of the Department of Biochemistry and Cancer Biology at Meharry Medical College were appointed to the CSB Core Faculty.

Carlos joins our computational structural biology community based on his long standing interest and experience in protein simulations with a current emphasis on membrane proteins.

Jamaine trained as a crystallographer with Alex Wlodawer and is developing a cancer research program that merges structural and cell-based biochemistry.

Welcome to the CSB!


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Dylan Burnette presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 9/9/2014

Dylan Burnette, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Exploring how cells obtain their shapes with super-resolution microscopy" on Tuesday, September 9, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Sanjay Mishra presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar on 8/26/2014

Sanjay Mishra, of the Mchaourab Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar:"Role of Sequence Divergence in Tuning of the Chaperone Activity of a Small Heat Shock Protein" on Tuesday, August 26, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Stephanie DeLuca - Dissertation Defense 8/19/2014

Stephanie DeLuca, of the Meiler Lab, presents "Protein Structure Elucidation by Combining Computational and Experimental Methods" on Tuesday, August 19, in 1220 MRBIII at 1:30 pm.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Teru Nakagawa and Darwin Fu present MBTP/CSB Seminar on 8/19/2014

Teru Nakagawa, Ph.D., and Darwin Fu, of the Meiler Lab, present the RCR Special Session: "Science for all? Open Access in Today’s Research" on Tuesday, August 19, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Chuck Sanders elected to The Protein Society's Executive Council

Congratulations to Chuck Sanders, Ph.D., on being elected to the Executive Council of The Protein Society. He will serve a three-year term.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Kevin Schey presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 8/12/2014

Kevin Schey, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Proteomics of Integral Membrane Proteins: Insights into Structure and Function of Channels and Transporters" on Tuesday, August 12, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Yuanli Song presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 7/22/2014

Sanders Lab member Yuanli Song, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Discovery of Compounds that Interrupt the Binding of Cholesterol and the Amyloid Precursor Protein of Alzheimer's Disease" on Tuesday, July 22, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

James Crowe presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 7/8/2014

James Crowe, M.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: Genetic and Structural Determinants of Virus Neutralization by Human Antibodies" on Tuesday, July 8, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Chrystal Starbird presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 6/17/2014

Chrystal Starbird, of the Iverson Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Complex II becomes more complex: Investigating new roles and new assembly factors for Complex II" on Tuesday, June 17, at 12:30pm-1:30pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Mike Stone presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 6/10/2014

Mike Stone, Ph.D., presents the RCR Special Session: "Who is Paying for Life in the Ivory Tower of American Academia and What [If Anything] Do Academicians Owe to Them?" on Tuesday, June 10, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by stephen.m.doster@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB Research Spotlight: Brandt Eichman

The journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences recently published studies by CSB member Brandt Eichman and his colleagues that uncovered a conserved recognition domain in DNA repair enzymes. This domain couples DNA recognition and remodeling and plays an important role in stabilizing replication forks and maintaining genome integrity. The researchers demonstrated that the HARP domain is a functional substitute for one of these regions and that mutations of predicted DNA-binding amino acids in the HARP domain reduced its ability to bind to replication forks and facilitate repair. The Eichman Lab is focused on understanding how proteins recognize and manipulate DNA structure to carry out various biological processes.

Read more about the research online at Research News@Vanderbilt.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Borden Lacy to give Flexner Discovery Lecture on 5/22/2014

CSB investigator Borden Lacy, Ph.D., is among the presenters to give the Flexner Discovery Lecture on Thursday, May 22, at 4:00pm in 208 Light Hall.

The lecture: "Vanderbilt Cutting-edge Discovery: From Bench to Bedside" also features Vanderbilt professors James Crowe, Jr., M.D., and Simon Mallal, M.B.B.S.

Please note the schedule of events:

4:00pm Dr. Lacy’s presentation
4:20pm Discussion
4:30pm Dr. Crowe’s presentation
4:50pm Discussion
5:00pm Dr. Mallal’s presentation
5:20pm Discussion
The Flexner Discover Lecture Series is sponsored by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs. Please visit the Lecture Series website for more information regarding prior lectures, featured speaker and upcoming speakers.


News posted by stephen.m.doster@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB Research Spotlight - Martin Egli

The VUMC Reporter recently featured Martin Egli, Professor of Biochemistry, in Aliqouts for his “Paper of the Week” published online April 23 by the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Egli and his colleagues used kinetic and mass-spectrometric studies to demonstrate that a member of the Y-polymerase family, human polymerase eta (hPol-eta), bypasses 8-oxoG in a largely error-free manner by preferentially incorporating dCTP (one of the DNA building blocks) opposite 8-oxoG. The findings provide a kinetic and structural framework for understanding how hPol-eta accurately bypasses the most common oxidative DNA lesion.

As an X-ray crystallographer, Prof. Egli is involved in a number of ongoing collaborations to determine how cancer-causing chemicals interact with DNA to produce mutations. Visit the Egli Lab homepage for more information about his current research.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Kathleen Mittendorf presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 5/20/2014

Kathleen Mittendorf, of the Sanders Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Biochemical and Electron Microscopy Studies of a Membrane-Organizing Tetraspan Protein" on Tuesday, May 20, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by stephen.m.doster@vanderbilt.edu:

Gerald Stubbs among those honored as emeriti faculty

Gerald S. Stubbs, CSB investigator and professor of biological sciences, now has a new title – “emeritus”! This latest honor was bestowed on Dr. Stubbs and nineteen retiring faculty members during Vanderbilt’s Commencement ceremony on May 9th.

Stubbs came to Vanderbilt in 1983, joining faculty in the Department of Molecular Biology. He received recognition in the field for his early work in determining the structure of tobacco mosaic virus. During his career he has served as director of the North American organization for fiber diffraction (FiberNet) and as chair of the Fiber Diffraction Special Interest Group of the American Crystallographic Association. His current research is focused on the structures of filamentous biological assemblies such as viruses and amyloids.

Read more about the emeriti faculty ceremony and Dr. Stubbs’ achievements on Vanderbilt News.


News posted by stephen.m.doster@vanderbilt.edu:

Hassane Mchaourab named to endowed chair

Hassane S. Mchaourab, Ph.D., CSB investigator and professor of molecular physiology and biophysics, is one of eleven Vanderbilt University faculty members recently named to endowed chairs. He has been named to the Louise B. McGavock Chair.

Dr. Mchaourab was honored with other faculty for his academic achievements during a celebration April 30 at the Student Life Center. “These honorees have made remarkable contributions to society,” Jeff Balser, vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, said in his introductory remarks. “We honor (them) … because we believe in their futures.”

Richard McCarty, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, joined Balser in introducing the new chair holders.

Dr. Mchaourab’s main experimental focus is understanding the dynamic dimension of protein structures. More information about his research can be found on his lab homepage.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Irina Kaverina presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 4/29/2014

Irina Kaverina, Ph.D., presents the RCR Special Session: "Digital image processing and quantification: making your point, avoiding bias" on Tuesday, April 29, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Sonja Brooks - Dissertation Defense 4/22/2014

Sonja Brooks, of the Eichman Lab, presents "Biochemical Characterization of the DNA Glycosylase DEMETER" on Tuesday, April 22, at 2:00 pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Katie Winarski presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar on 4/15/2014

Katie Winaski, of the Spiller Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Structure of the anti-influenza antibody H5.3 and influenza glycoprotein hemagglutinin 5 reveals an induced fit binding mechanism" on Tuesday, April 15, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Now Accepting Applications for L'Oreal USA For Women in Science Fellowship Program

The L'Oreal For Women in Science program recognizes and rewards the contributions women make in the STEM fields and identifies exceptional women researchers committed to serving as role models for younger generations. More than 2,000 women scientists in over 100 countries have been recognized since the program began in 1998.

The L'Oreal USA For Women In Science fellowship program will award five post-doctoral women scientists in the United States this year with grants of up to $60,000 each. Applicants are welcome from a variety of fields, including the life and physical/material sciences, technology (including computer science), engineering and mathematics.

Applications are available online. The submission deadline is Monday, May 19, 2014.

More information on the L'Oreal USA For Women in Science program can be found here.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science(AAAS), which is dedicated to advancing science around the world, is the official administrator for L'Oreal USA For Women in Science.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Joshua Eggold named 2014 Goldwater winner

Joshua Eggold, undergraduate student in the Chazin Lab, is one of three Vanderbilt students selected as a Goldwater Scholar. This year, 232 scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,166 mathematics, science and engineering students nominated by colleges and universities nationwide.

Joshua, a junior from Grafton, Wis., hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in molecular genetics or biochemistry. He is majoring in biology and is interested in conducting research on the manner in which a cell’s DNA repair machinery is activated, controlled and utilized for treatment – or even prevention – of various forms of cancer.

The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed agency established in 1986 to honor Sen. Barry M. Goldwater. Goldwater Scholarships are designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. The Goldwater Scholarship is the premier undergraduate award of its type in these fields.

Read the entire article online at Vanderbilt News.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Terry Lybrand presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 4/1/2014

Terry Lybrand, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "The 2013 Chemistry Nobel Prize: Is quantum mechanics really that important in molecular biophysics?" on Tuesday, April 1, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Workshop on Neutron Scattering Applications in Structural Biology held at ORNL

The workshop on Neutron Scattering Applications in Structural Biology aims at enabling structural biologists to fully exploit the latest instrumentation and software development at the SNS and HFIR facilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Attendees will participate in lectures and tutorials focusing exclusively on neutron techniques applied in structural biology. The workshop is designed for graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and faculty new to or with limited experience in neutron scattering. The registration deadline is April 18.

Selected participants from the United States will receive travel and accommodation expense support. The number of participants will be limited to 15. There is no registration fee for all selected participants.

The application package must include: (1) Information form (2) CV (3) Applicant motivation letter (1/2 to 1 page) (4) Principal Investigator letter of support (for graduate students only; 1/2 to 1 page). Please send the application package electronically to Flora Meilleur at ORNL before April 18, 2014.

Visit the course web page for detailed information.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Tanja Mittag to present Biochemistry Seminar

Tanja Mittag, from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, presents the Frontiers in Biochemistry Seminar at noon on Friday, March 28 in 202 LH.

Dr. Mittag is a rising star in the area of the role of disordered proteins in biological regulation. Her technical specialty is NMR. The title of her talk is "The role of multivalency in dynamic protein interactions and control of ubiquitination."


News posted by stephen.m.doster@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB Research Spotlight - Stephen Fesik

Because of its role in cell growth and survival, aberrant Ras signaling can contribute to carcinogenesis. Mutations in RAS genes are among the most common in malignant tumors, present in up to 30% of human cancers. Consequently, inhibitors of excessive Ras signaling are of great interest as potential cancer chemotherapeutic agents. However, attempts to discover small molecules that bind to Ras proteins and interfere with their function have been met with limited success due to the lack of binding pockets on the protein.

Now, Center for Structural Biology and Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology investigator Stephen Fesik and his laboratory have taken a new approach to target Ras by discovering a small molecule that binds to a complex between Ras and the GEF SOS (son-of-sevenless homolog). The results of this study lay the foundation for further study of a new kind of Ras activity modulator that binds to Ras-protein complexes.

View the entire article in the VUMC Reporter. Read Dr. Fesik's paper, "Approach for targeting Ras with small molecules that activate SOS-mediated nucleotide exchange," in the Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Scott Collier presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 3/18/2014

Scott Collier, of the Mel Ohi Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Characterizing the Structure and Function of the N-terminus of S. Pombe Cdc5" on Tuesday, March 18, at 12:20pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by stephen.m.doster@Vanderbilt.Edu:

CSB Research Spotlight - Richard Armstrong

Richard Armstrong, Ph.D., professor of Biochemistry, was featured in the February 28 issue of the VUMC Reporter for characterizing how methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) resists the antibiotic fosfomycin. S. aureus contains antibiotic-modifying enzymes that facilitate resistance to a number of antimicrobial compounds.

Studies show that about one in three (33%) people carry staph in their nose, usually without any illness. Two in 100 people carry MRSA. In medical facilities, MRSA causes life-threatening bloodstream infections, pneumonia and surgical site infections. Armstrong and his colleagues developed 3-D structures of the enzyme FosB, which inactivates fosfomycin.

The research, published in the journal Biochemistry, identifies FosB as the primary fosfomycin-modifying pathway of S. aureus and suggest that targeting FosB might restore sensitivity of multi-drug resistant S. aureus to fosfomycin.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Mel Ohi promoted to Associate Professor with tenure

Melanie Ohi, Ph.D., has been promoted Associate Professor with tenure effective March 14. Congratulations Mel!


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Microscopy Open House 3/6/2014

Leica Microsystems is holding a "Microscopy Open House" for working with protein crystals. The open house is Thursday, March 6, from 10 am until 4 pm in room U5202 Biological Sciences/MRB III.

Representatives of Leica Microsystems will be on hand to show the latest in Leica Stereomicroscope accessories and digital imaging for use with protein crystal trays. Leica representatives will discuss any microscopy issues as well as demonstrate the proper way to clean and align the stereomicroscope.

For details, contact Jim Leisy via email or call 919-801-3062.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Galina Lepesheva presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 03/04/2013

Galina Lepesheva, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "CYP51 structure/function in drug discovery" on Tuesday, March 4, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

William Wan - Dissertation Defense 03/07/2014

William Wan, of the Stubbs Lab, presents "Structure and Assembly of the Fungal Prion-Forming Domain HET-s (218-289)" on Friday, March 7, at 1:30 pm in 206 PRB.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Early Registration Deadline for BSDF Membrane Proteins Symposium is March 1

The Biomolecular Structure, Dynamics, and Function: Membrane Proteins Symposium is scheduled for May 2-4, 2014 at the Vanderbilt Commons Center. The early registration deadline March 1, 2014. The BSDF Organizing Committee encourages early registration because conference participation is limited.

Register or submit abstracts on the BSDF homepage.

Confirmed speakers include Petra Fromme (keynote), James Prestegard (keynote), Michael Wiener (keynote), Timothy Cross, Lawrence DeLucas, Ron Dror, Mei Hong, Tina Iverson, Natalia Jura, Gary Lorigan, Merritt Maduke, Teru Nakagawa, Melanie Ohi, Heather Pinkett, Jonathan Sachs, Katherine Henzler-Wildman, Hassane Mchaourab. An additional 16 speakers will be selected from submitted abstracts. Encourage your students and postdocs to attend!

The BSDF conference is supported by: National Institute of General Medical Sciences (grant R13GM096562) to Jere Segrest, M.D., Ph.D. (Univ. Alabama at Birmingham) and Stephen C. Harvey (Georgia Institute of Technology), Molecular Dimensions, Bruker, Art Robbins Instruments, Stable Isotopes/Sigma Aldrich, Microlytic, Avanti, Rigaku and the Vanderbilt University Center for Structural Biology.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Marta Szulik presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 2/25/2014

Marta Szulik, of the Stone Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Oxidation products of 5-methylcytosine in DNA" on Tuesday, February 25, at 12:30pm-1:30pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Chuck Sanders presents MBTP/CSB Seminar RCR Special Session on 2/11/2014

Chuck Sanders, Ph.D., presents the RCR Special Session: "Case Studies in Actions Leading to Professional Regret" on Tuesday, February 11, at 12:30pm - 1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Lauren Jackson presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 2/4/2014

Lauren Jackson, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Molecular mechanisms of vesicle coat assembly in membrane trafficking" on Tuesday, February 4, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Nicole Chumbler presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 1/21/2014

2014 Karpay Award Winner Nicole Chumbler, of the Lacy Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Who's the boss? Structural investigations of Clostridium difficile Toxin A autoprocessing" on Tuesday, January 21, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII. Reception to follow.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Matthew Tyska presents MBTP/CSB seminar on 01/14/2014

Matthew Tyska, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Shaping the cell surface with adhesion molecules" on Tuesday, January 14, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by stephen.m.doster@vanderbilt.edu:

Vanderbilt - Belgian team lay groundwork for preventing multidrug resistance

In a recently published paper by Nature Chemical Biology, Hassane Mchaourab, Ph.D., and his colleagues report their findings on LmrP, a multidrug transporter from Lactococcus lactis, and its role in antibiotic resistance. Multidrug transporters are notable for their ability to recognize a wide range of molecules with diverse structures and transport them out of the cell. The researchers used Double Electron-Electron Resonance (DEER) spectroscopy to investigate how protons and ligands shift the equilibrium of LmrP to pump out anticancer drugs, antibiotics, and other drugs. Understanding this mechanism gives researchers a starting point for new approaches to block multidrug transporter function in order to combat the growing problem of bacterial multidrug resistance.

Cédric Govaerts, Ph.D., associate professor of the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique in Brussels, Belgium, was the paper’s senior co-author. Matthieu Masureel and Chloé Martens, Ph.D., students at the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium, and Richard A. Stein, Ph.D., research instructor in Molecular Physiology & Biophysics at Vanderbilt, conducted the experiments.

View the entire article in the VUMC Reporter. Read Dr. Mchaourab’s paper, Protonation drives the conformational switch in the multidrug transporter LmrP, in Nature Chemical Biology.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Dave Piston presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 1/7/2014

David Piston, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Molecular Communication Underlying Hormone Secretion" on Tuesday, January 4, at 12:30 - 1:20 pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Amicia Elliott presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 12/17/2013

Amicia Elliott, of the Piston Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Imaging Live Cell Dynamics using Snapshot Hyperspectral Image Mapping Spectrometry” on Tuesday, December 17, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Carlos Lopez presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 12/10/2013

Carlos Lopez, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "How cells commit to apoptotic or necrotic cell-death" on Tuesday, December 10, at 12:30-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Paul Bock elected AAAS fellow

Center for Structural Biology faculty member Paul Bock, Ph.D., has been elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Dr. Bock, professor of Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology, and of Medicine, is honored for the distinguished contributions to understanding the action of proteases, particularly the critical protease cascades that mediate blood coagulation.

Dr. Bock is among eighteen Vanderbilt University researchers and administrators and 388 fellows nationwide to be distinguished by their peers this year. They will be recognized on Feb. 15 at the 2014 AAAS annual meeting in Chicago.

To see a complete list of the Vanderbilt University leaders selected and their achievements, read the full article online at the Reporter website.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Gregor Neuert presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 12/3/2013

Gregor Neuert, Ph.D., presents the RCR Special Session: "Data Acquisition and Management" on Tuesday, December 3, at 12:30pm - 1:20 pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Sonja Brooks presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 11/19/2013

Sonja Brooks, of the Eichman Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar "Excision of 5-methylcytosine and its oxidation derivatives by the DEMETER glycosylase family" on Tuesday, November 19, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Kelli Kazmier - Dissertation Defense

Kelli Kazmier, of the Mchaourab and Meiler Labs, presents "Revealing the mechanistic diversity of the LeuT Fold Structural Superfamily: A comparative analysis of the Leucine Transporter and the Hydantoin Transporter using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy" on Friday, November 15, in 202 Light Hall at 12:00 pm.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

New CSB Faculty Member - Lauren Jackson

Please welcome Lauren Jackson, Ph.D., as the newest faculty member of the Department of Biological Sciences. Jackson joins the Vanderbilt community in January and will teach classes as well as contribute to the major biochemistry courses. She will also work under the umbrella of the Center for Structural Biology.

Dr. Jackson pursued her undergraduate studies at Vanderbilt University, where she performed research with Gerald Stubbs, Ph.D. She was awarded the College of Arts and Science Founder’s Medal in 2003. She completed her Ph.D. at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology followed by postdoctoral training at the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research in the United Kingdom.

Dr. Jackson has trained as an x-ray crystallographer and has extensive experience characterizing binding interactions by ITC, SPR and other techniques. She examines mechanisms by which cells control their internal transport logistics to ensure critical transmembrane cargo molecules are sorted to the correct membrane location in a timely manner. She has also carried out integrated structure/function studies on the vesicle coat complexes involved in ER-to-Golgi and post-Golgi trafficking pathways, most notably COPI and AP2.

