Structure & Mechanism

Structure, function, and dynamics of macromolecules. See the website for Biomolecular Structure and Mechanism at Berkeley here.

Graduate programs

Faculty

Affiliated centers

The HARC Research Center at UCSF Mission Bay is an interdisciplinary research center aimed at creating a comprehensive structural picture of interactions between HIV viral proteins and intracellular host molec­ules at early stages in the viral lifecycle.

Core facilities

Beamline 8.3.1 at the Advanced Light Source at LBNL

This is a national facility that generates bright synchrotron light for studies in materials science, biology, chemistry, physics, and environmental sciences. The beamline uses a superconducting bend magnet in the 6-18 keV range to deliver light through an optical obstacle course in order to resolve protein structure.

Central California 900 MHz NMR Spectrometer Facility at UC Berkeley

This Stanley Hall facility features four high-field NMR instruments, including 800 MHz and shielded 900 MHz systems. The instruments are used to study the structures and dynamics of both proteins and nucleic acids at the atomic level, and for probing the formation of biologically important molecular complexes and their functions.

Macromolecular X-ray Crystallography Facility at UC Santa Cruz

The facility houses a state-of-the-art rotating anode/imaging plate X-ray crystallography data collection suite, a cryosystem, and a collection of computer workstations and software for crystallographic computations, molecular visualization, and model building.

Membrane Protein Expression Center at UCSF

The MPEC develops and applies the latest innovative methods that yield structurally and functionally intact membrane proteins for subsequent drug development, structural, and functional characterization. The MPEC focuses especially on eukaryotic membrane proteins, as these provide many major drug target proteins.

The Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Laboratory at UCSF

This facility includes 600 MHz and 500 MHz spectrometers for high-resolution studies of macromolecules including the solution structure of proteins, nucleic acids, and their complexes.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility at UC Santa Cruz

This facility is used to examine molecular structure and folding in studies involving structure and biochemical mechanisms of cancer and anticancer therapies and environmental toxins. It houses three different high-resolution NMR spectrometers.

QB3/College of Chemistry Mass Spectrometry Facility at UC Berkeley

The facility features state-of-the-art mass spectrometers. It provides routine nominal and accurate mass measurements of biological, organic and inorganic compounds as well as structural elucidation through tandem mass spectrometry. Mass spectral proteomics analysis, mass measurement of intact proteins, lipids, oligosaccharides, and non-covalent protein-protein and protein-ligand complexes are also available.

QB3 Macrolab at UC Berkeley

The Macrolab offers automated liguid-handling services to enable high-throughput analysis in several key areas. Services are available in 1) cloning and mutagenesis, 2) protein expression and purification, and 3) protein crystallization reagents and other useful consumables.