Structural Biology Shared Service

20.0 Abstract: Structural Biology Shared Service The Structural Biology Shared Service (SBSS) assists investigators in the collection and interpretation of structural biology data derived from three technologies—cryogenic electron microscopy, X-ray crystallography, and nuclear magnetic resonance—as a value-added means to advance cancer biology research. SBSS supports users from all five research programs at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC). The structural biology data from SBSS help investigators derive the molecular mechanisms of action of cancer-related proteins and enzymes and permit the design of molecular agents, including molecular probes as drug candidates for research studies and potential cancer treatments. The three technologies offer complementary approaches to understanding structure and biomolecule mechanisms of action. The expertise of SBSS leadership directs investigators to the appropriate structural biology method(s) that will most efficiently address their scientific questions and then provides strategies for obtaining high-quality analysis. SBSS is heavily used. For example, 18 research groups use two or more structural analysis methods. SBSS facilitates early-stage UMGCCC drug discovery in cooperation with other UMGCCC shared services; the Computer Aided Drug Design Center (CADDC), headed by MacKerell (MSB); and the Center for Biomolecular Therapeutics (CBT), directed by Weber (MSB). The Faculty Oversight Committee, composed of SBSS users and external reviewers, assesses and provides guidance on current services and strategic planning. Overall, SBSS provides UMGCCC investigators with access to state-of-the-art structural biology instrumentation in a collaborative environment that is ideal for basic structure-based drug design research to enable the advancement of high-impact cancer research and bench-to-bedside success. In 2019 SBSS supported studies by 56 investigators, 40 (71.4%) of whom were affiliated with UMGCCC. In 2019 SBSS supported $17.9 million of UMGCCC funding, all of which was peer reviewed. From 2015 to 2019, SBSS supported 164 publications including those in high-impact journals such as Science, Cell, PNAS, Nucleic Acids Research, Journal of the American Chemical Society, and Journal of Molecular Biology.