In the future, she aims to combine biochemical, biophysical and structural techniques with in vivo assays in order to elucidate the roles of trafficking proteins across the cell cycle.

Read more about Dr. Jackson in Vanderbilt University News.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB Research Spotlight - Borden Lacy

CSB researcher Borden Lacy, Ph.D., and colleagues have been featured in the VUMC Reporter for their recent findings on Clostridium difficile (“C. difficile”) infection which is a leading cause of hospital-associated diarrhea.

The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that the C. difficile toxin, TcdB, is a potent cytotoxin capable of inducing enzyme-independent necrosis in both cells and tissue and that TcdB-induced cell death depends on assembly of the host epithelial cell NADPH oxidase (NOX) complex and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Treatments that reduced expression of parts of the NOX complex, inhibited NOX component function or “scavenged” ROS all protected colon cells against the C. difficile toxin.

With approximately 500,000 cases of C. difficile infection reported annually, the findings support the possibility of using compounds to block ROS or reduce their generation as a way to protect the colonic lining of patients with infection.

Read more about the research in the Aliquots section of the Reporter.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Leipzig professor Martin von Bergen presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 11/5/2013

Guest speaker Professor Martin von Bergen, of Leipzig University, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Signaling in proteomics and the neglected majority" on Tuesday, November 5, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.

Proteomics generates a wealth of functional information in cellular models. This holds true for global approaches based on the abundance of proteins but especially for the global assessment of posttranslational modification like phosphorylation which is directly linked to signaling pathways and regulation of protein activity. In many global proteome data the majority of affected proteins is involved in metabolism and so a sound functional control of changes in protein abundance can be performed by having a closer look at the cellular metabolism. But proteomics can also be used to improve the upstream located information given by the genome or transcriptome. The emerging field of proteogenomics uses high resolution proteome data and a reverse bioinformatic approach in order to improve the annotation of genes and transcripts.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Christopher Johnson presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 10/15/2013

Christopher Johnson, Ph.D., of the Chazin Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "A Cardiac Channel, Calcium Regulation, and Calmodulin Mutations" on Tuesday, October 15, at 12:30pm - 1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Nicole Chumbler receives Karpay Award

Congratulations to Nicole Chumbler for being named the 2014 recipient of The Anne Karpay Award in Structural Biology. “I am very honored to have been selected as the recipient of the Karpay Award,” Nicole said.

Nicole came to Vanderbilt as part of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program after receiving a B.S. in Chemistry from Mercer University in 2008. She joined the Lacy Lab and the Chemical and Physical Biology Program in 2009 to focus her research on the structural and mechanistic differences between two homologous toxins, TcdA and TcdB, secreted by Clostridium difficile.

Outside the lab, Nicole plays softball and tutors high school students at Maplewood High School.

The Karpay Award was established in 2010 to honor the memory of Dr. Anne Karpay who died after a four-year battle with breast cancer. It recognizes one senior graduate student who is a well-rounded colleague and scientist, who is collaborative and collegial and who has performed exceptional research in the field of structural biology. Karpay exemplified each characteristic and demonstrated a passion for science, for friendship and for life in general.

The Karpay Award is funded entirely by donations to an endowment managed through the Development Office of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Make donations to the fund through the Vanderbilt Gives website. Contact Karen D. Davis in the CSB for more information or assistance in making a donation.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Melanie Ohi presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 10/8/2013

Melanie Ohi, Ph.D., presents the RCR Special Session: "Dealing with disagreements" on Tuesday, October 8, at 12:30pm - 1:30pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Jens Meiler presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 10/1/2013

Jens Meiler, Ph.D., presents "Membrane proteins structure determination from limited experimental data" on Tuesday, October 1, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Richard Armstrong receives Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award

Congratulations to CSB researcher Richard Armstrong, Ph.D., on being selected to receive a 2014 Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award from the American Chemical Society.

This prestigious award recognizes Richard’s creativity, achievements and excellence in the field of organic chemistry. The list of previous winners includes many giants of organic chemistry over the past 30 years.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Steven Combs presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 9/17/2013

Steven Combs, of the Meiler Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Scientific advances from massive multiplayer games" on Tuesday, September 17, at 12:20pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Chuck Sanders Named to Endowed Chair

Congratulations to CSB researcher Chuck Sanders, Ph.D., for being named the Aileen M. Lange and Annie Mary Lyle Chair in Cardiovascular Research.

Dr. Sanders was among twelve Vanderbilt University faculty members honored during an August 28 event. The event celebrated Vanderbilt's exceptional scholars, scientists, physicians and teachers and their extraordinary academic achievements.

Read more on the Vanderbilt News website.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Paul Barrett - Dissertation Defense 9/5/2013

Paul Barrett, of the Sanders Lab, presents "Structural and Cholesterol Binding Properties of the Amyloid Precursor Protein C-terminal Fragment C99 and the Etiology of Alzheimer's Disease" on Thursday, September 5, at 1:00pm in 206 PRB.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Anne Kenworthy presents the MBTP/CSB "RCR Special Session" Seminar on 8/27/2013

Anne Kenworthy, Ph.D., presents the RCR Special Session: "Making collaborations work" on Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Steven Combs - Dissertation Defense 8/16/2013

Steven Combs, of the Meiler Lab, presents "Identification and Scoring of Partial Covalent Interactions in Proteins and Protein Ligand Complexes" on Friday, August 16, in Medical Center North, Room C-2209 at 2:00pm.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Tara Archuleta presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 8/20/2013

Tara Archuleta, of the Spiller Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "From plug to effector: A biochemical analysis of the multifaceted Chlamydial protein, CopN" on Tuesday, August 20, at 12:30-1:20 pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Irina Kaverina presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 8/6/2013

Irina Kaverina, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Regulation and Functions of Golgi-derived Microtubules" on Tuesday, August 6, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by brandt.eichman@vanderbilt.edu:

Borden Lacy receives Early Career Award

Congratulations to Dr. Borden Lacy for receiving the 2014 Margaret C. Etter Early Career Award from the American Crystallographic Association. The award recognizes "outstanding achievement and exceptional potential in crystallographic research demonstrated by a scientist at an early stage of their independent career."

Read more about the award on the ACA website.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Paul Barrett wins Cunningham Award

Congratulations to Paul Barrett, of the Sanders Lab, on winning the Leon W. Cunningham Award in Biochemistry for 2012.

The Cunningham Award is given to a third year student in Biochemistry for outstanding accomplishment in Biochemistry. The award consists of a plaque and a financial prize.

Paul was presented the award during a seminar given by the 2011 recipient on July 9.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Daniel Putnam presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 7/16/2013

Daniel Putnam, of the Meiler Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Small Angle X-Ray Scattering (SAXS) restraints to assist Protein Structure Prediction" on Tuesday, July 16, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Tina Iverson presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 7/9/2013

Tina Iverson, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Mechanisms of molecular recognition: methods and case studies" on Tuesday, July 9, 2013 at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Registration open for 2013 Career Symposium: "Influencing Human Health with your Ph.D."

Registration for the 2013 Career Symposium: "Influencing Human Health with your Ph.D." is now open. The symposium, co-sponsored by the BRET Office of Career Development and the Vanderbilt Medical Alumni Association, will be held on July 31 in Light Hall. Admission is free, but advanced registration is required.

The symposium was created to further explore the "Bench to Bedside" phrase so often echoed around the Vanderbilt campus and features a diverse range of speakers who represent the varied industries of government, policy, nonprofits, translational research and administration.

To find out more, or to register for the event, visit the symposium website.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Walter Chazin and Sophia Gayek present MBTP/CSB RCR Special Session on 6/25/2013

Walter Chazin, Ph.D., and Sophia Gayek, of the Ryoma Ohi Lab, present the MBTP/CSB RCR Special Session: "Combating explicit and implicit bias against women in science" on Tuesday, June 25, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Elizabeth Dong Nguyen - Dissertation Defense 6/17/2013

Elizabeth Dong Nguyen, of the Meiler Lab, presents "Structural Studies of the Interaction between mGlu5 and Allosteric Modulators" on Monday, June 17, at 3:30pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Jonathan Schlebach presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 6/18/2013

Jonathan Schlebach, of the Sanders Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Reversible Folding of Human Peripheral Myelin Protein 22: A Tetraspan Membrane Protein" on Tuesday, June 18, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Walter Chazin presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 6/4/2013

Walter Chazin, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "The dynamic structure of proteins in action: Initiation of DNA synthesis at the replication fork" on Tuesday, June 4, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in 1220 MRBIII.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Qiuyan Chen presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 5/28/2013

Qiuyan Chen, of the Iverson & Gurevich Labs, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Arrestin shape-shifting: NMR study of free and receptor-bound arrestin" on Tuesday, May 28, at 12:30pm-1:30pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Meiler Lab Releases BCL 3.0

The Meiler Lab announces the release of BCL 3.0 for all Vanderbilt scientists. The latest version of the BioChemical Library (BCL) Software Suite is comprised of a collection of C++ algorithms designed to simulate biological molecules, proteins and peptides in particular, as well as small chemicals such as therapeutics.

Version 3.0 features the suite of cheminformatics and QSAR applications while it highlights new and improved extensions to bioinformatics, including JUFO9D, membrane folding protocols and SAXS simulation. User interface improvements include a friendlier command line interface and enhanced help dialogues.

Friends and collaborators may download the software with a license file from VU e-Innovations. The license is free for academic users.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Stephanie Hirst DeLuca to Present at 2013 Membrane Protein Folding Conference

Stephanie Hirst DeLuca, of the Meiler Lab, presents "RosettaEPR: Combining Computational Rigid Body Sampling with Sparse EPR Data to Improve Membrane Protein Structure Determination" at the 2013 Membrane Protein Folding Conference to be held May 19 - 22 in Seoul, South Korea.

The Biophysical Society and the Korea Institute for Advanced Study (KIAS) are sponsoring the conference which focuses on fundamental aspects of how membrane proteins fold ranging from physical chemistry to aspects of folding in the cell. The meeting also features practical implications of protein folding, such as, protein design, stabilization and misfolding in disease.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Elizabeth Nguyen Named Co-winner of the Vanderbilt 3-Minute Thesis Competition

Congratulations to Elizabeth Nguyen, of the Meiler Lab, for co-winning the Vanderbilt 3-Minute Thesis Competition for her presentation "Progress Towards Unlocking the Treatment for Cognitive Impairment."

The Vanderbilt Graduate Student Council sponsors the competition which challenges graduate students in all fields to present their thesis in only 3 minutes to a diverse audience. Each participating student must present his research topic, explain how the research is conducted and identify the impact it will have on the general or academic community.

Elizabeth's research involves the computational modeling of G-protein coupled receptors, specifically metabatropic glutamate receptor 5 and its binding site for drugs used to treat schizophrenia and Fragile X Syndrome.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Martin Egli presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 5/7/2013

Martin Egli, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "The KaiABC post-translational circadian oscillator: insights from and challenges for structural biology" on Tuesday, May 7, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Biophysics Symposium to be held in the Bluegrass State

The Biophysical Society (BPS) is hosting the Bluegrass Molecular Biophysics Symposium on Monday, May 20, at the University of Kentucky. The event begins at 8:30am with registration and poster set up.

The symposium will focus on molecular biophysics with the goal of establishing stronger ties between biophysicists in the region.

The event is free, but participants must register in advance. The abstract submission and registration deadline is May 6. To find out more about submitting an abstract or to register, visit the BPS website.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Tyler Gilcrest - Honors Thesis Defense on 4/23/2013

Tyler Gilcrest presents "Computational Docking of Chromone-Based Inhibitors into Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (STAT) Proteins" on Tuesday, April 23, at 1:00pm - 3:00pm in MRBIII, Room 5131.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Register Now for the HTS Workshop on April 26

Register now for the Virtual High-Throughput Screening (HTS) Workshop on April 26. The workshop begins takes place in Stevenson Center, Room 5119, from 9am to 5pm.

The workshop is hosted by the Meiler lab and is open to all Vanderbilt researchers no matter their expertise in the process of virtual screen design. Contact Will Lowe to register or find out more.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Nicholas Reiter Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 4/23/2013

Nicholas Reiter, Ph.D., presents the RCR Special Session: "Conflicting interests and the fate of the whistleblower" on Tuesday, April 23, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Matthew Thompson Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 4/16/2013

Matthew Thompson, Ph.D., of the Armstrong Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Structural and Chemical Biology of Fosfomycin Resistance Proteins" on Tuesday, April 16, at 12:30pm-1:30pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Virtual High-Throughput Screening Workshop on April 26

The Meiler Lab is hosting a Virtual High-Throughput Screening (HTS) Workshop on April 26 at 9am - 5pm in Stevenson Center, Room 5119. The Meiler Lab has produced a user-friendly platform that allows researchers without specific training in quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) methodology to design and execute virtual screens. The HTS Workshop will cover the entire workflow of the QSAR methodology providing an introduction and training to interested researchers.

Although the HTS process can be expensive and time-consuming, it still offers the best chance of identifying new molecular probes de novo, yet the yield of hits can be low. With HTS data now increasingly available in the public domain, methods for ligand-based computer-aided drug discovery (LB-CADD) have the ability to accelerate and increase the quality of probe development and drug discovery efforts while reducing costs. The software suite created by the Meiler Lab has been specifically designed for this task.

The platform uses QSAR to develop a mathematical function that relates chemical structure to the biological activity of interest. The application of machine learning techniques, such as artificial neural networks, allows the development of nonlinear mathematical functions, a marked improvement over traditional QSAR approaches that rely solely on linear regression analysis.

To learn more about the power of virtual HTS or to register for the workshop, contact Will Lowe. The workshop is open to all Vanderbilt researchers no matter their expertise in the process of virtual screen design.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Martin Egli Selected to Give the 2013 Alexander Rich Lecture

Congratulations to Biochemistry Professor Martin Egli, Ph.D., on being selected to give the 2013 Alexander Rich Lecture at MIT. Dr. Egli will present "Structure and Mechanism of the KaiABC Post-Translational Circadian Oscillator" on April 9.

This distinguished series is sponsored by the MIT Department of Biology and features renowned speakers in many areas of the biological sciences from universities and institutions worldwide. It was inaugurated in 2006 by the celebrated namesake, Professor Alexander Rich. The lectureship has included notable speakers, such as Paul Schimmel of The Scripps Research Institute, Gregory Petsko of Brandeis University, Alexander Varshavsky of Caltech, and Ada Yonath of The Weizmann Institute of Science.

Congratulations Martin on this outstanding honor!


News posted by walter.chazin@vanderbilt.edu:

Chrystal Starbird and Amanda Duram awarded NSF fellowships

Congratulations to Chrystal Starbird of the Iverson lab and Amanda Duran of the Meiler lab, who have been awarded 2013 NSF graduate fellowships!


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Andrew Link Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 4/2/2013

Andrew Link, Ph.D., presents: "Translation Complexes: Catalytic Engines or Regulatory Elements?" on Tuesday, April 2, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.

For more information about Dr. Link, please visit the Department of Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology website.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Georges Mer Presents Biochemistry 337 Seminar on 4/1/2013

Georges Mer, Ph. D., presents the Biochemistry 337 Seminar: "Structural insights into the mode of action of histone chaperones" on Monday, April 1, at 4:00pm-5:00pm in Light Hall, Room 512.

Dr. Mer is an Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. He is also a former Chazin Lab postdoc. To learn more about his research, click here.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Walter Chazin Presents Molecular Toxicology Seminar on 3/25/2013

CSB Director Walter J. Chazin presents the Center in Molecular Toxicology Seminar: "Structural analysis of XPC, XPA and RPA and their roles in nucleotide excision repair" on Monday, March 25, at 12:00pm-1:00pm in Light Hall, Room 512.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Nikolaus Grigorieff presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 3/26/2013

Invited speaker Nikolaus Grigorieff, Ph.D., from Brandeis University, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Cryo-EM with movies: Higher resolution with optimized image contrast" on Tuesday, March 26, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Pedro Teixeira - Masters Thesis Defense 3/14/2013

Pedro Teixeira, of the Meiler Lab, presents "Using Evolutionarily-Based Correlation Measures to Improve Protein Structure Prediction in BCL::Fold" on Thursday, March 14, in Preston Research Building, Room 206 at 1:00 pm.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Samuel DeLuca Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 3/19/2013

Samuel DeLuca, of the Meiler Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Development of a Virtual High Throughput Protein-Ligand Docking System Incorporating QSAR Derived Chemical Data" on Tuesday, March 19, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Program in Microbial Pathogenesis Mini-Symposium on 4/12/2013

The Program in Microbial Pathogenesis presents the mini-symposium: "Imaging Infectious Diseases" on Friday, April 12, at noon – 5:00 pm in the Student Life Center Board of Trust Room. This mini-symposium highlights the work of various Vanderbilt University investigators who apply imaging technology to the study of infectious diseases.

Dr. Clifton E. Barry III, from the NIAID Laboratory of Clinical Infectious Diseases, presents this year’s keynote address. The symposium also features Vanderbilt speakers from the Departments of Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology; Cell & Developmental Biology; Pediatrics; Medicine; and Biochemistry, as well as overviews of the resources and services by provided the Vanderbilt Institute of Imaging Sciences (VUIIS) and the Cell Imaging Shared Resource (CISR).

For more information or to attend this event, email the Program in Microbial Pathology. RSVP with your name, title and department by April 8.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

New CSB Staff Member: Mariena Silvestry Ramos

Please welcome Mariena Silvestry Ramos, Ph.D., as the newest Center for Structural Biology staff member. Silvestry Ramos joins the center as the Manager of the Cryo-EM Facility following her recruitment from the New York Structural Biology Center.

Silvestry Ramos obtained her B.S. in Biology at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez and pursued undergraduate research at UPR-Mayaguez, Rutgers University and the University of Massachusetts. She is one of our own, having completed her Ph.D. at Vanderbilt with Phoebe Stewart. During her time here, she was an active member of the Molecular Biophysics Training Program. After postdoctoral training in NMR with Gary Shaw at the University of Western Ontario, she returned to the Cryo-EM field as an applications scientist at the renowned NYSBC.

She brings to the CSB a vast experience in electron microscopy instrumentation and analysis, including structure determination of viruses and membrane proteins.

Welcome Mariena!


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Charles Day - Dissertation Defense 3/6/2013

Charles Day, of the Kenworthy Lab, presents "Role of Cytoskeleton in Cholera Toxin Diffusion and Endocytosis" on Wednesday, March 6, in Light Hall, Room 214 at 2:00 pm.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Gerald Stubbs Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 3/5/2013

Gerald Stubbs, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "The Prion, or There and Back Again - A fifty year journey from peptides to proteins to viruses to peptides" on Tuesday, March 5, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB Researchers Unveil Antibacterial Protein’s Molecular Workings

Walter Chazin, Ph.D., and Postdoc fellow Steven Damo, Ph.D., working in collaboration with Eric P. Skaar, Ph.D., and Postdoc fellow Thomas Kehl-Fie, Ph.D., report new insights to the workings of calprotectin, specifically how it binds the metal manganese. Their findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could lead to unique antibacterials that limit a microbe’s access to metals and help develop new therapies to fight increasing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics.

Chazin has studied caplrotectin for many years and, working with Skaar and other colleagues in a series of previous studies, has shown that it inhibits bacterial growth by absorbing the manganese and zinc that bacteria need for replication. Researchers know that some bacteria are more sensitive to zinc-binding properties of calprotectin, while others are more sensitive to the manganese-binding properties, and determining the importance of metal binding to calprotectin’s different roles may lead to designing new antibacterial agents.

The CSB team included research assistants Norie Sugitani and Subodh Rathi, and summer interns Marilyn Holt, Wes Murphy and Laura Hench, as well as colleague Guenther Fritz at the University of Freiburg in Germany.

