Abstract: Series 111, Lecture 7
The Harvey Lectures Series 111 (2015—2016)
Lecture #7: Thursday, May 19, 2016 — Watch Video of Lecture
Visualization of Macromolecular Complexity and Function using Cry-Electron Microscopy
Eva Nogales, PhD
Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology
Senior Faculty Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Cryo-EM is a structural technique rapidly advancing in resolution and applicability to very challenging systems. Because crystallization is not required, very little sample is needed, and the potential to deal with compositional and conformational mixtures, cryo-EM is used to investigate fully functional macromolecular complexes in different functional states, providing a richness of biological insight. We are using cryo-EM towards a structural understanding of transcription initiation and microtubule dynamic instability, two essential processes for eukaryotic cells.