Archive by date: March

MPSDC-funded poster author wins Biophysical Society 2012 Student Research Achievement Award

Posted on March 29, 2012 — No Comments ↓

Thomas Chew with the award-winning poster. Click to enlarge.

The MPSDC had a strong showing at the Biophysical Society’s 56th Annual Meeting this year, with members collaborating in a total of 72 posters and presentations taking place in various subgroups, platforms, symposia, mini-symposia, and workshops. Now, we are proud to announce that one of our posters was selected as one of the thirteen 2012 Student Research Achievement Award Winners.

Thomas Chew, the first author of the poster, is an undergraduate student at the University of California, San Diego. He has performed summer research projects in the laboratory of Merritt Maduke at Stanford University.

The winning poster is entitled Structural Investigations of CLC-ec1, A Large Integral Membrane Protein, Using Solution-State NMR and Nanodisc Techology and features Thomas Chew, Sherwin J. Abraham, Shelley M. Elvington, and Merritt Maduke as authors. The poster was selected by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences as the sole NIGMS Poster Winner.

Thomas Chew at the February 27 Awards Ceremony together with the other winners and Steve Block. Click to enlarge.

Thomas was recognized and received a monetary award at the Awards Ceremony on February 27, preceding the 2012 National Lecture delivered by Steve Block. He was also selected to attend the NIGMS/NIH’s 50th anniversary symposium in October 2012.

Congratulations, Thomas and Merritt!

Read the Biophysical Society’s press release »

Computational Modeling Core to host Workshop and mini-Symposium on May 1st and 2nd

Posted on March 13, 2012 — 1 Comment ↓

During the week of the Membrane Protein Structural Dynamics Consortium (MPSDC)’s Frontiers in Membrane Protein Dynamics conference, a “hands-on” Workshop specifically dedicated to Membrane Protein Modeling will be held at The University of Chicago on Tuesday, May 1st. This Workshop is designed to provide an introduction to the most important computational tools and techniques used in molecular dynamics simulations of membrane proteins, including utilization of the programs NAMD and VMD.

The Workshop is co-organized by the Computational Modeling Core (CMC) of the MPSDC and the Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group (TCBG) of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The CMC Workshop will be followed by a one day, open-to-all mini-symposium on the new development of computational tools presented by the members of the CMC. If you are not attending the CMC Workshop, please fill out this form.

A schedule and more details for both of these events is now available »

CMC Membrane Protein Modeling Workshop

Tuesday, May 1st
8:30 am – 5:00 pm
University of Chicago
Knapp Center for Biomedical Discovery (KCBD)
Room 3200
(directions)

CMC Mini-Symposium

Wednesday, May 2nd
8:30 am – 3:00 pm
University of Chicago
Gordon Center for Integrative Science (GCIS)
Room W301
(directions)

View the schedule »

Benoît Roux and the Computational Modeling Core

Posted on March 12, 2012 — No Comments ↓

We are delighted to introduce the latest feature on the Membrane Protein Structural Dynamics Consortium (MPSDC) website: Behind the Scenes. Within this section, we will be exploring the inner workings of the Consortium with a camera in hand, dedicating to showing you what takes place within the laboratory setting and outside of it.

For our inaugural piece, we present the following video feature of Benoît Roux, the PI of the Consortium’s Computational Modeling Core (CMC). We sat down with Benoît and asked him about computational modeling, the CMC’s collaborations and function within the MPSDC, and where he sees the Consortium in five years. Let us know what you think in the comments!

Five new publications by Emad Tajkhorshid added

Posted on March 5, 2012 — 1 Comment ↓

To date, the Membrane Protein Structural Dynamics Consortium (MPSDC) has produced 22 publications which can be found in the popular PubMed database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics and were assigned PMID identifiers. These collaborative publications were buttressed by funding provided by the NIH/NIGMS Glue Grant which supports the MPSDC, and the findings produced by these publications are consonant with the Consortium’s overall mission.

Dr. Emad Tajkhorshid

So far in 2012, six publications have been added to the website, five of which were co-authored by Emad Tajkhorshid. Tajkhorshid is Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and an active participant in its Theoretical and Computational Physics Group together with fellow Consortium member Klaus Schulten. His research focuses on structure function relationships in membrane proteins and understanding the mechanism of their function using simulation and computational methodologies. Examples of his research include the mechanism of permeation of water, ions, and other substrates through membrane channels; simulation of photoactivation in rhodopsin and other visual receptors; and, quantum mechanical calculations of the chromophore in bacteriorhodopsin.

Within the MPSDC, Tajkhorshid is a frequent collaborator of the Computational Modeling Core (link). Additionally, Tajkhorshid also oversees the computational components of the Structural Dynamics of ABC Transporter bridge project (link) and the Conformational Dynamics in the CLC Channel/Transporter Family pilot project (link).

We would like to thank Emad for his collaborative endeavors, and congratulate him on his prolific output!

Emad Tajkhorshid’s publications in 2012 to date:

	Structural basis for iron piracy by pathogenic Neisseria Noinaj N, Easley NC, Oke M, Mizuno N, Gumbart J, Boura E, Steere AN, Zak O, Aisen P, Tajkhorshid E, Evans RW, Gorringe AR, Mason AB, Steven AC, Buchanan SK. Nature 483(7387): 53-58 (2012). PMID: 22327295. Learn more »
	A gate-free pathway for substrate release from the inward-facing state of the Na(+)-galactose transporter Li J, Tajkhorshid E. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) – Biomembranes 1818(2): 263-271 (2012). PMID: 21978597. PMCID: PMC3253917. Learn more »
	Tracing cytoplasmic Ca²⁺ ion and water access points in the Ca²⁺-ATPase Musgaard M, Thøgersen L, Schiøtt B, Tajkhorshid E. Biophysical Journal 102(2): 268-277 (2012). Learn more »
	Molecular dynamics investigation of the ω-current in the Kv1.2 voltage sensor domains Khalili-Araghi F, Tajkhorshid E, Roux B, Schulten K. Biophysical Journal 102(2): 258-267 (2012). Learn more »
	Molecular basis for the activation of a catalytic asparagine residue in a self-cleaving bacterial autotransporter Barnard T, Gumbart J, Peterson J, Noinaj N, Easley N, Dautin D, Kuszak A, Tajkhorshid E, Bernstein H, Buchanan S. Journal of Biological Chemistry 415(1): 128-42 (2012). PMID: 22094314. PMCID: PMC3230255. Learn more »