Read the complete article in the VUMC Reporter.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Teru Nakagawa Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 2/26/2013

Terunaga Nakagawa, M.D., Ph.D., presents the RCR Special Session: "How reproducible is your experiment?" on Tuesday, February 26, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Chuck Sanders Wins Protein Society Award

Congratulations to CSB researcher Chuck Sanders, Ph.D., on winning the 2013 Hans Neurath Award from The Protein Society. He shares the honor with Jennifer Doudna, Ph.D., of the University of California, Berkley.

The award recognizes individuals who have made a recent contribution of exceptional merit to basic protein research, including - but not restricted to - the chemistry, design, folding, structure or biological function of proteins.

Chuck has made numerous contributions to membrane protein structural biology and the application of NMR to the study of membrane protein structure and function. His work is epitomized by the 2012 paper published in Science on the amyloid precursor protein and its avid binding of cholesterol.

The award will be presented during the 27th Annual Symposium of The Protein Society in Boston, Massachusetts, taking place July 20-24, 2013.

Read more in the VUMC Reporter.


News posted by
karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB Research Spotlight - Galina Lepesheva

CSB researcher Galina Lepesheva, Ph.D., and colleagues have been featured in the VUMC Reporter for their recent findings on the Trypanosoma cruzi protozoan parasite which causes Chagas disease. The deadly tropical infection is transmitted by biting insects called “kissing bugs” and is spreading around the world.

Although there is no cure or vaccination for the chronic form of the disease and the existing drugs for the acute form are toxic, the study reports curing both forms of the infection in mice with a small molecule, VNI.

About 8 million people have been infected with T. cruzi, mostly in Latin America, but kissing bugs have been found across the southern United States. The finding in mice opens new opportunities for a potentially curative treatment.

Read more about the T. cruzi research in the Aliquots section of the Reporter.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB Researchers Discover Genes Involved in Heart Rhythm Disorders

Walter Chazin, Ph.D., and colleagues have discovered two new genetic mutations in two unrelated infants that cause recurrent cardiac arrest. The findings, published in the journal Circulation, add to the causes of the life-threatening condition in early infancy and may lead to expanded treatments.

The two cases from the study – one in Italy and one in Chicago – suffered from early and repeated cardiac arrests although both infants had healthy parents with no symptoms or family history of the condition. In each infant, researchers discovered de novo mutations in two of the three genes coding for calmodulin, a calcium-binding protein essential for intracellular signaling in multiple tissues including heart.

Dr. Chazin and Christopher Johnson, Ph.D., of the Chazin Lab, investigated the impact of the mutations on calmodulin function. They found that all of the mutations impaired the ability of calmodulin to bind calcium. They are now exploring how dysfunctional calmodulin affects electrical activity in the heart, causing arrhythmias.

Other CSB contributors to the Circulation paper include Chazin Lab members Michael Feldkamp, Ph.D., and Subodh Rathi. Read the complete article in the Reporter.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

William Wan Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 2/19/2013

William Wan, of the Stubbs Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Insights into prion polymorphism from the fungal prion HET-s" on Tuesday, February 19, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

ASBMB Student/Postdoc Hill Day: Call for Applications

If you would like to be a part of the debate over the importance of research funding, then complete an application for the next Student/Postdoc Hill Day on March 18-20, 2013. The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology brings together young researchers from across the country to meet with their Congressional leaders in Washington, D.C.

Congressional leaders rely on input from their constituents when making decisions. The Student/Postdoc Hill Day is a fully funded program that gives participants the opportunity to highlight the importance and successes of research, discuss the impact of government-funded research on human health and establish a personal connection with Congressional representatives.

Hill Day begins Monday, March 18, with an orientation session for participants. On Tuesday, March 19, participants convene on Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress before departing on Wednesday, March 20. The ASBMB provides transportation, lodging and meals during the event.

Anyone interested in participating should complete and submit a Hill Day application form. The application deadline is Feb. 8.

For more information, please contact ASBMB Science Policy Fellow Chris Pickett.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Gregor Neuert presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 2/5/2013

Gregor Neuert, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Quantifying dynamic signal transduction and gene regulation in individual cells with single molecule resolution" on Tuesday, February 5, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

John Christodoulou presents CSB Special Seminar on 2/12/2013

John Christodoulou, Ph.D., invited speaker from University College London, presents the CSB Special Seminar - "Protein Folding on the Ribosome" on Tuesday, February 12, at 12:30pm-1:30pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.

Dr. Christodoulou, former member of the Chazin Group, is a Reader at the Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology at University College London and Birkbeck College, University of London. He is also the Director of the Biological NMR Center at UCL.

His postdoctoral training has taken him from The Scripps Research Institute to Vanderbilt University to Cambridge University. He has received a HFSP Young Investigator award and recently became a Wellcome Trust Investigator. His research interests involve the use of NMR Spectroscopy to understand structure and dynamics, and in particular focus on protein folding on the ribosome during biosynthesis.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB Research Spotlight

CSB researchers Walter Chazin, Charles Sanders and Tina Iverson have been featured in the VUMC Reporter for their recent findings on the DNA processing "hub" and light receptor's interactions.

Walter Chazin, Ph. D., and colleagues have combined small-angle x-ray and neutron scattering with dynamic molecular modeling to determine now the structure of RPA responds as it engages DNA. Their findings, published in Nucleic Acids Research, provide a new framework for understanding how RPA functions in DNA processing machines.

Charles Sanders, Ph.D., Tina Iverson, Ph.D., and colleagues have used solution NMR spectroscopy to explore the interaction of arrestin-1 with different forms of rhodopsin. Their paper, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, highlights the nature of receptor-induced structural changes in arrestins which can be targeted for therapeutic purposes.

Read more about the RPA research and the Arrestin research in the Aliquots section of the Reporter.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Paul Barrett presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 1/22/2013

2013 Karpay Award Winner Paul Barrett presents "Where is my doughnut? A link between cholesterol and Alzheimer's Disease" on Tuesday, Jan. 22, at 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm in MRB III, Room 1220. The award presentation and reception will follow.

Read more about Paul and the Karpay Award here.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Sanders & Iverson/Gurevich Labs Collaborate on Arrestin Paper

The Sanders Lab and the Iverson/Gurevich Lab have jointly published the paper, "Involvement of distinct arrestin-1 elements in binding to different functional forms of rhodopsin," in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, USA.

The project was led by Tiandi Zhuang, postdoc student in the Sanders Lab, and Qiuyan Chen, graduate student in the Iverson/Gurevich Lab and VISP/Pharmacology graduate programs.

The paper includes the first ever NMR spectra of an arrestin bound to a full-length G protein-coupled receptor. It also suggests the nature of the structural change that takes place in the arrestin when it becomes activated to stimulate intracellular signaling upon binding to active and phosphorylated receptors.

The paper is currently available online and will be available in print soon. Read the entire paper at PNAS.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Brian Weiner presents Chemistry Seminar on 1/14/2013

Brian Weiner presents the Chemistry Seminar - "BCL::MP-Fold: Folding Membrane Proteins through Assembly of Trans-Membrane Helices" on Monday, January 14, at 4:00pm-5:15pm in 5211 Stevenson Center.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Paul Barrett receives Karpay Award

Congratulations to Paul Barrett for being named the 2013 recipient of The Anne Karpay Award in Structural Biology. “It is a great honor to be selected for the Karpay Award,” Barrett said.

Barrett is a member of the Sanders Lab and began his career learning how to perform NMR experiments. From there he became involved in studies investigating the ability of the C99 protein to bind Gamma Secretase Modulators (GSMs) in the treatment of Alzheimer ’s disease and determining the 3D structure of C99 using NMR spectroscopy.

Since completing his structural studies in 2012, he has collaborated with Vanderbilt researchers Dr. Bruce Carter, Professor of Biochemistry, and Dr. Anne Kenworthy, Associate Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, to create new hypotheses regarding the function of C99.

Barrett presents “Where is my doughnut? A link between cholesterol and Alzheimer’s Disease” on Tuesday, Jan. 22, in 1220 MRB III as part of the MBTP/CSB seminar series. The seminar begins at 12:30pm with a reception and award presentation to follow.

The Karpay Award was established in 2010 to honor the memory of Dr. Anne Karpay who died after a four-year battle with breast cancer. It recognizes one senior graduate student who is a well-rounded colleague and scientist, who is collaborative and collegial and who has performed exceptional research in the field of structural biology. Karpay exemplified each characteristic and demonstrated a passion for science, for friendship and for life in general.

“Although I did not have the pleasure of knowing Anne, I have heard only amazing things about her from faculty members as well as close friends she had at Vanderbilt,” said Barrett. “This award is very special.”

The Karpay Award is funded entirely by donations to an endowment managed through the Development Office of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Make donations to the fund through the Vanderbilt Gives website. Contact Karen D. Davis in the CSB for more information or assistance in making a donation.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Daniel Putnam - Masters Thesis Defense on 1/14/2013

Daniel Putnam, of the Meiler Lab, defends his Masters Thesis: "BCL::SAXS - Small Angle X-Ray Scattering Profiles to Assist Protein Structure Prediction" on Monday, January 14, at 1:00 pm in PRB, Room 206.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB co-sponsors The Flexner Discovery Lecture Series on 1/10/2013

Brenda A. Schulman, Ph.D., presents The Flexner Discovery Lecture Series: "Twists and Turns in Ubiquitin Conjugation Cascade" on Thursday, January 10, at 4:00 pm in Light Hall, Room 208.

This lecture is co-sponsored by Department of Biochemistry and Center for Structural Biology.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Stephen Fesik presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 1/8/2013

Stephen Fesik, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Cancer drug discovery using fragment-based methods" on Tuesday, January 8, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB Makes a Leipzig Connection

Vanderbilt University and the University of Leipzig have established a research connection thanks to Jens Meiler, associate professor of chemistry and primary investigator in the Center for Structural Biology. It began in 2007 when Meiler was invited to give a guest lecture at his alma mater while visiting family in Germany.

His talk stirred up interest and opened a path for faculty members and graduate students from each university to spend time visiting, collaborating and studying at the other campus.

Since there is a common research bond, the administrations of the two universities have signed a five-year memorandum of understanding that allows and encourages academic exchanges, facilitates joint research programs, student programs and a cultural exchange program. Meiler and his colleagues have also received a grant from the National Science Foundation Office of International Science to develop this collaboration between the institutions.

The Leipzig connection demonstrates how grassroots efforts of individual Vanderbilt researchers have led to formal relationships extending across many fields.

Read the full article on the Research News at Vanderbilt website.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Jens Meiler Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 12/18/2012

Jens Meiler, Ph.D., presents an RCR Special Session: "Peer review of papers and proposals - how to prepare a constructive, fair, unbiased, effective review" on Tuesday, December 18, at 12:30 pm - 1:20 pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Albert Beth and Hassane Mchaourab elected AAAS fellows

Center for Structural Biology core faculty members Albert Beth, Ph.D., and Hassane Mchaourab, Ph.D., have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Dr. Beth, professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, is honored for the development of high resolution spin label probes and for their utilization in determining the dynamics and structure of membrane proteins. Dr. Mchaourab, professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, is acknowledged for pioneering contributions to the development of biological electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and to membrane protein structural biology.

Dr. Beth and Dr. Mchaourab are among seventeen Vanderbilt University faculty members and 703 scientists nationwide to be elected fellows this year. They will be recognized on Feb. 16 at the 2013 AAAS annual meeting in Boston.

To see a complete list of the Vanderbilt University faculty members selected and their achievements, read the full article in the Reporter. The Reporter is a weekly publication of Vanderbilt University Medical Center.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB Investigators featured in Journal of Biological Chemistry

F. Peter Guengerich, Ph.D., Martin Egli, Ph.D., and colleagues were featured on the cover of the Oct. 12 Journal of Biological Chemistry. Their publication documented how specific adducts, resulting from exposure to known carcinogens, may cause DNA errors that spur cancer formation.

Read more about the research and publication in the Aliquots section of the Reporter.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Terunaga Nakagawa Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 12/04/2012

Terunaga Nakagawa, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar - "Exploring the diversity and mechanism of AMPA receptor modulation by auxiliary factors" on Tuesday, December 4, at 12:30pm-1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Jessica Mazerik Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 11/13/2012

Jessica Mazerik, of the Tyska Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar - "Using single molecule approaches to probe Myosin-1a membrane binding dynamics in cells" on Tuesday, November 13, at 12:20pm - 1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Rosetta Workshop 2012

The Meiler Lab will host the 2012 Rosetta Workshop at Vanderbilt University November 14-16, 2012. The 3-day workshop will cover introductory exercises in the Rosetta protein modeling suite. Please visit the website for detailed information about the workshop.

The registration fee for academic/non-profit participants is $200 and $1000 for industry participants. The registration fee includes select meals, snacks and registration materials. Limited spots are available, so register soon.

Those interested in attending should complete a registration form and return it to c.fortenberry@vanderbilt.edu.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Nicholas Reiter Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 11/06/2012

Nicholas Reiter, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar - "Structural mechanisms of the ribonuclease P enzyme: Insights into the RNA world past and present" on Tuesday, November 6, at 12:30pm - 1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Richard Armstrong, Ph.D., Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 10/23/2012

Richard Armstrong, Ph.D., presents MBTP/CSB Seminar: "Ethical Obligations in the Publication of Science" on Tuesday, October 23, at 12:15pm - 1:15pm in Light Hall, Room 208.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Daniel Huster, Ph.D., Presents VICB Seminar

Daniel Huster, Ph.D., visiting professor from the University of Leipzig, presents the VICB Seminar - "Solid-state NMR Methods to Study Challenging Biological Systems: Membrane Proteins, Amyloids, Tissue" on Tuesday, October 9, at 12:15pm in MRBIII, Room 1220. The seminar is co-sponsored by CSB. For more information, contact: anne.b.lara@vanderbilt.edu.


News posted by karen.d.davis@vanderbilt.edu:

Kathryn McCulloch, Ph.D. Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 10/16/2012

Kathryn McCulloch, Ph.D., of the Iverson Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar - "Investigation into the Basis of Orthoester Bond Formation in Everninomicin" on Tuesday, October 16, at 12:30pm - 1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by walter.chazin@vanderbilt.edu:

Lacy promoted to Associate Professor with tenure

Congratulations to Borden Lacy on her promotion, which was just approved this week by the Board of Trust!


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Mchaourab to lead Chemical and Physical Biology program

Congratulations to Hassane Mchaourab, Ph.D., professor of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, Physics and Chemistry, who has been named the new director of the Ph.D.-granting Chemical and Physical Biology (CPB) program at Vanderbilt University.

Read the full article in the VUMC Reporter.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Desiree Benefield Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 9/18/2012

Desiree Benefield, of the Lacy Lab, presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar - "Portrait of a killer: A microscopy study of the botulinum neurotoxin complex" on Tuesday, September 18 at 12:20pm - 1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Gordon Lemmon – Dissertation Defense, 09/18/2012

Gordon Lemmon of the Meiler Lab Presents, "Development of Methods for Docking and Designing Small Molecules within the Rosetta Code Framework" on Tuesday, September 18 in MRBIII, Room 3131 at 10:00 am.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Melanie Ohi Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 9/11/2012

Melanie Ohi, Ph.D. presents "RCR Special Session" on Tuesday, September 11 at 12:30pm - 1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Charles Sanders Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 9/4/2012

Charles Sanders, Ph.D. presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar - "What Should PhD Students and Postdoctoral Fellows Expect From Themselves" on Tuesday, September 4 at 12:30pm - 1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Anne Kenworthy Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 8/7/2012

Anne Kenworthy, Ph.D. presents "Role of glycolipid binding toxins in the assembly and function of membrane domains" on Tuesday, August 7 at 12:30pm - 1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Hitoshi Kurumizaka Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 8/14/2012

Hitoshi Kurumizaka, Ph.D., Professor, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan will present - "Structures of human nucleosomes containing histone variants, and their functional versatility" on Tuesday, August 14 at 12:30pm - 1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220. Dr. Kurumizaka host is Melanie Ohi, Assistant Professor in Cell and Developmental Biology.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Richard Armstrong named a Fellow of the American Chemical Society

Congratulations to Richard Armstrong, who has been named a Fellow of the American Chemical Society. Richard is the third Vanderbilt faculty member to be named an ACS Fellow, joining Fred Guengerich (2009) and Larry Marnett (2010). This is truly a significant honor that recognizes sustained contribution to the discipline of chemistry, an award that is richly deserved. Bravo Richard.

For more information, read the Reporter article.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Steve Damo Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 7/17/2012

Steve Damo, Ph.D. presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar - "Molecular basis for the broad spectrum antimicrobial activity of calprotectin" on Tuesday, July 17 at 12:30pm - 1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Brandt Eichman & James Goldenring Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 6/26/2012

Brandt Eichman, Ph.D. and James Goldenring, M.D., Ph.D. presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar - “Guilty Until Proven Innocent: The Realities of Research Ethics" on Tuesday, June 26 at 12:30pm - 1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Yuanli Song Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 6/19/2012

Yuanli Song, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar - "Molecular Insights into the Roles of C99 and Cholesterol in Alzheimer’s Disease", on Tuesday, June 19 at 12:30pm - 1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Matthew Lang Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 6/5/2012

Matthew Lang, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar - "Measuring unfolding and translocation by an ATP-fueled proteolytic machine" on Tuesday, June 5 at 12:30pm - 1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Sanders Lab Clarifies the Relationship of Cholesterol to Alzheimer's Disease

While more than 1500 papers have been published on cholesterol and Alzheimer's disease, why cholesterol promotes the disease remains murky. In an article published in the June 1 issue of Science Chuck Sanders and his co-workers in the Center for Structural Biology have shed light on this issue by showing that cholesterol forms a direct complex with the amyloid precursor protein (APP), from which the toxic agent of Alzheimer's disease, amyloid-beta, is derived. Drugs that prevent binding of cholesterol to APP may help to avoid the production of amyloid-beta, which might help to prevent or even treat Alzheimer's.

Read the full article at sciencemag.org.

Also read the article in the Vanderbilt Reporter


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Michael Waterman Receives an Academic Enterprise Faculty Award

Michael Waterman was presented with John H. Exton Award for Research Leading to Innovative Biological Concepts at the spring faculty meeting on May 17, 2012. He was recognized for his outstanding contributions to research. Congratulations Dr. Waterman.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Symposium on Frontiers in Biomolecular NMR on 5/5/2012

The Vanderbilt University Center for Structural Biology will host this symposium as a re-dedication of the Biomolecular NMR Facility, marking a series of major upgrades, including installation of a new 900 MHz NMR spectrometer. This will be held on Saturday, May 5, 2012 from 9:00am - 5:00 pm. Please visit the link below for details. http://structbio.vanderbilt.edu/nmr/Symposium_2012/program_symposium.php


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

NMR Workshop sponsored by Bruker BioSpin on 5/4/2012

NMR Workshop to be held on May 4, 2012 from 9:30am - 4:00 pm. Please visit the link below for more information. http://structbio.vanderbilt.edu/nmr/Symposium_2012/program_workshop.php


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Borden Lacy Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 5/1/2012

Borden Lacy, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar - "Structure and Function of Clostridium difficile Toxins A and B", on Tuesday, May 1 at 12:30pm - 1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by jessica.greer@vanderbilt.edu:

Nathan Alexander – Dissertation Defense, 04/24/2012

Nathan Alexander of the Meiler Lab Presents, “Protein Structure Elucidation from Computation Techniques and Sparse EPR Data” on Tuesday, April 24 in MRBIII, Room 1220 at 2:00 pm.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Gage Matthews Presents Chemical & Physical Biology Program Special Seminar on 4/18/2012

Gage Matthews of the Beth Lab, presents "Structural Determination of Local Movements of the FG-Loop and Alpha-Helix of Sodium-Calcium Exchanger NCX1.1 Upon Binding of Calcium Ions" on Wednesday, April 18 at 2:00pm - 3:00pm in PRB, Room 206.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Stephen Fesik to receive 2012 AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Chemistry in Cancer Research

Stephen Fesik, Ph.D., Professor Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Chemistry will receive the 2012 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Award. He is receiving the special recognition for his use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to discover novel, potent small molecules capable for use as cancer therapeutics. Fesik will receive the award and will deliver a special lecture at the AACR Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL. Congratulations to Professor Fesik!


