Research Overview
In order to understand how biological macromolecules work and to intervene with respect to activity and function, detailed knowledge of their architecture and dynamic features is required. Characterizing the major determinants for stability and conformational specificity of normal and disease-causing forms of important molecules allows one to unravel the complex processes associated with disease. Angela Gronenborn's research combines nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and other structural techniques with biophysics, biochemistry, and chemistry in an integrative fashion to investigate cellular processes at the molecular and atomic levels in relation to human disease. Within her group, NMR methods for determining three-dimensional structures of biological macromolecules are developed and applied to challenging systems. As such, the Gronenborn group has solved structures of a large number of medically and biologically important proteins and protein complexes, such as various HIV and AIDS related proteins.