The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has selected Dr. Stephen Sligar as the winner for the Herbert A. Sober Lectureship. The award recognizes outstanding biochemical and molecular biological research, with particular emphasis on development of methods and techniques to aid in research.
Dr. Sligar’s lab has been exploring how to reveal the structure and function of membrane proteins through the use of nanotechnology. Membrane proteins have been historically difficult to study due to many of the current biophysical and chemical techniques applicable to soluble enzymes failing to deal with insoluble aggregates.
The emergence of nanotechnology could eliminate challenges faced by researchers during the solubilization of membrane proteins and allow for the study of membrane proteins from a mechanistic perspective. In this approach, the membrane protein target is transiently solubilized with a detergent in the presence of phospholipids and an encircling amphipathic helical protein belt, termed a membrane scaffold protein (MSP). The membrane protein then finds itself in a native membrane environment and is rendered soluble via the encircling MSP belt.
The lab remains committed to the widest possible dissemination of the Nanodisc technology, including materials, methods and latest data from our laboratory. The Nanodisc system is now being used by hundreds of laboratories around the world that have realized great success and further advanced the technology.
The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) is a nonprofit scientific and educational organization with over 12,000 members. Founded in 1906, The Society's purpose is to advance the science of biochemistry and molecular biology through publication of scientific and educational journals. Dr Sligar’s Lectureship award is given bi-annually and provides a plaque, honorarium and costs related to presenting a named lecture at the ASBMB Annual Meeting, which will be held in April.
Dr. Sligar is the inventor of Nanodisc technology and currently holds the University of Illinois Swanlund Endowed Chair, the highest endowed position at the University. He is also the Director of the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology and is a professor of biochemistry, chemistry, and biophysics and computational biology and an affiliate of the Institute for Genomic Biology and the Micro and Nano Technology Laboratory.
To learn more about the usage of the Nanodisc nanotechnology, visit www.BioNanoCon.com or Sligar Lab.