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Julia Koehler Leman - Dissertation Defense, 4/11/2012

Julia Koehler Leman of the Meiler & Sanders Labs presents, "Method development for membrane protein structure determination using NMR spectroscopy and computational techniques" on Wednesday, April 11 in PRB, Room 206 at 2:00pm.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Kristin N. Parent Presents MPB/CSB Faculty Candidate Seminar on 4/2/2012

Kristin N. Parent, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, from the University of California, San Diego presents "Cryo-EM studies of viruses and bacteriophage: Past, present and future directions" on Monday April 2 at 10:00am - 11:00am in PRB, Room 206. Dr. Parent host is Hassane Mchaourab, Professor in Molecular Physiology and Biophysics.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Michael Waterman Awarded the 2012 Schroepfer Medal

Michael Waterman, Natalie Overall Warren Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry, has been awarded the 2012 Schroepfer Medal by the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS) for his contributions to the steroid/sterol field. Waterman will receive a medal and honorarium, and will give an award lecture at the AOCS Annual Meeting in Long Beach, California. Congratulations to Professor Waterman!


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Paul Bock Presents MBTP/CSB Seminar on 4/3/2012

Paul Bock, Ph.D., presents the MBTP/CSB Seminar - "The staphylocoagulase family of zymogen activators and adhesion proteins (ZAAPs)" on Tuesday April 3 at 12:30pm - 1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Sam DeLuca - MBTP/CSB Seminar, 3/20/2012

Sam DeLuca of the Meiler Lab presents "Design of native-like proteins through an exposure-dependent environment potential" on Tuesday, March 20, 2012 at 12:30pm - 1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Michael Waterman Presents Molecular Toxicology Seminar on 03/19/2012

Michael Waterman, Ph.D, presents the Molecular Toxicology Seminar - "Unusual Properties of the Cytochrome P450 Superfamily" on Monday, March 19 at 12:00pm - 1:00pm in Light Hall, Room 512.


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Linda Columbus – Chemistry Colloquium Series, 03/19/2012

Linda Columbus, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Virginia presents, “Membrane protein structural biology: from micelles to bacterial invasion” on Monday, March 19 at 4:15pm in Stevenson Center 5211. Dr. Columbus host is Jens Meiler, Associate Professor in Chemistry.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

International Hybrid Structural Biology Conference 2012

The conference aims to illustrate the power of combining state of the art methods to tackle important and challenging biological problems and to identify limitations and gaps in currently practiced hybrid methods. The central premise is that gaining a comprehensive understanding of the highly sophisticated complexes, machines, and organelles of the cell requires the coordinated application of complementary biophysical approaches hybrid methods). This will be held at Granlibakken Conference Center, Lake Tahoe from 8:00am - 12:00 pm on Wednesday March 14, 2012.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Michael Waterman - “Unusual Properties of the Cytochrome P450 Superfamily”

Michael Waterman, Ph.D, presents “Unusual Properties of the Cytochrome P450 Superfamily” on Tuesday, March 6 at 12:30pm - 1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Mirko Hennig - Chemistry Colloquium Series

Mirko Hennig presents "RNA-protein interactions involved in microRNA biogenesis" on Monday, February 20 at 4:15 - 5:30pm in the Stevenson Center Room 5211.


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Hassane Mchaourab, Ph.D. MBTP/CSB Seminar, 02/07/2012

Hassane Mchaourab, Ph.D. presents, "Conformational Dynamics of Membrane Proteins. The View from Spin Labeling and ERP Spectroscopy" on Tuesday, February 7 at 12:30 1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Ezelle McDonald – Dissertation Defense, 02/14/2012

Ezelle McDonald of the Mchaourab Lab Presents, “The Role of the N-terminal Domain in the Dynamics of Hsp27 Equilibrium Dissociation” on Tuesday, February 14 in Light Hall, Room 208 at 10:00a. Reception will be held in MRBIV, 7th floor Atrium at 2:00p.


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Mary Carroll wins Vanderbilt’s first Damon Runyon Fellowship

Mary Carroll, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research fellow in Biochemistry, (Fesik lab) was recently named one of 18 Damon Runyon Fellows by the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. The three-year, $156,000 award provides independent funding for outstanding postdoctoral scientists to pursue innovative projects. Carroll is the first postdoctoral fellow from Vanderbilt to receive this award.


News posted by just_jessica01@hotmail.com:

Elitza Tocheva - Faculty Candidate Seminar - 1/12/2012

Elitza Tocheva, of the California Institute of Technology, Department of Biology presents "Electron Cryo-Tomography of Bacterial Endospore Formation", on Thursday January 12th at 10:00 am in 512 Light Hall.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

William Heller - MBTP/CSB Seminar, 1/10/2012

William Heller of the Biology and Soft Matter Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory presents "Neutron Scattering for Investigating the Structures of Biological Systems" on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 12:30pm - 1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Christina K. Williams - Dissertation Defense, 12/21/2011

Christina K. Williams of the Chazin Lab Presents, "Biochemical and Structural Analysis of SV40 Large T Antigen: Insights Into Chaperone Mediated Inactivation Of Retinoblastoma Tumor Suppressor Protein" on Wednesday, December 21 in MRBIII, Room 1220 at 9:00am.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.Edu:

Meiler Student, Sam DeLuca, wins fellowship

Sam DeLuca, graduate student in the Meiler laboratory, wins an "Informatics" graduate student fellowship from the Phrma foundation. Sam's research focuses on computational modeling of protein-small molecule interactions for drug discovery.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Brittany Allison - NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Brittany Allison, a chemistry student in the Meiler laboratory, received a prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship. Brittany works on computationally engineering proteins that bind small molecules. Her research has implications for understanding the fundamentals of protein-ligand interaction, engineering enzymes, and protein therapeutics. Brittany will start her fellowship after completing her training on the Chemical Biology Training Program, an NIH-funded initiative of Vanderbilt's Institute for Chemical Biology and the Chemistry Department.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

2012 Karpay Award Winner

Congratulations to the 2012 Karpay Award winner Chris A. Brosey.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Home Lab SAD phasing with HKL3000: From data collection to refined models in less than an hour.

Jim Pflugrath, Ph.D., presents Home Lab SAD phasing with HKL3000: From data collection to refined models in less than an hour. This will be held in MRB III, Room 5131 from 10:00am - 11:00am. All are invited to attend and pre-registration can be done via http://www.rigaku.com/protein/webinars.html or you can just attend the webinar without pre-registering.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

"Structural mechanisms for excision repair of DNA alkylation damage"

Brandt Eichman, Ph.D., presents "Structural mechanisms for excision repair of DNA alkylation damage" on Monday November 14, 2011 in the Stevenson Center, Room 5211 from 4:00pm until 5:30pm.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.Edu:

Alan Bentley - “The tangled web of inventorship and patenting of academic technologies”

Alan Bentley, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization presents “The tangled web of inventorship and patenting of academic technologies” on Tuesday, November 15 at 12:30pm - 1:20pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Graduate Student Spotlight - Daniel Putnam

Daniel Putnam, graduate student in the Meiler laboratory, received 2nd place for his oral presentation at the American Medical Informatics Association 2011 annual symposium for his presentation "Exploring Schizophrenia Drug-Gene Interactions Through Molecular Network and Pathway Modeling". He completed the project during his research rotation with the Zhongming Zhao laboratory.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

Laurel Hoffman - Dissertation Defense, 10/25/2011

Laurel Hoffman of the Machaourab Lab presents, “Investigation of CaMKII Activation: A Model of Self-Regulation” on Tuesday, October 25 at 10:00am – 11:00am in Light Hall, Room 208.


News posted by Jessica.Greer@Vanderbilt.edu:

New protein architectures involved in genome maintenance

Brandt Eichman, Ph.D. is holding a seminar on Monday, October 17, 2011 at 512 Light Hall from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm on "New protein architectures involved in genome maintenance".


News posted by barry.a.noland@vanderbilt.edu:

Ulrike Krug - MBTP/CSB Seminar, 10/18/2011

Ulrike Krug, visiting student in the Meiler Lab, presents "Crystallographic and Spectroscopic Studies (EPR,NMR) on the Domain Motion of Nucleotidases from Toxoplasma Gondii and E. Coli" on Tuesday, October 18 from 12:30-1:20 in MRB III, Room 1220.


News posted by barry.a.noland@vanderbilt.edu:

Presentation by John P. Wikswo, Ph.D.

John P. Wikswo, Ph.D., Gordon A. Cain University Professor, Department of Physics & Astronomy, will be presenting on Tuesday, October 4, from 12:30-1:20pm in MRB III, Room 1220.


News posted by barry.a.noland@vanderbilt.edu:

Nils Woetzel - Dissertation Defense, 09/28/2011

Nils Woetzel of the Meiler Lab presents, "A Novel Approach to De Novo Protein Structure Prediction using Knowledge-based Energy Functions and Experimental Restraints" on Wednesday, September 28 from 2:00-3:00pm in the Stevenson Center, Room 5502.


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Martin Egli, Ph.D. – Center in Molecular Toxicology Seminar, 09/19/2011

Martin Egli, Ph.D. presents, “The Steric Hypothesis for DNA Replication – Revisited in Light of New Structural Data” on Monday, September 19 at 12:00pm in Light Hall, Room 512.


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Paul Barrett – MBTP/CSB Seminar, 09/20/2011

Paul Barrett of the Sanders Lab presents, “Untangling Alzheimer’s Disease: What can structural biology tell us about disease regulation?” on Tuesday, September 20 at 12:30 – 1:20pm in MRB III, Room 1220.


News posted by sheila.webb@yahoo.com:

Thomas Ellenberger, DVM, Ph.D. – Biochemistry Fall Seminar, 09/19/2011

Thomas Ellenberger, DVM, Ph.D., Professor and Head of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Washington University School of Medicine presents, “Cellular Responses to DNA Damage” on Monday, September 19 at 4:00pm in Light Hall, Room 512. Dr. Ellenberger host is Fred Guengerich, Professor and Interim Chair of Biochemistry.


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Brandt Eichman, Ph.D. – VICB Seminar, 09/07/2011

Brandt Eichman, Ph.D., presents, “New Twists and Grooves in DNA Base Excision Repair” on Wednesday, September 7 at 12:15p in MRB III, Room 1220.


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Brandt Eichman honored with faculty award

The Chancellor’s Awards for Research were presented at the fall faculty assembly on August 25, 2011. Brandt Eichman was honored this year. Brandt was one of six recipients of the Chancellor’s Award for Research that recognizes excellence in research, scholarship, or creative expression.

This marks the second consecutive year that CSB faculty have been honored by this award, and the fifth recognition since 2003 (Chuck Sanders - 2010, Walter Chazin - 2006, Hassane Mchaourab - 2006, Martin Egli - 2005).

Congratulations to Professor Eichman!


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Chris A. Brosey – Dissertation Defense, 08/31/2011

Chris A. Brosey of the Chazin Lab presents, “Investigating the Architectural Basis of RPA Quaternary Remodeling upon Binding ssDNA” on Wednesday, August 31 at 1:00 – 2:00pm in Light Hall, Room 214.


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Mert Karakas - Dissertation Defense, 09/01/2011

Mert Karakas of the Meiler Lab presents, “BCL::Fold-De novo Protein Structure Prediction by Assembly of Secondary Structure Elements" on Thursday, September 1 at 1:00 – 2:00pm in Light Hall, Room 202.


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Tina Iverson, Ph.D. – MBTP/CSB Seminar, 09/06/2011

Tina Iverson, Ph.D., presents, “How to select, express, and purify a membrane protein for structural studies: tips and tricks from 7 case studies” on Tuesday, September 6 at 12:30 – 1:20pm in MRB III, Room 1220.


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Rory Pruitt - Dissertation Defense, 09/6/2011

Rory Pruitt of the Lacy Lab presents, “Structural Analysis of Clostridium Difficile Toxins A and B” on Tuesday, September 6 at 3:00 – 4:00pm in MRB III, Room 1220.


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Collaboration with Meiler Group shows how G proteins get ‘turned on’ by receptors

The structure of G proteins was solved nearly 20 years ago, but exactly how they are "turned on" by their G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) has remained a mystery until now.

Read more


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Accepting application for 2011 Karpay Award in Structural Biology

The Karpay Award was established in 2010 to recognize one graduate student each year who has both made outstanding contributions to structural biology (broadly defined) and exhibits a well-rounded and collegial character. The award is contingent upon presenting a seminar in the MBTG series during January and consists of a $1500 honorarium. The name of the recipient will be added to a plaque housed in the CSB. Applications will be accepted by email to tina.iverson@vanderbilt.edu until 5PM on September 1.

Click here for Application Instructions


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Congratulations -- Edward W. Lowe

The National Science Foundation awards a fellowship of $240,000 to Edward W. Lowe, post-doctoral fellow in the Meiler lab, for support of the project, "PROPMAP: A Novel GPU-accelerated Structure-Property Relationship Mapping Algorithm Utilizing Volunteer Computing."


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Michael P. Stone, Ph.D. – Center in Molecular Toxicology Seminar, 08/15/2011

Michael P. Stone, Ph.D. presents, "Chemistry in the Major Groove of DNA" on Monday, August 15 at 12:00pm – 1:00pm in Light Hall, Room 512.


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Scott Collier – MBTP/CSB Seminar, 08/16/2011

Scott Collier of the Ohi Lab presents, "Structural and functional characterization of Cdc5, an essential splicing factor" on Tuesday, August 16 at 12:30 pm – 1:20 pm in MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by Sonia.N.Leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Kelli Kazmier, a graduate student in the Mchaourab laboratory, received a National Research Award.

Kelli Kazmier received a T31 individual predoctoral fellowship from the National Institute for Mental Health to fund her thesis research entitled "Conformational Changes Underlying Intracellular Gating of the Leucine Transporter". The award is for two years and began in August, 2011 with the fellowship providing funds toward tuition, fees, and stipend with some additional funding for travel and lab resources. Congratulations Kelli Kazmier!


News posted by Sonia.N.Leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Darren Mushrush - Dissertation Defense, 08/04/2011

Darren Mushrush of the Lacy Lab presents, "Mechanistic Details of the pH-Dependent Association of Botulinum Neurotoxin with Membranes", on Thursday, August 4th at 3:00 - 4:00pm, in Preston Research Building Room 206.


News posted by Sonia.N.Leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Brandt Eichman Ph.D. - MBTP/CSB Seminar, 08/02/2011

Brandt Eichman, Ph.D., presents, "Structural mechanisms for excision repair of DNA alkylation damage" on Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 12:30 - 1:20 pm in the MRB III, Room 1220.


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Lauren Jackson - The Biological Sciences Seminar, 08/01/2011

Lauren Jackson from the University of Cambridge, UK, presents “Structural basis for endocytic cargo recognition at the plasma membrane” on Monday, August 1st, 2011 at 4:10 pm - 5:00 pm in the MRB III, Room 1220.


News posted by sheila.webb@yahoo.com:

Steven Combs – MBTP/CSB Seminar, 07/19/2011

Steven Combs of the Meiler lab presents, “Engineering Proteins with Rosetta” on Tuesday, July 19 at 12:30 pm – 1:20 pm in MRB III, Room 1220


News posted by jsmith@structbio.vanderbilt.edu:

Chuck Sanders receives prestigious award

Chuck Sanders is the recipient of 2012 Anatrace Membrane Protein Award from the Biophysical Society. This award recognizes his groundbreaking work on both discovering new methods for stabilizing membrane proteins and using NMR to understand the structure and dynamics of membrane proteins. The award will be presented to Dr. Sanders on Tuesday Feb. 28, 2012 during the Awards Symposium at the Annual Biophysical Society Meeting in San Diego, CA.


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Melissa Ann Fischer (Steapleton) – Dissertation Defense, 7/8/2011

Melissa Ann Fischer (Steapleton) of the Armstrong Lab presents, “The Characterization of Myeloid Translocation Gene 16 in Hematopoietic Progenitor and Stem Cell Functions”, on Friday, July 8 at 1:00 pm in PRB, Room 898-J.


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Ileana Alers -- Masters Dissertation Defense, 6/28/2011

Ileana Alers of the Chazin Lab presents, "NMR analysis of the RPA dimer core RPA32D/14", on Tuesday, June 28 at 12:30 pm – 1:20 pm in MRB III, Room 1220.


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Matthew Tyska, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 7/5/11

Matthew Tyska, Assistant Professor, Cell and Developmental Biology presents: “Studying molecular motors in live cells using single molecule TIRF microscopy” on Tuesday, July 5 at 12:30 pm – 1:20 pm in MRB III, Room 1220.


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Mike Shell – MBTP/CSB Seminar, 06/21/2011

Mike Shell of the Chazin lab presents, “DNA Damage Recognition in the Nucleotide Excision Repair Pathway” on Tuesday, June 21 at 12:30 pm – 1:20 pm in MRB III, Room 1220.


News posted by sheila.webb@vanderbilt.edu:

Megan Waddington Branch – Dissertation Defense, 06/22/2011

Megan Waddington Branch of the Armstrong Lab presents, "Exploring New Structural and Functional Space in the Glutathione Transferase Superfamily from Escherichia coli K-12", on Wednesday, June 22 at 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm in Light Hall Room 512.


News posted by jarrod.smith@vanderbilt.edu:

Chuck Sanders and Michael Waterman honored with faculty awards

The Vanderbilt University Medical Center Academic Enterprise Faculty Awards were presented at the spring faculty meeting on May 25, 2011. Two CSB faculty members were honored this year. Chuck Sanders was presented with the Sidney P. Colowick Award for Research that Serves as a Platform for Discovery in Diverse Areas. Michael Waterman received the F. Peter Guengerich Award for Mentoring Postdoctoral Fellows or Residents in the Research Setting. Congratulations to Profs. Sanders and Waterman!

Read the full Reporter article here.


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

SBGrid Hosts Webinar, "Advances in Structural Biology Computing"

On Friday, June 24th, 2011, SBGrid will webcast a special one day symposium for members of the SBGrid community. Several key software developers will present their latest tools for solving structures by X-ray crystallography. Joel Harp will host the webcast in the CSB conference room (5131 MRBIII). Click the link below for a detailed agenda.

Advances in Structural Biology Computing


News posted by jarrod.smith@vanderbilt.edu:

Huge New Magnet to Enhance Cancer Drug Discovery Efforts

A shattering champagne bottle christened the delivery of a $5 million, 7.5-ton magnet to Vanderbilt University's Center for Structural Biology.

The magnet is the main part of an ultra-high field, 900 megahertz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer that will help researchers solve the mysteries of cancer, Alzheimer's disease and other diseases.

Standing 9.5 feet tall, the nearly six-foot wide white cylinder was gingerly lowered by crane through an opening in the roof of the Biomolecular NMR Facility - with just four inches of clearance.

Once it's up and running this summer, the powerful spectrometer will be one of about 10 in the United States, but its intended use at Vanderbilt in cancer drug discovery may be unique, faculty members said.

Read the whole Reporter article here


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Jessica Vey, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 5/24/11

Jessica Vey presents: “Structure-function studies of nitrososynthase: using protein rational design in biotechnology”, MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Congratulations to Dr. Jens Meiler

The CSB would like to congratulate Dr. Jens Meiler for his recent promotion to Associated Professor with tenure.


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Recognition for the Stewart Lab

Robert Kim and Justin Flatt in the Stewart laboratory have both been selected to give talks at the 2011 Microscopy and Microanalysis meeting in August, hosted by the Microscopy Society of America (MSA). In conjunction with this, Robert Kim was also selected as one of the 2011 MSA Presidential Student Awardees. The award includes an awards ceremony at the meeting, invitation to the Presidents' reception, fully paid registration for the meeting, and travel and lodging stipends.


