Laboratory of Structural Sciences

From left, standing: E. Xu, Daugherty, Tolbert, Kovach, Powell, Zhang, Zhou; kneeling: Kruse, Pioszak, Y. Xu, Ke

Scientific Overview

General Overview

Eric Xu’s lab is dedicated to studying individual molecules using X-rays. His staff takes pure samples of a single protein and, through a long and difficult process, produces crystals of that protein. These crystals are similar to the crystals of minerals or table salt, in which the molecules are arranged in a definite, three-dimensional pattern. The protein crystals are subjected to high-intensity X-rays at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, and the X-ray data are analyzed to produce a three-dimensional structure of the protein molecule itself. Knowing the structure helps scientists to understand how that protein works and, in the case of some proteins from cancer cells, how to try and stop those proteins from functioning.