In our group, we use mainly cryo-EM to discover molecular regulatory mechanisms. We combine the technique also with cryogenic electron tomography (cryo-ET) and work at developing combinatory methods with fluorescence microscopy. We follow two main lines of research.
In the first one, we aim at understing the molecular mechanics of AAA+ proteins involved in cellular protein quality control. AAA+ are fascinating systems as they can perform extremely different tasks in the cell while sharing the same basic structural fold. We look into the special structural inserts and interaction with adaptor proteins that confer AAA+ chaperones resistance to stress in both bacteria and humans.
In a second line of research we use cryo-EM as a tool for longitudinal epitope mapping of antibody response in animal models and humans with the aim of gaining insights useful for better vaccine design or for understanding autoimmune diseases.
In collaborations with other research groups and national infrastructure units we are also enganged in the method development of light and electron microscopy combination approaches and in cryo-EM and bioinformatic prediction methodologies.
The group works in close proximity to the cryo-EM national unit at SciLifeLab, which I also supervise.
Group members
Stavros Azinas, senior researcher
Lisa Engelhardt, PhD student
Koen Jurgens , PhD student
Maximilian Kahle, postdoctoral fellow
Hillevi Fjellstrom, master student
Sahra Amhed, undergraduate student