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Vanderbilt University Receives 900MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Instrument

On Saturday, May 7, 2011, at approximately 8:00 a.m., Vanderbilt University will receive its new, ultra high-field 900 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer. The 7-1/2 ton instrument will be delivered to the Vanderbilt campus by crane, which will then hoist the 9-1/2 foot tall instrument and lower it through a 72 inch opening in the roof of the Biomolecular NMR Facility on campus. The addition of this instrument is key to maintaining Vanderbilt’s established position as the leading international center for biomolecular NMR research.


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Ralf Mueller - Dissertation of Defense, 05/04/2011

Ralf Mueller of Meiler Lab presents, "Machine Learning Algorithms for Prediction of Biological Activity and Chemical Properties", at the Stevenson Center, Room 5502, 3:15 pm - 4:15 pm.


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Shane Hutson, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 05/03/2011

Shane Hutson Ph.D., presents “Measuring the cell-level mechanics that drive tissue-level morphogenesis”, in the Medical Research Building III, Room 1220, at 12:30 pm.


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Chemistry Symposium - April 28, 2011

The University of Melbourne and Vanderbilt University will host a joint Chemistry Symposium on April 28, 2011. It will be held at the Scarritt Bennett Center. No FEE to attend the symposium however Registration is required. To register and for information contact Rachel Poss via email, rachel.e.poss@vanderbilt.edu. Registration deadline is April 14, 2011.

Click here for a the agenda (PDF format).


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

New Graduate Course Announcement, CHEM 337 - Fall 2011

Jens Meiler will be teaching a new graduate course CHEM 337 - "computational structural and chemical biology" in Fall 2011. The course covers theoretical and practical aspects of protein sequence alignments, secondary structure prediction, comparative modeling, protein-protein and protein-ligand docking. Further it includes structure-based drug design, virtual screening, quantitative structure activity relations, cheminformatics, and pharmacophore mapping in therapeutic development. This is a 4-credit course with a laboratory section where students are trained in the practical application of respective software tools. Undergraduate students wishing to take CHEM 337 for credit must complete CHEM 231 - "biophysical chemistry" first.


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Dr. Jeanne Hardy - Guest Speaker, Micro and Immunology Seminar Series

This Tuesday, April 5th, Jeanne Hardy will be giving a seminar in the Micro and Immunology Seminar Series entitled Suicidal Shape Shifters: Conformational control and real-time monitoring of caspase proteolytic activity. The seminar, which is co-sponsored by the Center for Structural Biology, will describe efforts to understand and engineer the activity of caspases involved in apoptosis. Dr. Hardy is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. She has an interesting background in structural biology, protein engineering, and design. In addition to the science, students may be interested in Dr. Hardy's training path - she did post-docs both in Japan and industry. The seminar will be held in MRB3 1220 at 3PM and all are welcome to attend.


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Andrew Morin - Dissertation of Defense, 04/25/2011

Andrew Morin of Meiler's Lab presents, "Computational Design of Protein-Ligand Interfaces for Protein Therapeutic Discovery", at Medical Research Building III, Room 1220, 2:00 - 3:00 pm.


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Stephanie Hirst, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 04/19/2011

Stephanie Hirst - Meiler Lab presents RosettaEPR: An Integrated Tool for Protein Structure Determination from Sparse EPR Data, Medical Research Building III, Room 1220, at 12:30pm.


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Mike Stone, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 04/05/2011

Mike Stone presents, "DNA Damage Arising From Reactive Aldehydes", in the Medical Research Building III, Room 1220, at 12:30 pm.


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Julia Koehler, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 03/29/2011

Julia Koehler presents: "Challenges in method development for membrane protein structure determination", in the Medical Research Building III, Room 1220, at 12:30 pm.


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

David Nannemann - Dissertation Defense, 03/25/2011

David Nannemann of Meiler's Lab presents, "Directed Biosynthesis of the Nucleoside Analog Drug Didanosine", at the Stevenson Center, Room 5502, 2:00 pm.


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

William Schief, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 3/22/2011

William Schief presents: “Structure-based Immunogen Design” MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Dr. Jens Meiler, Ph. D., DBMI Seminar - 03/16/2011

Dr. Jens Meiler, Ph. D., Assistant Professor of Chemistry, will review a new protein folding algorithm that predicts the structure of large and complex proteins through assembly of secondary structure elements. Dr. Meiler will introduce a method for the simultaneous prediction of membrane protein secondary structure and transmembrane segments. Also, Dr. Meiler will combine both techniques for membrane protein folding de novo and guided by sparse NMR distance restraints. In addition, Dr. Meiler will discuss de novo high-resolution protein structure determination from sparse spin-labeling EPR data and atomic-detail protein structure prediction for proteins of up to 250 residues guided by cryo-EM density maps.


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Kyle Nordquist - Dissertation Defense, 03/22/2011

KYLE ANDREW NORDQUIST,DEPARTMENT OF BIOCHEMISTRY VANDERBILT UNIV. SCH. OF MED., presents, " Structural and functional analysis of the U-box domain of the E4B ubiquitin ligase”, on March 22, 2011, 512 Light Hall, 1:00 pm


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Identification of glaucoma gene brightens future for therapies

A team of investigators from Vanderbilt University and the University of Florida has identified a new candidate gene for the most common form of the eye disorder, primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). The Reporter indentified Dr. Tina Iverson, one of the CSB Core Faculty members, as one of the collaborators in this research project. For more information, go to http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=10261


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Paul Barrett, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 3/15/2011

Paul Barrett of the Sanders Lab presents: "Exploring Alzheimer's Disease From the Membrane Up; A Structural Biology Investigation using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30 pm


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Chemistry Symposium Coming Soon!!!

University of Melbourn Australia and Vanderbilt University will host a joint Chemistry Symposium April 28, 2011. More information coming soon. Please mark your calendars, as many talks are likely to be of general interest to CSB members.


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Martin Karplus, Ph.D., MBTP/CSB Seminar - 03/21/2011

Martin Karplus, Ph.D., Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University and Laboratoire de Chimie Biophysique, ISIS, Université Louis Pasteur, presents:"How Proteins Work: Insights from Simulations" Martin Karplus is known for pushing forward the frontier of theoretical chemistry while at the same time keeping close contact with experimental developments. He enhanced our understanding of nuclear spin-spin coupling. The well-known Karplus equation, which deals with the angular dependence of vicinal proton coupling in NMR specta, has been important for conformational analysis of organic molecules and of the secondary structure of proteins. In another area, he was among the first to apply classical dynamic calculations to gas-phase chemical reactions, particularly relevant to the study of crossed molecular beams. His later research deals with theoretical studies on molecules of biological interest. Among these are calculations on the ground and excited states of the visual pigment retinal, on motional processes in proteins including side-chain rotations, opening and closing of active site clefts, and entrance and exit of oxygen from the binding site of myoglobin, and on nucleic acids. He has published over 500 articles.


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Aliquots — research highlights from VUMC laboratories

Dr. Martin Egli was feature in the Reporter 2/17/2011, Fluorine aids gene silencing RNA interference (RNAi), a cellular mechanism for regulating gene expression found in nearly all organisms, can be exploited for research and medical purposes. Synthetic double-stranded RNA molecules called short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are used in such applications to silence gene expression, but the therapeutic potential of siRNAs is limited because the molecules are not “drug-like.” Martin Egli, Ph.D., and colleagues are investigating how chemical modifications affect the efficacy of siRNAs. In papers published recently in Angewandte Chemie and Nucleic Acids Research, they report on the promising properties of siRNAs modified with fluorine (2’-F siRNAs). To read more, http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=10232


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Al Beth, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 3/1/11

Al Beth presents: “Structure and Dynamics of the Ca2+ Binding Domain of the Cardiac Na+/Ca2+ Exchanger” MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Julia Koehler, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 03/29/11

Julia Koehler presents: "Challenges in method development for membrane protein structure determination", MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Heidi Hamm, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 2/1/11

Heidi Hamm, Ph.D. presents: "Receptor-mediated G protein activation" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Grant Bolsters Pancreatic Cancer Research

CSB would like to recognize Dr. Stephen Fesik of Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Chemistry in receiving a $2.5 million grant to fund research to develop drugs for treatment of pancreatic cancer. For more information, http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=10108


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

William Wan, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 1/25/11

William Wan presents: “Structural Polymorphism of the Fungal Prion HET-s" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by Sonia.N.Leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

AAAS honors seven Vanderbilt faculty members

The VUMC Reporter reported the AAAS honors seven Vanderbilt faculty members. We would like to recognize, Stephen Fesik, Ph.D. and Michael Stone, Ph.D., both are CSB Core Faculty Members from the Biochemistry Department. Read more at, http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=9999


News posted by Sonia.N.Leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Emily Rubinson - Dissertation of Defense 01/28/2011

Emily Rubinson of the Eichman's Lab will present, " Structural and Biochemical Studies of Alkylpurine DNA Glycosylase AlkD" on January 28, 2011, Medical Research Building III, Room 1220 at 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Dave Piston, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 1/4/11

Dave Piston, Ph.D. presents: “Imaging the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Glucose-Stimulated Insulin Secretion” MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by Sonia.N.Leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Kelsey Constance Duggan - Dissertation Defense 12/06/2010

Kelsey Constance Duggan from Dr. L.J. Marnett's Lab, presents "Structural and Functional Analysis of Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibition by Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs", Monday, December 6, 2010, at 1:00 p.m., Preston Research Building, room 206


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Daniel Liebler, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 12/7/10

Daniel Liebler, Ph.D. presents: “Discrimination of cancer phenotypes by proteomic technology platforms”, MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by Sonia.N.Leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Grant bolsters study of human B cells

Dr. James Crowe Jr., M.D., is recognized in the Reporter for winning a five year, $5.3 million NIH grant to study the human B cell and to find new approaches to designing vaccines. Both Dr. Jens Meiler, Ph.D., and Dr. Ben Spiller, Ph.D., will collaborate and contribute to this project. Their expertise is in computational modeling and x-ray crystallography. To read more, go to http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=7796


News posted by Sonia.N.Leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Congratulations to Richard Armstrong - The Repligen Award in Chemistry of Biological Processes

Professor Richard Armstrong is the recipient of the 2011 Repligen Award in Chemistry of Biological Processes. We want to recognize Professor Armstrong's contributions of specfically understanding structure, function and mechanism detoxification enzymes within a cell. In addition, Professor Armstrong will present a lecture as part of a symposium, in the Fall 2011 ACS National Meeting. To read more, http://www.divbiolchem.org/awards/recipients


News posted by Sonia.N.Leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Sylvain Le Marchand - Dissertation Defense - 12/7/2010

Sylvain Le Marchand, mentored by David W. Piston, presents “Mechanisms of glucagon secretion in mouse pancreatic α-cells”. On Tuesday, December 7, 2010, 10:00 am, Light Hall, Room 208


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Sarah Soss, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 11/16/10

Sarah Soss presents: "Who's the Boss in Ubiquitination?" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by jessica.greer@vanderbilt.edu:

Thomas Tomasiak - Dissertation Defense

Catalysis and inhibition in menaquinol:fumarate oxidoreductase". Location: 206 Preston Research Building on 11/23/2010 from 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM.


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Niels De Jonge, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 11/2/10

Niels De Jonge presents: "Imaging tagged proteins in whole cells with liquid and 3D STEM" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by jessica.greer@vanderbilt.edu:

Leipzig-Vanderbilt Collaboration

On November 10th, at 1:30pm, in 208 Light Hall there will be a "Special Symposium Leipzig Vanderbilt Collaboration". Eight faculty from Leipzig University will be visiting and present their research.


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Dewight Williams, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 10/26/10

Dewight Williams presents: "EM imaging reveals assembly states of a cyanobacterial protein, a nano-clock that drives circadian gene expression" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by jessica.greer@vanderbilt.edu:

Steffen Lindert - Dissertation Defense - 11/22/2010

Steffen Lindert will present "CryoEM guided de-novo protein folding" at 2:00pm, MRBIII, RM-1220, on Monday, November 22, 2010.


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Dr. Brandt Eichman and Emily Rubinson in the Reporter

Dr. Brandt Eichmand and Emily Rubinson were featured in the Reporter on October 7, 2010 for their contribution to "New mechanism for DNA repair discovered." Tucked within its double-helix structure, DNA contains the chemical blueprint that guides all the processes that take place within the cell and are essential for life. Therefore, repairing damage and maintaining the integrity of its DNA is one of the cell’s highest priorities. To review this article, http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=9551


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Timothy Panosian Dissertation Defense - 11/12/2010

TIMOTHY PANOSIAN of Tina Iverson’s lab, will present "A structural foundation for utilizing Bacillus cereus phosphopentomutase in the synthesis of didanosine" at 10:00 am, Light Hall, room 512, on Friday, November 12, 2010.


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Yoana Nantcheva Dimitrova Dissertation Defense - 10/13/2010

Yoana Nantcheva Dimitrova of Dr. Chazin Lab will present, "Biochemical and Structural Analyses of TBL1: Insights into the Function of a Transcriptional Regulator" at Light Hall, Room 214, Wednesday, October 13, 2010 at 2:00 pm.


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Andrej Sali, Invited Speaker - MBTP/CSB Seminar 10/12/10

Andrej Sali, Ph.D., Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences-UCSF, presents: "Computational Integration of Diverse Structural and Kinetic Data for Visualizing Macromolecular Assemblies and Processes" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Latest published articles from the Eichman's Group in Nature

Congratulations to Dr. Brandt Eichman and Emily H. Rubinson for their contribution in the latest published article entitled, “An unprecedented nucleic acid capture mechanism for excision of DNA damage”. DNA glycosylases that remove alkylated and deaminated purine nucleobases are essential DNA repair enzymes that protect the genome, and at the same time confound cancer alkylation therapy, by excising cytotoxic N3-methyladenine bases formed by DNA-targeting anticancer compounds. The basis for glycosylase specificity towards N3- and N7-alkylpurines is believed to result from intrinsic instability of the modified bases and not from direct enzyme functional group chemistry. Here we present crystal structures of the recently discovered Bacillus cereus AlkD glycosylase in complex with DNAs containing alkylated, mismatched and abasic nucleotides. Unlike other glycosylases, AlkD captures the extrahelical lesion in a solvent-exposed orientation, providing an illustration for how hydrolysis of N3- and N7-alkylated bases may be facilitated by increased lifetime out of the DNA helix. The structures and supporting biochemical analysis of base flipping and catalysis reveal how the HEAT repeats of AlkD distort the DNA backbone to detect non-Watson–Crick base pairs without duplex intercalation. For more information, http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature09428.html


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Jens Meiler, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 10/5/10

Jens Meiler, presents: “Protein Structure Determination from Sparse Experimental Data- and -Design of a Sequence-Symmetric TIM Barrel Protein” MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by Sonia.N.Leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Dr. Stephen W. Fesik receives NIH Director's Pioneer Award

As was announced in the Reporter (http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=9245), Dr. Stephen W. Fesik will be introduced as a recipient of the NIH Director's Pioneer Award (first from Vanderbilt) at the Sixth Annual NIH Director's Pioneer Award Symposium next Thursday, September 30, 2010 in Bethesda, MD. The introduction of the 2010 Pioneer awardees will take place at the start of the symposium at about 8:30 a.m. EST (7:30 a.m. CST). A live videocast will be available at http://videocast.nih.gov. A day or two after the symposium, the event will also be available for viewing on the videocast archive at http://videocast.nih.gov/PastEvents.asp.


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Kelli Kazmier, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 9/21/10

Kelli Kazmier presents: "EPR Restrained Computational Modeling: Developing a Restraint Selection Algorithm" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Congratulations to Dr. Richard Armstrong

The Center for Structural Biology would like to recognize and congratulate Dr. Richard Armstrong for being the recipient of the 2011 Repligen Award from the American Chemical Society.


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Congratulations to Dr. Charles R. Sanders

Dr. Chuck Sanders received one of the five 2010 Chancellor's Awards for Research on Thursday,August 26, 2010. Dr. Sanders published the structure of diacyglycerol kinase, an integral membrane protein, in a Science paper last year using solution NMR spectroscopy. This was the largest membrane protein structure solved by NMR to date.


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

‘Glue grant’ to enhance study of membrane proteins

The Reporter quotes Dr. Hasssane Mchaourab, “This is a tremendous opportunity to combine the expertise of experimentalists and theoreticians to take on the 'grand challenge' of defining the mechanisms through which conformational dynamics impart function to key membrane protein classes”. Read More at http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=9278


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

John McLean, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 9/7/10

John McLean presents: "Advanced structural mass spectrometry for systems biology – pulling the needles from haystacks" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by Sonia.N.Leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Primase structure gives insight into DNA replication

The Reporter recognized Dr. Walter Chazin, Ph.D., Dr. Sivaraja Vaithiyalingam, Ph.D., and Dr. Brandt Eichman, Ph. D. for their efforts of studying a protein that helps initiates DNA replication. See More http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=9246


News posted by Sonia.N.Leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Congratulations to Dr. Stephen Fesik

Dr. Stephen Fesik has received the National Institutes of Health Director's Award. Read more: http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=9245


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Suraj Adhikary, MBTP/CSB Seminar 8/17/10

Suraj Adhikary presents: "Structural insights into DNA damage selection" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Congratulations to William Wan

At the annual meeting of the American Crystallographic Association in Chicago last week, William Wan (CPB program graduate student in Gerald Stubbs’s lab) received the Margaret C. Etter Student Lecturer award for his presentation in the Fiber Diffraction Special Interest Group session.


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Edward Prage, MBTP/CSB Seminar 8/3/10

Edward Prage presents: "Location of inhibitor binding sites within the inducible PGE synthase, MPGES1" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Walter Chazin, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 7/13/10

Walter Chazin presents: “What's all the excitement about SAXS?” MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by Sonia.N.Leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Kristian Kaufmann Dissertation Defense - 6/30/2010

Kristian Kaufmann presents, "Computational Prediction of Small Molecule Protein Interfaces Using Rosetta", June 30th, 2010 at the Stevenson Building, Room 5502, 2:00 pm.


News posted by Sonia.N.Leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Kelly Ann Gangwer Dissertation Defense - 7/1/2010

Kelly Ann Gangwer, Graduate Student From the laboratory of Dr. D. Borden Lacy

7/1/2010 1:30pm 1220 MRBIII

“Structural, Functional, and Phylogenetic Analysis of the Helicobacter Pylori Vacuolating Cytotoxin (VacA)” Helicobacter pylori is a gram-negative bacterium that contributes to the pathogenesis of peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer. A key virulence factor for the organism is vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA), a pore-forming toxin that causes multiple alterations in human cells. The toxin is secreted by an autotransporter pathway as an 88 kDa protein which can be divided into two structural domains; a 33 kDa domain (p33) responsible for pore formation and a genetically diverse 55 kDa domain (p55) associated with receptor binding. We hypothesize that structural, functional and phylogenetic analyses will allow us to assess the mechanism by which VacA interacts with host cells. Using X-ray crystallography, we found that the VacA m1 p55 domain adopts a β-helix fold, a feature that is characteristic of autotransporter passenger domains but unique among known bacterial protein toxins. Notable features of VacA p55 include disruptions in β-sheet contacts that result in five β-helix sub-domains and a novel C-terminal domain. The elongated β-helical structure of VacA presents a unique opportunity for studying the pressures of positive and negative selection in a structural context. We have demonstrated that amino acid substitutions in the VacA p55 domain are under strong, diversifying selection. Docking the p55 structure into a 19 Å cryo-EM map of a VacA dodecamer allows us to propose a model for how VacA monomers assemble into oligomeric structures capable of membrane channel formation. We have recently been able to reconstitute this activity from a mixture of p55 and p33 added together in trans. This advance provides a tractable avenue for future studies aimed at obtaining high resolution structural information for VacA p33.


