# Structural Biology Facility Shared Resource

> **NIH NIH P30** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $173,999

## Abstract

ABSTRACT – STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY FACILITY
The Structural Biology Facility provides a full service resource for investigators requiring high resolution
structures, including: a) resources required for crystallographic structure determination, including refinement and
analysis, b) resources required for structural studies by cryoelectron microscopy (cryoEM), including single
particle reconstruction and tomography, c) molecular graphics and computational support for all aspects of
structural biology investigations, d) molecular graphics and computational support for structure-based drug
discovery, and e) structure determination and data collection both by x-ray crystallography and cryoEM. The
Facility is essential for the research programs of investigators of the Lurie Cancer Center who are studying the
relationship between macromolecular structure and function, or who are using macromolecular structure as the
starting point for structure-based drug design. It is a unique resource at Northwestern University that capitalizes
on proximal access to the synchrotron radiation X-ray source at Argonne National Laboratory, access to state-
of-the-art electron microscopes at Northwestern, and highly experienced personnel that both assist users and
provide full structure determination services.
The Structural Biology Facility is located on both campuses of Northwestern University. Dr. Alfonso Mondragón,
a structural biologist based on the Evanston Campus, directs the Facility and works closely with Dr. Valerie
Tokars, the Operations Director of the Facility. The Facility consists of five major components: 1) an outstation
at the Advanced Photon Source that is devoted to state-of-the-art macromolecular crystallography, 2) two
modern electron microscopes located on the Evanston campus, 3) automated facilities for setting up and
visualizing crystallization experiments, 4) a complete suite of equipment for sample preparation for electron
microscopy, and 5) computational facilities to support structural biology studies, including NMR, crystallography,
electron microscopy, computational drug-design, simulations, modeling, and advanced graphical visualization
and manipulation of models. The distributed nature of the facility reflects the extent to which data collection,
computational, molecular visualization, and other scientific resources are networked, and thus integrated, for the
structural biology research community at Northwestern.
The Facility is continuously adapting to evolving needs of the LCC. During the last two years, it has expanded
significantly by incorporating cryoEM as part of the resources available through the Facility. It has also continued
to upgrade its computational infrastructure to serve the growing requirements of the structural biology
community. The Facility plans to continue to grow and expand by incorporating new techniques and approaches,
upgrading and modernizing the existing equipment, and incorporating new groups into its expanding use...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9982870
- **Project number:** 5P30CA060553-26
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Alfonso Mondragon
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $173,999
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9982870

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9982870, Structural Biology Facility Shared Resource (5P30CA060553-26). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9982870. Licensed CC0.

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