Programme Description
Structural Biology Programme integrates information on the structure of biologically important macromolecules – proteins, nucleic acids and their complexes. The goal is to obtain the knowledge necessary to understand the basic functions and life processes at the molecular and cellular levels. Progressive high-resolution methods of structural analysis such as X-ray diffraction, nuclear magnetic resonance, cryo-electron microscopy and tomography are used in combination with modern methods of molecular modelling, theoretical chemistry, and bioinformatics.
The Structural Biology programme is aimed at achieving European competitiveness, stimulate regional development and facilitate biomedical research and biotechnologies. Structural biology is vital for advancing our fundamental understanding of how biological systems function. It safeguards sustaining progress in biomedicine and biotechnology and benefits public health, environmental sciences, and economy. The obtained results will strengthen our ability to develop new therapeutics to meet the grand challenges of ageing society, public health, and newly emerging global pandemics.
Main Goals
New, integrated infrastructure, set up by the CEITEC project, provides information crucial for the development of biochemical and biomedical technologies and therapeutic strategies for the treatment of serious illnesses. The results will find use in the pharmaceutical industry, in the monitoring of environment quality, will help to develop nanobiotechnologies and will contribute to the development of new scientific instruments. The research will focus on molecular biology and biochemical and structural characterization of cellular processes, including RNA, studies of the ribosome, understanding the structure-function relationships of proteins in pathogenic bacteria, fungi, and viruses, and on the acquisition of knowledge necessary for the development of biosensors for nanomechanical detection of clinical markers using their in vivo/in situ detection in real time.
Research Groups
- Michaela Wimmerová Research Group (Glycobiochemistry)
- Štepánka Vaňáčová Research Group (RNA Quality Control)
- Petr Skládal Research Group (Nanobiotechnology)
- Peter Lukavsky Research Group (RNA-based Regulation of Gene Expression)
- Richard Štefl Research Grou (Structural Biology of Gene Regulation)
- Pavel Plevka Research Group (Structural Virology)
- Jiří Šponer Research Group (Structure and Dynamics of Nucleic Acids)
- Miroslav Fojta Research Group (Structure and Interaction of Biomolecules at Surfaces)
- Jaroslav Koča Research Group (Computational Chemistry)
- Radek Marek Research Group (Structure of Biosystems and Molecular Materials)
- Lukáš Trantírek Research Group (Non-Coding Genome)
- Lukáš Žídek Research Group (Protein Structure and Dynamics)
- Konstantinos Tripsianes Research Group (Protein-DNA Interactions)
- Robert Vácha Research Group (Interaction protein- proteint and protein-membrane)
Core Facilities
- Josef Dadok National NMR Centre
- Biomolecular Interactions and Crystallization
- X-ray Diffraction and Bio-SAXS Core Facility
- Nanobiotechnology Core Facility
- Cryo-electron Microscopy and Tomography