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Martin Egli, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 6/15/10

Martin Egli presents: “Temperature Compensation in the KaiABC Clock” and “Unique Properties of 2'-Fluoro Modified siRNAs” MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by Sonia.N.Leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Bruker Announces Major Multi-Systems NMR Order from Vanderbilt University

Billerica, Massachusetts, May 20, 2010 – Bruker, the leader in analytical magnetic resonance instrumentation, announces a major multi-systems NMR order from Vanderbilt University, including an ultra-high field AVANCE™ III 900 US2 NMR spectrometer. This purchase was made possible in large part by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Vanderbilt will use these NMR instruments for a broad range of biophysical and structural analyses in biomedical research, as well as for cancer drug discovery using fragment-based approaches and structure-based drug design. For more information, http://www.bruker-biospin.com/pr100520.html


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Jessica Mazerik, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 6/1/10

Jessica Mazerik presents: “Dissecting the mechanism of myo1a membrane binding” MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by sonia.n.leggs@vanderbilt.edu:

Meningitis protein structure reveals immune response ‘spark’

Dr. Tina Iverson's latest research on the Meningitis protein structure is featured in the Vanderbilt Reporter. Please click here for more info : <a href="http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=8790">http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=8790</a>.


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Volker Dötsch, Guest Speaker, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 5/4/10

Volker Dötsch presents: “Combination of Cell-free Expression and NMR for the Structure Determination of the c-Terminal Domain of presenilin” MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by walter.chazin@vanderbilt.edu:

Latest paper from the Iverson group in PNAS

Congratulations to Tina, Mikio and Crina for getting their recent work published in PNAS!! Structural basis for solute transport, nucleotide regulation, and immunological recognition of Neisseria meningitidis PorB Mikio Tanabe, Crina M. Nimigean, and T. M. Iverson PNAS April 13, 2010 vol. 107 no. 15 6811-6816


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Anne Kenworthy, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 4/20/10

Anne Kenworthy presents: “Quantitative analysis of molecular dynamics and binding kinetics in living cells by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching.” MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Join us for "Naturally Obsessed"- A Laboratory Science Documentary 5/21/10

Naturally Obsessed: the making of a scientist opens a penetrating view of what it takes to become a scientist. Drawn from three years of filming in a single laboratory, the film focuses on a group of irrepressible graduate students working towards the PhD degree, and their mentor, a tough but genial young professor. MRBIII, Room 1220, 3:00-4:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Steffen Lindert, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 4/6/10

Steffen Lindert presents: “BCL::EM-Fold: Protein Folding into medium resolution density maps” MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Eric Hustedt, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 3/23/10

Eric Hustedt presents: "Lessons learned from site-directed spin-labeling of the cytoplasmic domain of band 3 protein" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Rajalakshmi Nambiar, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 3/2/10

Rajalakshmi Nambiar presents: “Control of Membrane Tension by a Molecular Motor” MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by walter.chazin@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB investigators to speak at structural biology symposium

Our very own Brandt Eichman and Martin Egli will be giving an invited lecture at the Advances in Structural Biology symposium at the Danforth Center in St. Louis in September. For more information check the website at: http://www.danforthcenter.org/fallsymposium2010/flyer.htm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Ryoma Ohi, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 2/16/10

Ryoma Ohi presents: “Motor function during mitosis and meiosis” MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Charles Day, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 2/2/10

Charles Day presents: “Probing mechanisms of plasma membrane microdomain formation by Cholera Toxin” MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by joel.harp@vanderbilt.edu:

Galina Lepesheva publishes Paper of the Week in JBC

The current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry contains a paper by Galina Lepesheva and co-authors on the structure of Trypanosoma brucei sterol 14alpha-demethylase. The paper was chosen Paper of the Week. The structure also graces the journal cover. Papers of the Week are chosen by the journal Associate Editors and Editorial Board members and represent the top 1% of all reviewed papers. Galina is Research Associate Professor in the laboratory of Michael Waterman.


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Larry Marnett, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 1/19/10

Larry Marnett presents: “Four Thousand Years of Studying NSAIDs and We Might be Making Some Progress” MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Siva Vaithiyalingam, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 1/5/10

Sivaraja Vaithiyalingam presents: “Towards a structural mechanism for DNA priming in higher eukaryotes: Insights from the structure of the unique DNA primase 4Fe-4S domain” MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Charles Sanders, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 12/15/09

Charles Sanders presents: "Explaining The Cholesterol-Alzheimer's Disease Connection: A Biophysically-Derived Hypothesis" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Gordon Lemmon, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 12/1/09

Gordon Lemmon presents: “Improved modeling of molecular flexibility leads to more accurate predictions of protein/small molecule interfaces” MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Stephen Fesik, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 11/17/09

Stephen Fesik presents: "Discovery of IAP inhibitors for the treatment of cancer" 1220 MRBIII, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Gail Fanucci, Guest Speaker, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 11/10/09

Gail Fanucci, University of Florida presents: “Pulsed EPR Studies of Protein Flexibility: Applications to HIV-1 Protease” 1220 MRBIII, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB Gathering and Poster Session 10/30/09

A special Friday afternoon gathering and poster session hosted by the Center for Structural Biology. Please join us for refreshments and poster presentations by CSB laboratories. 2:30-5pm, Fifth Floor MRBIII


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Center for Structural Biology OPEN HOUSE 10/30/09

SPEAKERS: Billy Hudson, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Matrix Biology Departments of Medicine, Pathology, and Biochemistry “Kidney Filtration Apparatus and the Discovery of the Sulfilimine Bond” Craig Lindsley, Ph.D., Director of Medicinal Chemistry and Vanderbilt Specialized Chemistry Center for Accelerated Probe Development Departments of Pharmacology and Chemistry “Probe Development” Commons Center Room 237, Peabody Campus, 1-2:30PM


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Megan Wadington, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 11/3/09

Megan Wadington presents: "Discovery of Enzyme Function in the Glutathione Transferase Superfamily from Escherichia coli K-12" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by sabuj.pattanayek@vanderbilt.edu:

Stubbs lab study on prions featured in VU Exploration

The Stubbs lab study on prions is featured in the most recent VU Exploration online magazine: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/exploration/stories/prions.html .


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Andrzej Krezel, MBTP/CSB Seminar 10/20/09

Andrzej Krezel presents: "Structural Biology of Transcription in Helicobacter pylori" 1220 MRBIII, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Gerald Stubbs, MBTP/CSB Seminar 10/6/09

Gerald Stubbs presents: “Natural and synthetic prion structure from X-ray fiber diffraction” MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Jessica Vey, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 9/15/09

Jessica Vey presents: "Structural Basis for Glycyl Radical Formation by Pyruvate Formate-lyase Activating Enzyme" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Wade Van Horn, MBTP/CSB Seminar - 9/1/09

Wade Van Horn presents: "Solution NMR Structure of Membrane-Integral Diacylglycerol Kinase" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Patrick Robertson, MBTP/CSB Seminar 8/18/09

Patrick Robertson presents: “Solution NMR Structure of the C-Terminal Domain of Xenopus laevis Mcm10 Reveals a Novel Zn2 DNA Binding Motif” MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by jsmith@structbio.vanderbilt.edu:

CSB News Now Available via Twitter!

Follow "VanderbiltCSB" to have CSB news sent directly to your Twitter timeline.


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Ben Spiller, MBTP/CSB Seminar 8/4/09

Ben Spiller presents: "VirA, Shigella, and the Host Cytoskeleton" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Christina Williams, MBTP/CSB Seminar 7/21/09

Christina Williams presents: "Structural and Dynamic Analysis of SV40 J domain Interactions” MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Mariena Silvestry Ramos, Dissertation Defense, 7/9/09

"Insight into Adenovirus Programmed Disassembly From CryoEM: The Structures of Ad2ts1 and the Ad35f+Defensin HD5 Complex" Thursday, July 9, 2009, 10:00 a.m. 202 Light Hall


News posted by walter.chazin@vanderbilt.edu:

Major breakthrough for the Sanders Lab

Chuck Sanders and his group have completed the solution NMR structure of DAGK. The work is published in the latest issue of Science. See the press release at: http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/news/releases.php?release=940 Congratulations on this wonderful achievement!!


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Andrzej Krezel, MBTP/CSB Seminar Series 7/7/09

Andrzej Krezel presents: "Structural Biology of Transcription in Helicobacter pylori" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Sarah Musser, MBTP/CSB Seminar 6/16/09

Sarah Musser presents: "Structural Investigations of Stereoisomeric N3-deoxyuridine DNA Adducts Arising from Butadiene Monoepoxide" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Borden Lacy, MBTP/CSB Seminar Series 6/2/09

Borden Lacy presents: Bacterial protein toxin entry into host cells: Mechanisms of pore formation and translocation MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Tim Panosian, MBTP/CSB Seminar 5/19/09

Tim Panosian presents: Move it move it; the structure and mechanism of a phosphopentomutase MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Andrew Link, MBTP/CSB Seminar Series 5/5/09

Andrew Link presents: Systematic Proteomic Analysis of Eukaryotic Translation Complexes MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Diane Kanter, MBTP/CSB Seminar Series 4/21/09

Diane Kanter presents: The role of Dpb11 in DNA metabolism MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Tina Iverson, MBTP/CSB Seminar Series 4/7/09

Tina Iverson presents: "The outer membrane protein PorB from Neisseria meningitidis: from structure to function to disease" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Dalyir Pretto, MBTP/CSB Seminar Series 3/17/09

Dalyir Pretto presents: "InvestigatingDomain Flexibility and Intersubunit interactions in Replication Protein A" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Phoebe Stewart, MBTP/CSB Seminar Series 3/3/09

Phoebe Stewart presents: "Visualizing the Structures and Conformational Changes of Biological Nanomachines with CryoEM" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Emily Rubinson MBTP/CSB Seminar Series 2/17/09

Emily Rubinson presents: "A New Architecture for Locating and Excising Alkylpurines from DNA: The Crystal Structure of DNA Repair Protein AlkD" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by walter.chazin@vanderbilt.edu:

Eichman wins Sigma Xis Young Investigator Award

Brandt Eichman was named the winner of the 2008 Sigma Xi Award to recognize research excellence within ten years of earning his or her highest degree. See link at: http://sitemason.vanderbilt.edu/news/releases/2009/01/29/vanderbilt-biochemist-receives-2009-sigma-xi-award.71862


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Laura Mizoue, MBTP/CSB Seminar Series 2/3/09

Laura Mizoue presents: "In search of: hidden domains in the transcription factor HoxA11" MRB III, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Katie Germane MBTP/CSB Seminar Series 1/20/09

Katie Germane presents: Structural and Functional Analysis of Shigella flexneri Virulence Factor VirA MRB III, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Symposium in Memory of Anne Karpay - 1/23/09

Symposium in Memory of Anne Karpay: Gunning for Membrane Proteins January 23, 2009 2:30-5:30, 1220 MRBIII Speakers: James Bowie (UCLA), Douglas Rees (Caltech), Stanley Opella (UCSD) Karpay Symposium Poster


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Paul Bock, MBTP/CSB Seminar Series 1/6/09

Paul Bock presents: "Focusing on the Invisible Parts of the Mechanism of Plasminogen Activation by Streptokinase" MRBIII, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by jsmith@structbio.vanderbilt.edu:

Eichman and Chazin research sheds new light on eukaryotic DNA replication machinery

Recent research directed by Professor Brandt Eichman has elucidated some of the first atomic details of a protein involved in replicating DNA in eukaryotic organisms.

Duplication of DNA each time a cell divides is one of the most fundamental processes in biology. However, due to the complexity and size of the multi-protein machine that drives DNA replication, the mechanisms by which eukaryotes orchestrate the synthesis of daughter from parental DNA is largely unknown. The Eichman lab determined the crystal structure of the DNA binding domain of one essential replisome component, Mcm10, and in collaboration with Walter Chazin and Anja Bielinsky (University of Minnesota), has uncovered the manner in which this domain interacts with DNA and its importance in replication.

Featured on the cover of the December, 2008 issue of Structure (Cell Press), this research integrates X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, biochemistry, and yeast genetics, and will be an important starting point for understanding the details of one of natures most fundamental processes.

Read More | Multimedia Version


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Matt Tyska MBTP/CSB Seminar Series 12/2/08

Matt Tyska presents: "A novel role for actin-based motor proteins in the regulation of cell membrane mechanics" MRB III, Room 1220, 12:30pm


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

John Tainer, Ph.D. MBTP Guest Speaker, November 18,

Guest Speaker John Tainer, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Molecular Biology and The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology presents: "XPD and Mre11/Rad50/Nbs1 ATPase Complexes: Structural Insights into the Cancer and Aging Phenotypes from Mutations of these Genome Guardians". Tuesday, November 18, 12:30pm MRB 3, Rm 1220.


News posted by jsmith@structbio.vanderbilt.edu:

Stubbs lab research could lead to new ways to improve crop yields

A recent interdisciplinary study directed by Professor Gerald Stubbs has yielded the first detailed information about the structure of the most destructive group of plant viruses known: flexible filamentous viruses.

The cost of worldwide crop losses due to plant diseases is estimated at $60 billion annually. Although there are no good estimates of the cost of plant viruses alone, the viruses are generally considered to be the second greatest contributor to those losses (after fungi). The 300-plus species of flexible filamentous viruses are responsible for more than half of all virus damage.

The findings are published in the October 1 issue of the Journal of Virology and could lead to new ways to protect crop plants from these viruses.

Read More | Multimedia Version


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

MBTP/CSB Seminar Series Dave Piston, Ph.D. November 4, 2008

Dave Piston presents: "Systems Biology of a Model Multicellular System" 12:20pm, MRB 3, Room 1220


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

David Eisenberg, DPhil. Bircher Lecture, October 27, 4:20pm

David Eisenberg, DPhil presents: "Structural Biology of Amyloids and Prions". Refreshments at 4p in 7330A SC (the Chemistry Dept. Conference Room), and a reception to immediately follow the lecture, also in 7330A SC.


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Nathan Alexander MBTP/CSB Seminar Series 10/21/08

Nathan Alexander of Jens Meiler Lab presents: "Incorporation of Experimental Restraints with Protein Structure Prediction". MRB 3, Room 1220. 12:20pm


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

John Wikswo presents MBPT Seminar September 30 12:20

John Wikswo presents: The possibility of automated, on-line inference of metabolic networks". Tuesday, September 30, 12:20 in MRB 3, Room 1220


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Rory Pruitt Presents MBTP Seminar Series September 16

Rory Pruitt of Borden Lacy Lab presents:"Structural and Functional Studies of Large Clostridial Cytotoxins" MRB 3, Room 1220, 12:15pm.


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Richard Armstrong presents MBTP lecture 9/9/08

Richard Armstrong, Ph.D. Editor in Chief, Journal of Biochemistry Will lead a discussion on: "Ethics in Publication" All students actively supported by the MB training grant are required to attend this special seminar Tuesday, September 9, 2008 **NOTE TIME EXTENSION** 12:20 1:55pm Lunch available at 12:10 Seminar begins at 12:20 **MRB III, Room 1220**


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Dewight Williams, presents at MBTP Seminar 8/26/08

Dewight Williams, Ph.D. presents: "The DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit structure determined by electron cryomicroscopy to < 10 Angstroms resolution." Tuesday, August 26, 2008 12:20 1:20pm Lunch available at 12:10 Seminar begins at 12:20 **MRB III, Room 1220**


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Liliana Wroblewska - TALK CANCELLED

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News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Liliana Wroblewska Meiler, Post-doc candidate speaks 8/19, 12:20

Molecular Biophysics Training Program Seminar Series / Center for Structural Biology Liliana Wroblewska Post-doc candidate Meiler Lab presents: "Refinement of protein models with all-atom force fields" Tuesday, August 19, 2008 12:20 1:20pm Lunch available at 12:00 Seminar begins at 12:20 **MRB III, Room 1220**


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

MBTP/CSB Seminar Kristian Kaufman, 8/12, 12:20pm MRB 3, Room 1220

Molecular Biophysics Training Program Seminar Series / Center for Structural Biology Kristian Kaufman Meiler Lab presents: "A Perspective on Computational Prediction of Interfaces Between Proteins and Small Molecules: Simultaneous Optimization of Protein Side Chain and Small Molecule Degrees of Freedom" Tuesday, August 12, 2008 12:20 1:20pm Lunch available at 12:00 Seminar begins at 12:20 MRB III, Room 1220


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Brenda Schulman, talk August, 11, 2008, 4:00pm

Brenda Schulman, Ph.D. Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Assoc. Member, St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital presents, Conformational Control in the dynamic Processes of Ubiquitin-Like Protein Conjugation Monday, August 11, 2008 4:00 5:00 pm Stevenson Center, Room 5502


News posted by walter.chazin@vanderbilt.edu:

Iverson receives prestigous award

Congratulations to Tina Iverson, who has been selected to receive a Young Investigator award from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression. This is for work to study the mechanisms for the sensing of dopamine.


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Gunter Fritz, Ph.D. presents CSB/MBTP Seminar 7/29/08

Molecular Biophysics Training Program Seminar Series / Center for Structural Biology Guenter Fritz, Ph.D. Privat Dozent, Assistant Professor University of Konstanz, Germany Presents: Insights into receptor activation from structural biology of the receptor RAGE and its ligands Tuesday, July 29, 2008 12:00 1:00pm Lunch available at 11:45 Seminar begins at 12:00 **MRB III, Room 1220**


News posted by walter.chazin@vanderbilt.edu:

Meiler co-authors Science paper on conformational variability

Jens Meiler was part of a team that used residual dipolar couplings (RDCs)and computation to show the conformational variation of the small protein ubiquitin. This study demonstrates the power of using the RDC parameter to characterize slow conformational dynamics up to the msec time scale. The results were also significant in lending support to the concept that structural changes required for binding are already being sampled through the fluctuations of the free protein.


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Gunnar Jeschke, Ph.D. presents: Structural models of membrane proteins from pulsed EPR distance mea

The Center for Structural Biology, Department of Chemistry, and Molecular Physiology and BioPhysics are pleased to host: Gunnar Jeschke, Ph.D. ETH Zurich Laboratory for Physical Chemistry Who will present: Structural models of membrane proteins from pulsed EPR distance measurements Friday, August 1, 2008 11:30 12:30pm. Tentative Location: MRB 3, Room 1220


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Tennessee Structural Biology Symposium

Tennessee Structural Biology Symposium begins with registration from 12:00 - 2:00 on Friday, June 20, 2008 in the Peabody Commons. Please see the website for additional information. http://structbio.vanderbilt.edu/TSBS5/


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Benjamin Chagot presents the MBTP Seminar Series, June 17, 12:00pm

How do the intrinsic (EF-hand domain of hH1) and extrinsic (calmodulin) Ca2+ sensors regulate gating of the human cardiac sodium ion channel hH1?. SC 5502, 12:00pm - 1:30pm lunch served at 11:45.


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Chuck Mobley Defense, June 12, 2008 3:00 pm, SC5502

"Biophysical Studies of Human Neuorolgical Membrane Proteins"


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Brian Weiner Defense; Monday, June 9, 2:00pm, 1220 MRB 3

"Biochemical and structural analysis of the p58C and p68N domains of DNA polymerase alpha/primase".


