This message is posted for Eric Olson, Ph.D. (Chair of Molecular Biology), who is looking for a postdoctoral fellow to join his lab to work on a novel membrane protein (first described in Nature, in press). See project description below and if interested please contact him at:
Email: eric.ol...@utsouthwestern.edu<mailto:eric.ol...@utsouthwestern.edu> Eric N. Olson, Ph.D. Chair and Professor Department of Molecular Biology UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas 5323 Harry Hines Blvd. Dallas, TX 75390-9148 214-648-1187 phone 214-648-1196 fax http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/olsonlab/index.html Project Description: We have discovered a novel muscle-specific membrane protein that is necessary and sufficient to induce the fusion of muscle cells to form multinucleated muscle fibers. The process of myoblast fusion has been the focus of intense interest for decades but, until now, no muscle-specific fusigen has been discovered. This fusigenic protein is highly hydrophobic and localized to the plasma membrane. One of our major goals is to understand at the structural level how such a protein can promote the merger of membranes between cells. We hope to recruit a structural biologist to determine the crystal structure of this fusigenic protein and then to introduce mutations to perturb its structure to further understand the mechanistic basis of its actions. This project has the potential to yield important new insights into general properties of membrane fusion. This project will offer a unique opportunity for a young scientist to establish a reputation in an important area of cell biology and to independently extend this work in the future. Facilities Description: State-of-the-art equipment is shared between the members in the Structural Biology community at UT Southwestern and consists of one Rigaku FR-E SuperBright high brilliancy X-ray generator equipped with one set of high-resolution and one set of high-intensity X-ray optics, two imaging-plate X-ray detectors (one R-Axis IV++ and one R-Axis IV), two X-Stream crystal cooling devices, and one automated sample-mounting device (ACTOR) for the unattended screening of crystals; a Phoenix crystallization robot, plus two Desktop Minstrel imaging systems and a Gallery-160 Plate Hotel; 30 days per year of beamtime at beamlines 19ID at the Advanced Photon Source (APS), Argonne, IL; several NMR spectrometers (one 800 MHz, three 600 MHz, two 500 MHz), cryo-probes and robotic sample changer. These facilities are supplemented by a variety of biophysical instruments supporting the study of macromolecules using CD, dynamic light scattering, analytical ultracentrifugation, stopped-flow kinetics, isothermal titration calorimetry, microscale thermophoresis and mass spectrometry. Several investigators in the UT Southwestern Structural Biology community are expert membrane protein crystallographers, and have access to specific equipment and expertise related to construct optimization, crystallization and structure solution of membrane proteins. Diana * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Diana R. Tomchick Professor University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Department of Biophysics 5323 Harry Hines Blvd. Rm. ND10.136EB (until the end of July) Dallas, TX 75390-8816, U.S.A. Email: diana.tomch...@utsouthwestern.edu<mailto:diana.tomch...@utsouthwestern.edu> 214-645-6383 (phone) 214-645-6353 (fax) ________________________________ UT Southwestern Medical Center The future of medicine, today.
