As the building blocks of a living organism, the cells rely on biomolecules, such as lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids to fulfill their biological functions. These biomolecules media various cellular functions. The lipids are self-assembled into bilayers to separate cellular contents from extracellular environments or divide cells into subcellular apparatuses. The proteins transmit extracellular signals through lipid bilayers, or interact with other biomolecules inside or outside of the cells to regulate the behaviors of the cells. The nucleic acids encode the genetic instructions for cell division and functions. These biomolecules are the subjects for structural biology studies. By determining the structures of these biomolecules, biologists could have a better understanding of how the atoms of these molecules precisely coordinate with each other to execute the functions of these molecules. This understanding is the foundation for many translational applications, such as the structure-based drug development.
The faculty members in the division of structural biology at the School of Life Sciences employ the x-ray crystallography, NMR, and cryo-EM to delineate the structures of membrane receptors, transporters, viral proteins, and other molecules with important biological functions. Their research areas include infectious diseases, cancers, neuroscience, and developmental biology.