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

MBTP/CSB Seminar Larry Marnett

Larry Marnett, Ph.D. presents: "Dynamics of Cyclooxygenase-Inhibitor Interactions - Origins of Potency and Selectivity of Binding" 12:00 in the Stevenson Center 5502


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Tenneessee Structural Biology Sympoisum

The 5th Annual TN Structural Biology Symposium will be held Friday, June 20th and Saturday, June 21st at the Peabody Commons. Please see the TN Structural Biology Symposium website for additional information at: http://structbio.vanderbilt.edu/TSBS5/


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Update title of Miko Tanabe May 20 talk

"Structural studies of the outer membrane porin PorB from Neisseria meningitidis"


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Miko Tanabe presents at MBTP May 20

Miko Tanabe of the Iverson Lab Presents: Understanding pathogen recognition mechanism by TLRs the way to determine crystal structure of outer membrane porin Tuesday, May 20, 2008 12:00 1:00pm Lunch available at 11:45 Seminar begins at 12:00 Stevenson Center 5502


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Hassane Mchaourab, Ph.D. Presents at MBTP May 6, 2008

Molecular Biophysics Training Program Seminar Series / Center for Structural Biology Hassane Mchaourab, Ph.D. Presents: Living with Controversies: A Tale of two Transporters Tuesday, May 6, 2008 12:00 1:00pm Lunch available at 11:45 Seminar begins at 12:00 Stevenson Center 5502


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Kurt Wuthrich, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate in Chemistry April 17

Kurt Wthrich, Ph.D. Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Professor of Structural Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA Professor of Biophysics, ETH Zrich, Zrich, Switzerland Speaking on: New Trends in NMR Spectroscopy for Structural Biology and Structural Genomics Thursday, April 17, 2008 12:30 1:30pm MRB III, Room 1220


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Brian Bachmann presents MBTP/CSB Seminar Series, April 1, 12:00pm

Brian O. Bachmann, Ph.D. of Vanderbilt Chemistry Department Presents: Discovery of pharmacophore biosynthesis enzymes in bacteria. Tuesday, April 1, 2008. 12:00 pm.


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

MBTP/CSB Seminar Series, March 18, 12:00pm

Brian Weiner, Chazin Lab, Presents: Biochemical and structural analysis of the p58C and p68N domains of DNA polymerase alpha/primase. Lunch available at 11:45 - Seminar begins at 12:00 Stevenson Center 5502


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Rachel Klevit, D. Phil., Biochemistry Monday Seminar Series

Rachel Klevit, D. Phil., Dept of Biochemistry University of Washington, Seattle, WA presents: Specificity and Diversity in the Function of BRCA1/BARD1 Ubiquitin E3 Ligase Monday, March 17, 2008 4:00 PM - 512 Light Hall Sponsored by: Department of Biochemistry, the Center for Structural Biology, and The National Cancer Institute Training Grant "Biochemical and Chemical Training for Cancer Research" Refreshments served at 3:45 p.m.


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Kurt Wuthrich, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate in Chemistry April 16

Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Professor of Structural Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA Professor of Biophysics, ETH Zrich, Zrich, Switzerland. April 16, 2008 (Wednesday) Lecture - "The NMR view of Proteins" Sponsor: Center for Structural Biology 4:00 p.m. / 208 Light Hall


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

MBTP/CSB Seminar Series, March 4, 12:00pm

Claus Schneider presents: "Old and not so old substrates for probing the mechanism of cyclooxygenases". Stevenson Center Room 5502.


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Kelly Conrads, ForteBio, Inc., February 20, 1pm

Jamshid Khoshnoodi hosts Kelly Conrads from ForteBio, Inc. to hold a seminar in PRB Room 317 on the Bio-Layer Interferometry & the Octet System Label-Free Protein Affinity, Kinetics, and Quantitation in Crude or Purified Samples Topics to be covered include:KINETICS Applications - Fast alternatives to Biacore Therapeutics R&D - Protein/Protein Interaction Analysis - Affinity characterization - Measure kinetic constants - Rank order affinities - Fast Kinetic Screening of Binding Proteins/Peptides and Antagonists QUANTITATION Applications - Fast Alternatives to HPLC and ELISA -Antibody Quantitation in 30 Minutes - Rapid Concentration Analysis from Tissue or Cell Culture Extracts ASSAY DEVELOPMENT, Protein-Protein Interactions


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

MBTP/CSB Seminar Series, February 19, 12:00pm


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Dorothee Kern, Brandeis University to speak

Professor Walter Chazin will host Dorothee Kern of Brandis University on April 7, 2008, 4:15-5:30 p.m. at 5211 Stevenson Center.


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Anne Karpay Memorial

Memorial Service for: Anne Karpay 1981-2008 IGP Student, Biochemistry Ph.D. Candidate Thursday, January 17, 4:15pm Light Hall 208


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

MBTP/CSB Seminar Series, February 5, 12:00pm

Heidi Hamm, Ph.D. Presents: "How receptors activate G proteins" 12:00 - 1:30 pm, SC5502


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

MBTP/CSB Seminar Series, January 15, 12:00pm

Nils Woetzel, Jens Meiler Lab presents, Computational Protein Structure prediction using knowledge based energy functions and experimental restraints. MRBIII, Room 1220.


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Special NMR Seminar 9 AM Friday, January 18

"Strategies for Structure Determination of a Weak Binding, Fast Exchanging Carbohydrate-Protein Complex". Tiandi Zhuang, Prestegard Lab, University of Georgia, 9 AM, Friday January 18, Rm 5131 MRBIII. The talk will consist of two parts: 1. enhancement of RDCs through specific association between alkyl chain and alignment media. 2. Use of Paramagnetism-based constraints (RDC,PCS). Tiandi is a Sanders lab postdoc candidate.


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Special CSB Seminar - Friday August 3, 2007

Dr. Ning Zheng, Presents:Ubiquitin Ligase Machinery:from Plant Biology to Human Disease Friday, August 3, 2007 12:00 1:30pm Stevenson Center Room 5202 Lunch available at 11:45 Seminar begins at 12:00


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Guengerich Presents July 3, 2007, 12:00pm

F. Peter Guengerich, Ph.D. Presents: Kinetic and structural approaches to understanding interactions of carcinogens, DNA, & DNA polymerases in Stevenson Center Room 5502 from 12:00 - 1:30pm


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Jian Shi, speaks June 19, 12:00pm, SC 5502

Jian Shi Stewart Lab Presents: Mechanistic Insight of a structural study of Small Heat Shock Protein variants by cryo-electron microscopy Tuesday, June 19, 2007 12:00 1:30pm Lunch available at 11:45 Seminar begins at 12:00 Stevenson Center, Room 5502


News posted by jsmith@structbio.vanderbilt.edu:

Walter Chazin receives Stanley Cohen Award for Outstanding Contributions to Research

The 2007 Faculty Awards, presented at the Spring Faculty Meeting, recognize excellence in teaching and in research. The awards for Outstanding Contributions to Research are named in honor of current and past Vanderbilt faculty who were recognized during their careers by election to the National Academy of Sciences.

The Stanley Cohen Award For Research Bridging Diverse Disciplines, such as Chemistry or Physics, to Solve Biologys Most Important Fundamental Questions - was awarded to CSB director Walter Chazin, Ph.D., professor of Biochemistry, Chemistry; Ingram Professor of Cancer Research.

Congratulations!


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Anne Kenworthy, May 1, 2007, 12:00pm SC5502

Anne Kenworthy Presents:Biophysical analysis of membrane microdomains. Tuesday, May 1, 2007, 12:00 1:30pm. Lunch available at 11:45, Seminar begins at 12:00. Stevenson Center, Room 5502


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Tennessee Structural Biology Symposium, June 21-23, 2007

Tennessee Structural Biology Symposium, Doubletree Hotel Murfreesboro, TN. June 21-23, 2007. For registration form contact lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu.


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Markus Godejohann from Bruker Biospin

SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Markus Godejohann from Bruker Biospin Presents:Theory and practice of LC-SPE-NMR/MS Tuesday, May 8, 2007 12:00 1:30pm Seminar begins at 12:00 Stevenson Center, Room 5502


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

OPEN House

Guest Speakers: Dr. Kathy Gould presents: "Determining the architecture of a subcomplex within the spliceosome"; Dr. Timothy Cover presents: "Investigation of Helicobacter pylori and gastric cancer: a structural biology approach"; Dr. Daniel Liebler presents: Protein targets of damage by reactive electrophiles Friday, November 10, 2006, 1220 MRB III, 2:30 4:30 pm Reception to follow in 1st floor foyer


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Dr. Zhen Huang, speaks at CSB/MBTP Seminar, October 3, 2006

Zhen Huang, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Chemistry of Georgia State University presents: Synthesis of Selenium Nucleic Acids (SeNA) for Structure and Function Studies of Nucleic Acids. Structure determination of RNAs, DNAs, and their protein complexes, which are potential drug targets, can provide insights on their structures and functions. X-ray crystallography is a powerful tool for the 3-D structure determination of these biomacromolecules although heavy atom derivatization for phase determination, a long-standing major problem in X-ray crystallography, has largely slowed down structural determination of nucleic acids with novel folds. In order to help solving this problem, we have first developed chemical and enzymatic syntheses of RNAs and DNAs derivatized with selenium by site-specifically replacing oxygen. We will present the chemical synthesis and enzymatic incorporation study of RNA and DNA containing Se-modifications, and present the structure study of the Se-modified DNAs and RNAs. This strategy of RNA and DNA derivatization with selenium has great potential as a general methodology in X-ray crystallography. This novel strategy will significantly facilitate nucleic acid X-ray crystallography and study of nucleic acid-protein complexes.


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Abbas Ourmazd lecture November 17, 3:00pm

Dr. Ourmazd is a very astute microscopist deep into the underlying physics of diffraction, especially with electron beams. He will give a lecture on "Crystallography without crystals: Deteriming the structure of biological molecules". Friday, November 17, 2006 at 3:00pm Stevenson Center, Physics 5th floor conference room (SC 6524).


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

P. Shing Ho, Ph.D. visits Vanderbilt

P. Shing Ho, Ph.D. of Oregon State University presents: "Halogen bonds: An orthogonal interaction to hydrogen bonds?" On Tuesday, September 5th 12:00 - 1:30 in Stevenson Center room 5502. Dr. Ho will also be presenting: "From Holliday junctions to halogen bonds" at the VICB seminar 12:15 - 1:15 in MRB 3 1220.


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Vanderbilt Center for Structural Biology and Thermo Electron present, Larry DeLucas, O.D., Ph.D,

Larry J. DeLucas, O.D., Ph.D, D.Sc.(hon.) Director, The Center for Biophysical Sciences and Engineering Director and Senior Scientist, UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center X-ray Crystallography Facility The University of Alabama, Birmingham speaking on: Advanced Technologies to Improve Expression/Crystallization for Difficult Proteins Several interrelated technologies employed at the CBSE are improving the success rate with difficult proteins. The following will be discussed: 1. An advanced protein expression system that has demonstrated the ability to produce mg quantities of membrane (and aqueous) proteins. Recent success will be shown with the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Regulator (CFTR) Protein. 2. A new HTP analytical method for measuring Protein-Protein & Protein-Drug interactions that utilizes 2nd virile coefficient measurements as a quantitative predictor for protein crystallization and protein stability. This alternative method uses nanogram amounts with rapid quantitative outcomes that overcome the limitations typically associated with Static Light Scattering. 3. Several strategies will be discussed for the optimization of crystals including the use of neural networks and capillary counter diffusion techniques. Traditional individual capillary experiments require manual preparation & tedious harvesting procedures that currently make it secondary for those seeking HTP solutions. A new automated technology developed at the center will be described that embraces all of the advantages of a true liquid-liquid diffusion environment. 4:00 pm Tuesday, June 20, 2006 Room 1220 Biological Sciences/MRB III


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Introduction to CSB Resources

The CSB will host a seminar on Friday, April 7 from 2:00 - 4:00pm in PRB 206 to give an overview of the resources available in the CSB for those in the research community. Light refreshments will be provided.


News posted by walter.chazin@vanderbilt.edu:

Zhao wins SER-CAT award

Our very own Bin Zhao has been selected to receive the 2006 SER-CAT Outstanding Science Award! The award comes with an invitation to speak at the annual SER-CAT symposium, which will be held this year at Georgia State University on March 10th.


News posted by Walter.Chazin@vanderbilt.edu:

Lacy to give invited talk at National Biodefense Meeting

One of our two newest colleagues, Borden Lacy, has been invited to give a talk at the Fourth Research Conference on Biodefense in Washington DC. The conference is held annually by the American Society of Microbiology and provides a forum for cutting edge research advances in the field of biodefense attracting leading experts from all over the world. The title of her talk is Anthrax Toxin Receptors/Inhibitors. It will be given as part of the Plenary Session on The Role of Structural Biology in Biodefense.


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Molecular Biophysics Training Program Seminar

Brian Datillo, Chazin Lab presents, "The Modular Structure of RAGE and its Macromolecular Interactions."


News posted by veronda.mcclain@vanderbilt.edu:

Structural Biology Mini-Symposium, Dec. 1, 2005 2-4pm

2:00 pm Topic: A Tale of Two Macromolecular Assemblies by 3D Electron Microscopy Speaker: Phoebe Stewart, PhD Institution: VUMC Seminar Location: MRB3, Room 1220. 3:00 pm Topic: Trying to Elucidate Mechanisms of Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Speaker: Gerhard Wagner, PhD Institution: Harvard Medical School Seminar Location: MRB3, Room 1220


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB Open House

The Center for Structural Biology will be holding an Open House on November 11. Presentations from 2-4 PM in 1220 BIOSCI/MRBIII will be followed by personalized tours of the facilities and a reception. All students, staff and faculty are encouraged to come by and learn about opportunities to apply structural biology approaches to their research and access cores and facilities.


News posted by jarrod.smith@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB Biomolecular Visualization Workshop - Oct. 12-13, 2005

The CSB will host a two-session workshop in Biomolecular Visualization on October 12-13 from 1-4pm. This is an introductory workshop and assumes no prior knowledge or experience in the areas of molecular modeling or visualization. Beginners are encouraged to participate, as this is the target audience for this workshop. The fee for this workshop is $75, and will be limited to 13 participants.

Please visit the workshop website for a syllabus and more details.


News posted by m.sundaramoorthy@vanderbilt.edu:

Tennessee Structural Biology Symposium - September 9-10, 2005

TENNESSEE STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY SYMPOSIUM

Center for Structural Biology
Vanderbilt University
BIOSCI/MRB III; Room 1220

September 9-10, 2005
Starts at 5:00 PM on Friday

Keynote Speaker
James H. Prestegard, Ph.D.
Eminent Scholar Professor
University of Georgia

For details contact:
M. Sundaramoorthy, Ph.D.
Lori Michalowski

Sponsored by:
FEI Company
James River Technical
Cambridge Isotope Laboratories
GE Healthcare
Bruker Biospin


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Molecular Biophysics Training Program Seminar Series

Chu Wang, Graduate Student from University of Washington, Biochemistry Presenting Predicting Protein-protein Interactions by RosettaDock on: Tuesday, September 6, 2005 12:00 1:25pm Room SC5326.


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Molecular Biophysics Training Program Seminar Series August 16, 2005

Kristina Furse presents,


News posted by walter.chazin@vanderbilt.edu:

Sanders Lab produces folded GCPR in E. coli

The paper shows excellent quality NMR spectra obtained for vasopressin V2 receptor expressed in E. coli!!! Solution NMR spectroscopy of the human vasopressin V2 receptor, a G protein-coupled receptor. Tian C, Breyer RM, Kim HJ, Karra MD, Friedman DB, Karpay A, Sanders CR, J Am Chem Soc 2005 Jun 8 127(22):8010-1. See also citation in Faculty of 1000: http://www.facultyof1000.com/article/15926814


News posted by lori.michalowski@vanderbilt.edu:

Molecular Biophysics Training Program Seminar Series July 5, 2005

Jens Meiler, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Presents Protein Ligand Interfaces From Flexible Docking to Enzyme Design Tuesday, July 5, 2005 12:00 1:25pm Chemistry Building, Room 5502


News posted by walter.chazin@vanderbilt.edu:

Krezel and coworkers publish structure of RNP C coiled-coil

The Krezel group has just reported a high resolution solution NMR structure of the RNP C coiled-coil domain. See Journal of Molecular Biology, Vol. 350, Iss. 2, 2005, pages 319-337.


News posted by walter.chazin@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB researchers determine structural basis of multi-drug resistance transporter

Congratulations to the Mchaourab lab (Dong J, Yang G, McHaourab HS), who published a major breakthrough in the May 13 issue of Science entitled, Structural basis of energy transduction in the transport cycle of MsbA.


News posted by rita.r.urben@vanderbilt.edu:

Potential Function Parameter Development Workshop



The Center for Structural Biology will teach a workshop in Potential
Function Parameter Development. This workshop is aimed at researchers who
wish to use molecular mechanics calculations to investigate the structure
and behavior of biomolecular systems.

The fee for this workshop is $100. Advance registration is required due to
limited capacity in the molecular modeling teaching lab. Please visit our
website for a more detailed description and links to the registration
page:

http://structbio.vanderbilt.edu/comp/workshops/parmdev/

The three-hour workshop will be held Wed. Feb. 16 from 1:30-4:30PM, hosted
in the College of Arts and Science Molecular Modeling Teaching Laboratory
(5119 Stevenson Center). Topics covered include:

- The mathematical expressions used in typical potential functions
- The physical justification for these expressions
- Strategies and procedures for development of suitable potential function
parameters
- Applications and limitations of typical potential functions used for
biomacromolecular calculations.


News posted by rita.r.urben@vanderbilt.edu:

Recent Discoveries in Biochemistry Seminar Series, Murthy Karra, Ph.D.

Dr. Murthy Karra will present a seminar in association with the Recent Discoveries in Biochemistry Seminar Series. His title is Structure Determination of Membrane Proteins Using NMR: Challenges and Progress. The seminar will be held on Thursday, February 3, 2005 at 4:00 in Room 836 RRB. Refreshments will be served.


News posted by rita.r.urben @vanderbilt.edu:

Dean's Lecture Series, John C. Gore, Ph.D. Invited Speaker

John C. Gore, Ph.D. is invited speaker for the Dean\'s Lecture Series. Dr. Gore is Chancellors University Professor and Director of the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science. His title is New Horizons in Biomedical Imaging Science. The seminar will be Wednesday, February 2 at 12:00 Noon in 202 Light Hall. Lunch will be provided to RSVP email janelle.owens@vanderbilt.edu


News posted by rita.r.urben@vanderbilt.edu:

Special VICB Mini-Symposium Wed. Feb 2

Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology is hosting a Mini-Symposium on Wednesday, February 2, 2005. The invited speakers are Dennis Dougherty of California Institute of Technology and Jeffrey Kelly of Scripps Research Institute.
Dr. Dougherty\'s title is Understanding Drug-Receptor Interactions in the Nervous System. Dr. Kelly\'s title is Protein Misfolding Disease Mechanisms and Small Molecule Intervention.
Please join us to hear these two prominent scientists at 3:00 in MRB III; Room 1220.


News posted by rita.r.urben@vanderbilt.edu:

Molecular Biophysics Training Program Seminar, Dr. Michael Waterman Speaker

Dr. Michael Waterman, Professor and Chariman of Biochemistry at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine is the invited speaker for the Molecular Biophysics Training Program Seminar on Tuesday, February 1, 2005. His title is Sterol 14α-Demethylase: A Cytochrome P450 Which is an Important Drug Target. The seminar is held at 12:00 in the Chemistry Building, Room 5502. Lunch will be provided. For additional information please contact rita.r.urben@vanderbilt.edu.


News posted by rita.r.urben@vanderbilt.edu:

Special Biochemistry Seminar, Hartmut Oschkinat Speaker

On Friday, January 28th at 12:00 Noon Hartmut Oschkinat with the Department of NMR - Supported Structural Biology Forshungsinstitut fur Molekulare Pharmakologie; Berlin, Germany will present a special seminar sponsored by the Biochemistry Department. Seminar title is Proteins and their Interactions Studied by Solutions and Solid-State NMR. The seminar will be held in Room 206 PRB.


News posted by rita.r.rurben@vanderbilt.edu:

Department of Biochemistry Seminar Thursday, January 27, 2005 Carmen A. Perez Speaker

The Department of Biochemistry has invited Carmen A. Perez to present a seminar as part of the Recent Discoveries in Biochemistry Seminar Series. The title of the seminar is Defining the Function of p63 in Breast Myoepithelial Cells. The seminar will be held Thursday, January 27th at 4:00 in Room 836 RRB. Refreshmnets will be served.


