Cryo-EM

This research will use cutting edge high-resolution biological microscopy technique named Single-Particle Cryogenic Electron Microscopy (SP Cryo-EM) to gain insights into fundamental biological processes responsible for the acquisition of structure and for structural maintenance of large and complex proteins. These processes involving protein folding mechanisms and refolding after denaturation are currently poorly understood for large proteins, yet they are critical for proteins’ correct biological functions. Their malfunction may lead to a number of serious illnesses including neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. SP Cryo-EM has recently revolutionized structural biology and therefore this project has a potential to contribute to the basic knowledge of protein structure acquisition and restoration processes at a hitherto unattainable level of three-dimensional detail, which will be extremely useful for understanding protein folding, misfolding and structural recovery mechanisms.