The third annual MBSB research symposium was held on May 15th 2015, in the Frick Fine Arts Building from 9:00am to 7:00pm. The 2015 symposium featured Dr Bridget Carragher (New York Structural Biology Center) as our keynote speaker from 4:00-5:00pm. Local speakers included MBSB faculty and MBSB students.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Bridget Carragher, New York Structural Biology Center
"Using Electron Microscopy to understand the dynamics of molecular machines"
The last few years have witnessed several dramatic improvements in the progress of Molecular Electron Microscopy (EM), a set of techniques and approaches used to analyze the structure of macromolecular machines using a transmission electron microscope (TEM). New detectors and image processing software have enabled reconstruction of atomic resolution maps, at least for large well ordered macromolecules. High levels of automation in image acquisition and processing have enabled the reconstruction of multiple different states of molecular machines from a single sample. This provides the opportunity to understand structures that may be highly heterogeneous and/or dynamic. A brief overview of the new technology will be presented and the power of the method will be illustrated by its application to the understanding of dynamic molecular machines.
Program MBSB Symposium 2015
Morning Session
Chaired by Rebecca Eells, Physics, Carnegie Mellon U.
9:45 Structural basis for HIV-1 capsid assembly and host cell interactions. Peijun Zhang, Structural Biology, U. of Pittsburgh
10:20 UV resonance raman monitors impact of aqueous solvation on primary amide vibrations. Elizabeth Dahlburg, Chemistry, U. of Pittsburgh
10:40 Break
11:05 Molecular underpinnings of cardiolipin induced peroxidase activity of cytochrome c. Abhishek Mandal, Structural Biology, U. of Pittsburgh
11:25 Structural integrity of the ribonuclease H domain in HIV-1 reverse transcriptase. Ryan Slack, Structural Biology, U. of Pittsburgh
11:45 Lunch and Poster Session
Afternoon Session
Chaired by Elizabeth Dahlburg, Chemistry, U. of Pittsburgh
1:30 Watching human Poly(ADP)-Ribose Polymerase (PARP1) and AP Endonuclease (APE1) collaborate in DNA repair at the single molecule level. Ben Van Houten, Pharmacology & Chemical Biology, U. of Pittsburgh
2:05 UV Resonance Raman (UVRR) studies of polyglutamine peptides. David Punihoale, Chemistry, U. of Pittsburgh
2:25 Break
2:50 Discovery and development of small molecule antagonists of the HIV-1 Nef virulence factor. Tom Smithgall, Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, U. of Pittsburgh
3:25 Cryo-electron tomography and all-atom molecular dynamics simulations reveal a novel kinase conformational switch in bacterial chemotaxis signaling. Ben Himes, Structural Biology, U. of Pittsburgh
3:45 Break
Keynote Address
Chaired by Kindra Whitlatch, Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, U. of Pittsburgh
4:00 Using Electron Microscopy to understand the dynamics of molecular machines. Bridget Carragher, New York Structural Biology Center
Reception
