Biology Center attracts magnet

A technician sits below an 800MHz magnetic resonance spectrometer—a massive magnet that will help KU researchers analyze biological molecules at atomic resolution at KU’s Structural Biology Center on west campus. The magnet was installed in July. Jennifer Larson/University Relations

The Structural Biology Center on KU’s west campus is the new home of an 800MHz magnetic resonance spectrometer — a massive magnet that will help analyze important biological molecules at atomic resolution.

David VanderVelde, director of laboratories at the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Laboratory, said the new tool was powerful enough to define the three-dimensional structure of a large protein or assembly of proteins, which will help further KU’s life science research in the field of proteomics.

“It will create tremendous new opportunities for scientists at KU and in the region who are interested in protein structure,” VanderVelde said.

“There are only a few such instruments in the Midwest. Previously, the closest one to KU was at the University of Minnesota.”

VanderVelde said the SBC, which is expected to open this month, was an integral part in KU’s participation in the “post-genomic era.”

“The Human Genome Project has identified a virtually complete ‘parts list’ for a variety of living organisms,” he said. “The field of genomics has matured, but the field of proteomics will grow hugely as a result of the successes in genomics.”

VanderVelde said the center would house more than $5 million in scientific instruments, which have been funded largely through the National Institutes of Health and bonds approved by the Kansas Legislature.

For more information about the center, visit www.msg.ku.edu/~msg
/nmr2.html.