STRUBI

At STRUBI we study a wide range of bio-medically important processes from a structural and mechanistic point of view. As a prospective student I was really excited by the breadth of research spanning a broad swath of modern biology including the molecular basis of transcription and translation, cell surface signalling, membrane and pore-forming protein structure, viral structural biology, the nature of host-pathogen interaction and the structural basis of learning and memory.

As a student here, I have been incredibly lucky to have access to state-of-the-art equipment which has allowed me to be at the cutting edge of structural biology. STRUBI has excellent in-house facilities for X-ray data collection. We can test crystals for diffraction prior to synchrotron trips and we can also collect data in-house.

A particular strength at STRUBI is Electron Microscopy: we have a suite of three electron microscopes, including two 300 kV field emission gun liquid nitrogen electron microscopes. Here you can see Pascale and Charlotte using the "Tecnai Polara 300 keV electron microscope" looking at cells grown directly onto a gold electron microscopy grid and snap frozen in vitreous ice to preserve cellular structure. A low magnification search allows them to target the cell of interest. When using a higher magnification on thin areas of the cell, you can see cellular components such as endosomes and ribosomes. A series of tilted images are collected and can later be reconstructed to give a 3D tomogram.

We have world class crystallization facilities which take advantage of the latest high through-put technologies including 96-well plates dispensing and crystallization robots, crystallization optimization robots, a storage vault with a capacity of 10,000 plates and a fully integrated automated imaging system.

Of particular importance to my PhD, which uses mammalian expression systems to investigate hedgehog signalling, is the high-throughput tissue culture robot which is able to process flasks, either splitting or carrying out automated transient transfections giving me time to process data or conduct other experiments. By complementing my X-ray structure with a variety of biophysical and biochemical methods, such as Surface Plasmon Resonance and Luciferase Reporter Assays, I was able to relate structural findings to functional data.

We are in a very fortunate geographical position having the best source of X-rays in the UK: the Diamond Light Source synchrotron, which is a mere 15 miles drive south of Oxford. On average we visit the synchrotron once a week which means that we have plenty of beamtime available to collect data.

Because of our recognised expertise in structural biology in the UK and in Europe, STRUBI hosts the Coordination office of INSTRUCT, an international collaboration helping to realize the goal of integrated large-scale structural biology resources across Europe.

The Division is home to more than 80 researchers divided into 11 groups with a strong history of collaboration where people take advantage of expertise from multiple groups to explore novel biological problems. Postgraduate study within the Division of Structural Biology is possible as part of several different programmes of research. Students benefit from supportive supervision and various training possibilities. Currently, there are 50 students with over half being from outside the UK, creating a truly international atmosphere.

If you are interested in joining us as a graduate student or postdoc, or if you would like to collaborate with us, please see our website or contact us for further information.