News posted by rita.r.urben@vanderbilt.edu:

Special Lecture; John Dani, Ph.D. Chancellor\'s Chair Candidate

Dr. John Dani, Professor Department of Neuroscience, Menninger Dept of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science, Program in Structural & Computational Biology & Molecular Biophysics of Baylor College of Medicine will present a seminar on Tuesay, January 25th at 10:00AM in 208 Light Hall. Dr. Dani is a candidate for the Chancellor\'s Chair. His title is Cholinergic and Dopaminergic Mechanisms Contributing to Nicotine Addition.


News posted by rita.r.urben@vanderbilt.edu:

Institute of Chemical Biology ,David Gin Seminar

David Gin of the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign Department of Chemistry will present a seminar on Wednesday, January 26th at 12:15 in Room 1220; BSB/MRB III. His title is Exploring Strategies for Carbohydrate and Alkaloid Synthesis. For additional information contact Anne.B.Lara@Vanderbilt.edu.


News posted by rita.r.rurben@vanderbilt.edu:

Professor Wolfgang Driever Seminar

The Departments of Biological Science and the Developmental Biology Program and Fish Initiative have invited Professor Wolgang Driever to present a seminar. Dr. Driever is Hans Spemann Professor of Developmental Biology at Freiburg University in Germany. His title is Developmental Neurogenetics in Zebrafish: Cell Specification in the Dopaminergic and Noradrenergic Systems. The seminar will be Thursday, January 27th at 12:15pm in Room 1220 BSB/MRB III.


News posted by rita.r.urben@vanderbilt.edu:

Department of Biological Sciences Seminar, Chris Janetopoulos, Ph.D.

Faculty candidate Dr. Chris Janetopoulos of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is invited speaker on Monday, January 24th at 4:10; Room 1220 BSB/MRB III. His title is Polarity Circiuts in Migrating and Dividing Cells.


News posted by rita.r.urben@vanderbilt.edu:

Biochemistry Seminar, Speaker Tim Stearns, Ph.D.

Dr. Tim Stearns of Stanford University is the guest speaker on Monday, January 24th for
Biochemistry 337: Molecular Aspects of Cancer Research Spring 2005 Seminar Series. He is an Associate Professor of Biological Sciences and Genetics. His title is Centrosomes and the Cell Cycle. The seminar is at 4:00 in 202 Light Hall.


News posted by rita.r.urben@vanderbilt.edu:

Center in Molecular Toxicology Seminar, John T.Stivers, Ph.D.

James T. Stivers,Ph.D. Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine is invited speaker on Friday, January 21, 2005 at 4:00; 512 Light Hall.
His title is Dynamic Opening of DNA During the Enzymatic Search for a Damaged Base.


News posted by rita.r.urben@vanderbilt.edu:

Molecular Biophysics Traininig Program Seminar

Dr. Laura Busenlehner is the invited speaker for the Tuesday, January 18th Molecular Biophysics Training Program Seminar. Her title is Extension of Amide H/D Exchange Mass Spectrometry to Membrane Proteins. The seminar will be at 12:00 in the Chemistry Building, Room 5502.(Note this is a new location). Lunch will be provided. For additional information please contact Rita Urben, rita.r.urben@vanderbilt.edu


News posted by tina.mccoy@vanderbilt.edu:

Scientist Receive AAAS Honor

NASHVILLE, Tenn. Four Vanderbilt scientists Walter J. Chazin, Director, Center for Structural Biology, Raymond N. Dubois Jr., Leonard C. Feldman and Dennis G. Hall have been elected as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), an honor bestowed upon them by their peers. They are being honored for contributions to research that runs the gamut from determining the atomic structure of proteins to paving the way for improved treatments of digestive diseases including colon cancer, from investigating the atomic structure of materials to providing new insights into the fundamental nature of light.

For entire article, please see: Article


News posted by rita.r.urben@vanderbilt.edu:

Mini-Symposium, Thursday, December 16, 2004

The Center for Structural Biology is hosting a Mini-Symposium
Thursday, December 16, 2004
1:00 - 3:40pm
MRB III; Room 1220

Program
1:00 Welcome
Walter Chazin,Director, Center for Structural Biology

1:10 New Opportunities for Neutron Structural Biology and Dynamics
Dean Myles, Director, Center for Structural Biology, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

2:00 The Structural Enzymology of Parkinsons Disease
Gregory Petsko, Gyula and Katica Tauber Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacodynamics, Brandeis University

2:50 Integrated Computational Biology: From the Molecule to the Cell
Andrew McCammon, Joseph E. Mayer Chair of Theoretical Chemistry, University of Cailifornia, San Diego

3:40 Informal Reception in Main Foyer


News posted by walter.chazin@vanderbilt.edu:

KaiC structure from Egli lab on the cover of Molecular Cell

The structure of cyanobacterial clock protein KaiC determined by CSB faculty member was Martin Egli and coworkers appears on the cover of the August 13 issue of Molecular Cell. The structure has revealed important insights into the workings of the circadian clock and the linkage to gene expression. This study is a collaboration with Carl Johnson from the Dept. of Biological Science.


News posted by jarrod.smith@vanderbilt.edu:

SGI/Vanderbilt Press Release

SGI has issued a press release announcing our partnership with them in building a visualization center around their Onyx4 technology. See it here.

The facility consists of an 8-processor, 4-graphics pipe Onyx4 system, an SXGA passive stereo projector, and two 24-inch 1600x1024 widescreen active stereo CRTs. It is currently hosted by the College of Arts and Science in the molecular modeling teaching laboratory.


News posted by walter.chazin@vanderbilt.edu:

CSB Open House!!

Please mark you calendars for Friday afternoon November 5 for a Center for Structural Biology Open House.

Oral presentations, visiting, tours and special prizes.

Watch for more information on these pages and in future announcements.


News posted by mizoue@structbio.vanderbilt.edu:

Bowie seminars: April 21 and 22

James Bowie, Associate Professor in the
Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA will
give 2 lectures:

SAM Domain Polymers and the Construction of
Regulatory Complexes

Wednesday April 21, 2004
12:15pm, 1220 MRBIII

Membrane Protein Stability
Thursday April 22, 2004
3:00pm, 5131 MRBIII

Co-sponsored by the Center for Structural Biology and the
Institute of Chemical Biology


News posted by walter.chazin@vanderbilt.edu:

Sanders shows importance of membrane protein folding in disease

Protein Folding and Disease:
Why Do Cells Care About Membrane Protein Stability?

Chuck Sanders and Joanna Nagy, Biochemistry 43, 10-25, (2004)
Dept. of Biochemistry, Center for Structural Biology, Institute for Chemical Biology



It is becoming apparent that mammalian cells have a tendency to degrade proteins having relatively low thermodynamic stability, even though the equilibrium constant for folding may still strongly the folded state by a factor of 1000 or more. Indeed, a new paradigm in drug development is presently being explored based on the fact that exogenous compounds which stabilize stability-challenged proteins are able to rescue such proteins from degradation, so that the protein\'s function is maintained in the cell. However, it is not clear why cells devote so many resources to monitoring protein stability. One possibility is that cells are not so much concerned about stability as they are about some other property which is linked to stability, such as a protein\'s tendency to misfold into kinetically-trapped aberrant structural states.
In our work the relationship between stability and propensity to misfold was probed for a series of purified variants of the polytopic integral membrane protein diacylglycerol kinase. It was observed that there was a strong correlation between stability and folding efficiency. The most common mutations which promoted misfolding were those which also destabilized the protein. These results imply that by targeting unstable membrane proteins for degradation, cellular protein folding quality control can eliminate proteins that have a high intrinsic propensity to misfold into aberrant structures. Moreover, the more rare class of amino acid mutations which promote misfolding without perturbing stability may be particularly dangerous because the mutant proteins may evade the surveillance of cellular quality control systems. Such proteins would not only lose function, but might misfold to form toxic structures such as amyloids.


News posted by joel.harp@vanderbilt.edu:

DataCentric Automation Seminar, Feb. 24

5131 MRBIII 10-11:30 a.m.
Dave Riling, General Manager of DataCentric
Automation, Nashville will present a seminar
covering the Rhombix Opus. There will be an open
discussion of the technology used to make a Solution
Based System, DCAs current efforts in automation of
protein expression and purification and the extension
of Rhombix to include X-ray diffraction data.

Rhombix Opus is an integrated system with a
common repository for data that improves the speed
and control of a crystallographers work by providing
a comprehensive tool for setting experimental design
parameters, automating protocols, and analyzing
results.

DataCentric Automation and the Biomolecular
Crystallography Facility in the Center for Structural
Biology are entering into a partnership to build an
integrated system for crystallography in the academic
environment.


News posted by mizoue@structbio.vanderbilt.edu:

Light Scattering Technology Seminar: Feb. 10th

Ron Myers from Wyatt Technology Corporation will present a seminar on Multi-angle light scattering (MALS) and Quasi-elastic light scattering (QELS) theory, instrumentation, and applications for macromolecules.

MALS is routinely used to determine biopolymer molar masses and radii, protein aggregation, protein glycosylation, critical micelle concentrations, polymer branching, polymer shape, and polymer viscosity.

QELS can be used to determine the hydrodynamic radii of biopolymers with radii as low as 1 or 2 nm thus making it an excellent complement to MALS.


Tuesday, February 10, 2004
10-11am
5131 MRBIII


News posted by l.mizoue@vanderbilt.edu:

Kovall Seminar - January 15 at 3:30

Faculty Candidate Dr. Rhett Kovall has been invited to present a seminar. Dr. Kovall is currently in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at the Howard Hughes Medical Center at Columbia University.

PLEASE NOTE THIS TIME CHANGE! Refreshments will be available at 3:15.

Molecular Control of Notch Signaling in the
Nucleus: The Crystal Structure of CSL bound to DNA
.

Thursday, January 15th, 3:30-4:55pm

Room 1220 MRBIII


News posted by jarrod.smith@vanderbilt.edu:

Data visualization technology demo - Wed. Nov 12

See SGI demonstrate their new graphics supercomputer, the Onyx4, right here at Vanderbilt! Information on the Onyx4 is available at SGI's website. It will be set up in tandem with JRTI's VizEveryWhere 3D immersive projection system. The demo will start at 1:30 and last approximately 90 minutes. We will meet in 5119 Stevenson Center (first floor of the science and engineering building). If you have a current or future need for data visualization, please come and show your interest!


News posted by Thomas.McClure@Vanderbilt.edu:

CSB Social Hour

TheVanderbilt Center for Structural Biology

Traditional StructBio Gathering
(Free Food, Beverages, and Camaraderie)

Friday,September 19, 2003
4:30-6:00 P.M.
5th Floor, Biological Sciences/MRB III


News posted by mizoue@structbio.vanderbilt.edu:

Seminar Announcement

Dr. James Keck, Asst. Prof., University of Wisconsin, Madison
Department of Biomolecular Chemistry

"Structural dissection of E. coli RecQ DNA helicase reveals physical insights into the molecular basis of Bloom's, Werner's, and Rothmund-Thompson syndromes"

Thursday, September 18, 2003 at 4:10 pm
1220 BioSCI/MRBIII

This seminar is co-sponsored by the Dept. of Biological Sciences and the Center for Structural Biology.


News posted by mizoue@structbio.vanderbilt.edu:

Center for Structural Biology Fellowship Announcement

The Center for Structural Biology (CSB) invites applications for graduate student and postdoctoral fellowships. The fellowship provides salary support to develop projects that use structural and biophysical approaches to address biological problems. Preference will be given to proposals designed to advance projects to the stage that demonstrates feasibility of structural analysis by NMR and/or X-ray crystallography.
Candidates from CSB laboratories are not eligible to apply.

  • The postdoctoral stipend is $32,000/year plus full benefits; graduate students will be paid in accord with their home department policy.
  • 100% of the recipient's effort must be directed towards the proposed research.
  • The recipient can be a new or existing Vanderbilt postdoc or graduate student.
  • The recipient must be in place by December 1, 2003.
  • The fellowship is for 1 year of funding, although competitive renewal for a second year is possible.
  • Full access to CSB equipment and instrumentation is included as part of the fellowship.
  • Guidance from highly experienced CSB staff and faculty is available at all stages.
  • The recipient will be required to submit progress reports to the CSB every 3 months.
Deadline to submit a letter of intent and brief abstract is September 15, 2003.

Those selected for further review will be asked to submit a 3 page proposal due on October 6, 2003. Funds will be made available as soon as the decisions are made, no later than October 15, 2003.

Please submit applications to the Center for Structural Biology, 5142 BIOSCI/MRBIII. Questions can be directed to: Laura Mizoue (x6-2253).


News posted by walter.chazin@vanderbilt.edu:

Center for Structural Biology Annual Report

The Annual Report for fiscal 2002/2003 is now available. Please contact Melba Carpenter to obtain a copy.


News posted by walter.chazin@vanderbilt.edu:

Gerald Stubbs leads new fibre diffraction network

A network of fiber diffraction groups has been established to coordinate activities in the USA. The goal of the network is to develop biological fiber diffraction methods, particularly computational methods. This will be done through a program of software development, and through a series of retreats and workshops. The network software will be complementary to CCP13 software; together, they will eventually cover all aspects of biological fiber diffraction.

A major focus of activity will be cooperation between fiber diffractionists in the USA and others, particularly those in Britain. A second focus will be the coordinated use of the BioCAT X-ray beamline facility at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory. Network meetings will include three types of activity: retreats that will formalize a successful informal series held sporadically since 1989, workshops at BioCAT, and partial sponsorship of sessions organized by the fiber diffraction Special Interest Group of the American Crystallographic Association.

The network, formally known as Research Coordination Network: Fiber Diffraction from Biological Polymers and Assemblies, and informally as FiberNet, is supported by the National Science Foundation\'s Division of Molecular and Cellular Bioscience, through grant MCB-0234001.


News posted by bandix@structbio.vanderbilt.edu:

Structbio Gathering: 15 November 2002

4:30-6:00 PM, 5th Floor MRBIII

Thanks to Kristina Furse for her artistic efforts.


News posted by symposia@structbio.vanderbilt.edu:

Vanderbilt Biomolecular Modeling Symposium

The Center for Structural Biology at Vanderbilt University will host a biomolecular modeling symposium and poster session on Friday and Saturday, September 20-21, 2002. Registration is required, but free (see below). Refreshments will be provided for the poster session on Friday night. Continental breakfast will be provided before the symposium on Saturday morning. The poster session will be judged, and the winner will receive a prize in the amount of $250. To participate in the contest, check the appropriate box on the registration page and enter your poster's title and abstract in the space provided. Be sure to sign up quickly as seating will be limited to about 120. Registration is on a first-come, first served basis. We reserve the right to limit the number of registrants from any single organization to ensure an appropriate cross-section in the attendance, but only if space becomes a problem. The deadline for registration is Friday, September 13, 2002. Please report cancellations to symposia@structbio.vanderbilt.edu by Friday, September 13, 2002 as well.


News posted by kristina.e.furse@vanderbilt.edu:

Structural Biology Social Hour: 14 June 2002

Come and join us for a drink and some munchies at the next general gathering of the Center for Structural Biology.

It will be held on Friday June 14th in the Biochemistry Conference Room (RRB-836) at 4:00 pm. Here is your personal invitation:

please


News posted by l.mizoue@vanderbilt.edu:

Structural Biology Postdoctoral Fellowship Announcement

Vanderbilt University Center for Structural Biology Postdoctoral Funding Opportunity. The Center for Structural Biology invites applications for postdoctoral fellowships. The intent is to encourage faculty to develop projects that use structural and biophysical approaches to address biological problems and to advance projects to the stage that demonstrates feasibility of structural analysis by NMR and/or X-ray crystallography. Funding will be awarded for a 1-year period to support projects from individual investigators or collaborative teams. Competitive renewal for a 2nd year is possible. The stipend is $32,000/year plus full benefits with full access to equipment and instrumentation within the Center. Funding is open to all Vanderbilt faculty. Letters of intent are due on July 1, 2002. Those selected for further review will be asked to submit a three-page proposal due on July 25, 2002. Funds will be made available as soon as the decisions are made, no later than September 1, 2002. Please submit applications to the Center for Structural Biology (PRB 896). Questions can be directed to: Dr. Laura Mizoue, (6-2253) l.mizoue@vanderbilt.edu


News posted by lybrand@structbio.vanderbilt.edu:

Seminar Announcement

Prediction of Peptide Binding to Families of Related Receptors, presented by Dr Vladimir Brusic, Thursday, 2:00 P.M., May 16, 2002 at Vanderbilt University, 836 RRB. Synopsis: Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules bind peptides and present them on cell surface for recognition by T cells of the immune system. MHC molecules are encoded by genes that show significant polymorphism. In humans, there are more than 500 characterised allelic variants of MHC for each MHC class I and class II. We developed a prediction system called MULTIPRED that was trained using virtual sequences that represent peptide-MHC interactions. The virtual sequences were constructed by combining the interaction sites from both peptide (ligand) and the receptor (MHC) inferred from the three-dimensional structure of MHC molecules. We applied the MULTIPRED system to a selection of human MHC class II molecules HLA-DR, and to the human MHC class I superfamily HLA-A2. MULTIPRED showed high accuracy in predicting HLA-binding peptides. In addition, we have shown that MULTIPRED can accurately predict peptide binding to HLA molecules for which no binding data are available. Biographical Information: Dr Vladimir Brusic is a research manager and the Head of the BioDiscovery Group at the Laboratories for Information Technology, Singapore. His current work includes computational modelling of biological systems, computational simulations of laboratory experiments, biological data warehousing, and functional genomics. Between 1989 and 1998, Dr Brusic was a bioinformatician at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia. He has a Doctoral degree in Bioinformatic and Master degrees in Biomedical Engineering, Information Technology, and Business Administration. Dr Brusic has published more than 50 articles in a broad range of bioinformatic fields.


News posted by jaison.jacob@vanderbilt.edu:

Phase errors in XWINNMR 3.0

Many of you are aware of the recent upgrade of XWINNMR to version 3.0. This software had a bug in the phase incrementation routine and the problem has been fixed. Please refer to VUBNMR News for more information.


News posted by kristina.e.furse@vanderbilt.edu:

Structural Biology Social Hour: 15 March 2002

Come and join us for a drink and some munchies at the next general gathering of the Center for Structural Biology.

It will be held on Friday March 15th in the Biochemistry Conference Room (RRB-836) at 4:00 pm.

Here is your personal invitation:

please


News posted by walter.chazin@vanderbilt.edu:

Center for Structural Biology gathering

Come and join us for a drink and some munchies at the next general gathering of the Center for Structural Biology. It will be held on November 16 in the Biochemistry Conference Room (RRB-836) at 4:00. There will be a brief presentation in the form of a progress report on our development plan and the upcoming move to the new BIOSCI/MRBIII building.


News posted by webmaster@structbio.vanderbilt.edu:

News Site has been Updated!!!

The Structural Biology news center has been updated with two new features..

The first one is an editing feature which allows you to make changes to your submission before you actually submit your article.. The edit button will take you back to your form for you to make changes..

Secondly, when you click the preview button, another page will come up. This page lets you see what your article will look like once its on the internet. The preview page does not mean it has been actually submitted.. Only when you click the submit button is when your article is submitted..

With any questions or comments, email the webmaster by clicking the webmaster link..

thankyou
sravan


News posted by vbnmr@structbio.vanderbilt.edu:

Vanderbilt Biomolecular NMR Symposium...

On Saturday October 6, 2001, The Center for Structural Biology will host a biomolecular NMR symposium. Registration is required, but free. Please visit the symposium homepage for more information. Contact vbnmr@structbio.vanderbilt.edu with questions.


News posted by walter.chazin@vanderbilt.edu:

A welcome to our readership

Please be sure to make use of this feature. It is a great way for us to stay in contact and updated on progress. And a big thanks to Jarrod and his group for the continued evolution of this website.


News posted by jsmith@structbio.vanderbilt.edu:

Structural Biology Homepage gets a new look...

We've revamped the home page to make it easier to view and navigate. Please send feedback to webmaster@structbio.vanderbilt.edu