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Supramolecular Structure and Function
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The SSF research group provides resources for determining the shape and organization of supramolecular assemblies and the chemical composition of cellular organelles. SSF’s physical scientists, biologists and engineers, with expertise in quantitative high-resolution electron microscopy and nanoscale spectroscopy, collaborate with intramural investigators to develop and apply innovative imaging technologies. The goal of these studies is to relate structure to function at the subcellular and molecular level.
Areas of Research and Interest
Primary research goals include:
- Determining the three-dimensional organization of cells at the level of individual supramolecular assemblies
- Improving analytical sensitivity of electron energy-loss spectroscopy towards single atom detectability to address new biological questions
- Developing novel molecular labeling approaches
- Measuring regulatory elements such as phosphorus and calcium in individual macromolecules and assemblies
- Determining quantitative distributions of diffusible ions for applications in cell biology
- Designing image and spectral acquisition and processing techniques based on the physics of electron scattering to extract new types of compositional and structural information
- Developing low temperature methods such as hyperbaric freezing and cryosectioning to preserve the distributions of diffusible ions at the subcellular level and to maintain the native configuration of supramolecular assemblies
These technologies are applied to problems in structural and cell biology including:
- Organization of synapses in brain
- Structure of amyloid fibrils
- Measurement of calcium in brain and other tissues
- Localization of drugs in treated cancer cells
- Organization of DNA in cell nuclei
- Measurement of protein phosphorylation
- Distributions of diffusible ions in cells
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Specialized Instrumentation
- 300 kV field-emission transmission electron microscope
- Automated electron tomography
- Field-emission scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM)
- Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS)
- Energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDXS)
- Energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM)
- Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
- Cryo-electron microscopy
- Cryo-techniques for specimen preparation
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Information Links
Click on the below links to learn more about SSF and what we do.
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Meet the SSF Staff
Richard Leapman, Ph.D. - Physical Scientist, Chief
Maria Aronova, Ph.D. - IRTA Fellow
Alioscka Sousa, Ph.D. - Visiting Fellow
Vlad Speransky, Ph.D. - Staff Scientist
Guofeng Zhang, Ph.D. - Biologist
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