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Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) has become the state-of-the-art technology to study the structures of helical assemblies like amyloid fibrils. The accumulation of these proteinaceous fibrils is associated with more than twenty degenerative diseases, one of which is known as ATTR amyloidosis...

Assembly-line polyketide synthases, such as the 6-deoxyerythronolide B synthase (DEBS), are large multienzyme systems prized for their ability to produce specific and complex polyketide products. By transferring protein-tethered substrates across multiple active sites in a defined linear sequence, these enzymes...

Transient receptor potential vanilloid member 1 (TRPV1) is a Ca2+-permeable cation channel that serves as the primary heat and capsaicin sensor in humans. In published work, we determined the structures of apo and capsaicin-bound fulllength rat TRPV1 reconstituted into lipid...

CRISPR-associated transposition systems allow guide RNA-directed integration of a single DNA cargo in one orientation at a fixed distance from a programmable target sequence. In published work, we defined the mechanism explaining this process by characterizing the transposition regulator, TnsC...

Bacterial pathogens are a threat to global health and have evolved elaborate strategies to infect their hosts, including the deployment of type IV secretion systems (T4SS). These membrane-embedded macromolecular machines transport proteins and DNA across multiple membranes to deliver cargo...

The ability to fight a viral infection is essential for all organisms. Drosophila melanogaster utilizes RNA interference for the antiviral response. Here, the protein, Dicer-2, is used for small interfering RNA (siRNA) biogenesis and passing one strand of the siRNA...

CryoEM has revolutionized structural studies of membrane proteins over the last decade. Combined with membrane mimetics such as lipid nanodiscs, cryoEM allows for detergent-free structural determination of membrane proteins within a lipid bilayer more closely matching the native environment. I...

My group is interested in structure, function and dynamics of pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs). The pLGICs are central players in mediating fast synaptic transmission in the neuronal- and neuromuscular junctions. My talk will focus on two members of the...