Page 4 - Annual Report 2020

Amer Alam, Ph.D.
Structural Biology of Membrane Transport
SECTION LEADER / ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
“Over the last year
since its inception, our lab has determined
the cryo-EM structures of several human membrane transporters at near atomic resolu- tions. Along with their biochemical charac- terization, these new structures will be part of several upcoming publications we are
in the process of
preparing.”
Amer Alam
Thi My Le Le Mehedi Hasan James Thompson
The Alam lab uses a combination of bio- control over material transfer across cellular and
chemical and structural (Cryo-EM and
X-ray crystallography) techniques to pri- marily study macromolecules and macromolec- ular complexes involved in membrane transport, homeostasis, and biogenesis, with a particular focus on pinpointing lipid/protein interactions
in context of membrane protein function. Main- tenance of membrane bilayer integrity and tight
organellar membranes is central to proper physio- logical functioning. Dysfunction of these systems lies at the heart of several devastating, often fatal pathologies ranging from rare inherited diseases such as Zellweger’s syndrome and adrenoleu- kodystrophy (both stemming from peroxisomal dysfunction) to a range of neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes, and cancer.
SUMMARY
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