Determining the structure of specific proteins that are relevant to specific diseases will help scientists design drugs to treat those conditions, explained Dr. Mark R. Chance, the consortium s principal investigator at Einstein. Director of the College s Center for Synchrotron Biosciences, he is the Joseph and Anne L. Wunsch Fellow in Biophysical Engineering. The Einstein Center for Synchrotron Biosciences, a shared resource facility at the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory, facilitates the study of the structure and function of the living cell using extremely high flux and high brightness electromagnetic radiation and energies ranging from the infrared through the ultraviolet. Using this technology, Einstein researchers have developed a method of analyzing the folding process of biological molecules as they occur on millisecond timescales. Structural genomics, the study of the structure of biological molecules such as proteins, is the logical next step after the completion of the mapping of the human genome.
Proteins are long chains of amino acids that fold into compact yet flexible shapes.
Their structures are determined by the order of the amino acids, which is prescribed by genes carrying instructions for making the proteins. While genes carry the blueprints for life, proteins perform the vital functions necessary for life to exist. Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University is one of the leading centers for biomedical research and education in the United States. In addition to its focus on molecular genetics, its research strengths include cancer, heart disease, diabetes, liver diseases, immunology and neuroscience, among others.