Researchers Uncover How C. difficile’s Deadliest Toxin Breaks Into Cells
A new study has uncovered key details about how one of the most urgent bacterial threats, Clostridioides difficile infection, causes damage inside the human body. This bacterium infects the colon, causing diarrhea and inflammation among other uncomfortable symptoms, and leads to as many as 15,000 deaths per year in the...
Researchers Uncover How Key Cell Proteins Interact with Implications for Cancer Treatment
How do cells coordinate activities between their insides and their outside? A new study published in Science Advances by researchers from the University of Maryland (UMD), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the City of Hope Medical Center provides a molecular-level answer. The research uncovers novel insights...
Why AI Can’t Yet Crack the Code of RNA and DNA Folding
Artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly become a widely discussed topic, as its reach is expanding to numerous fields beyond computer science. In structural biology, AI has been increasingly used to predict 3D structures of various biomolecules including proteins, carbohydrates and even the interaction between these molecules. However, a study, “Critical...
About IBBR
IBBR is a joint research enterprise of the University of Maryland, College Park, the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
IBBR leverages state-of-art integrative methods for bioanalytical, biophysical and structural characterization of biomolecules: cryo-electron microscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, x-ray crystallography, small angle neutron and x-ray scattering and mass spectrometry.
IBBR researchers seek to advance therapeutic development, biomanufacturing, and state-of-the-art measurement technologies, to support accelerated delivery of safe and effective medicines to the public.
IBBR is a major initiative and supported in part by the University of Maryland Strategic Partnership: MPowering the State (MPower) , an initiative designed to achieve innovation and impact through collaboration.
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IBBR Commons
Sophisticated state-of-the-art instrumentation and facilities, and in-house expertise located in shared space and dedicated to advance research, support collaboration and foster innovation of methods. Instrumentation and facilities include tools for high-resolution structural biology, bioanalytical and biophysical measurement, protein engineering and cell culture, advanced computation including artificial intelligence and deep learning methods, and general laboratory services. These capabilities and advanced training are available to IBBR scientists and collaborators.
IBBR Postdoc Program
The IBBR Postdoc Program (IPP) focuses on collaborative research involving basic science and technology development that advances therapeutic development, vaccine development, and biomanufacturing. IPP Fellow project teams are designed with a combination of the IPP Fellow career goals and priorities of project mentors who can be from academic, government, and/or industrial laboratories throughout the University of Maryland, NIST and the I-270 corridor.
NMRPipe
IBBR is home to NMRPipe, a popular collection of programs and scripts for manipulating multidimensional Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) data. The use of NMRPipe is noted in roughly 40% of all NMR structures accepted into the Protein Data Bank.
Upcoming Events
AT NIST BMD All-Hands Safety/Quality/Division Update Meeting
Tuesday, October 14, 2025 - 11:00am
NIST Group Meeting: Sarala Padi
Wednesday, October 15, 2025 - 11:00am
BMD Staff Seminar K. Tynan/ E. Moran, .08/.06
Tuesday, October 21, 2025 - 11:00am
Recent Publications
Prediction of TdP Arrhythmia Risk Through Molecular Simulations of Conformation-specific Drug Interactions with the hERG K + , Na V 1.5, and Ca V 1.2 Channels.
Unintended block of cardiac ion channels, particularly hERG (K V 11.1), remains a key concern in drug development as disruption of ion channel function can lead to deadly arrhythmia. To assess...
Expression and characterization of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in Thermothelomyces heterothallica C1.
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated a pressing need for rapid, adaptive, and scalable manufacturing of vaccines and reagents. With the transition into an endemic disease and rising threats of other...
Quantifying Hydrogen Populations in Liquid Mixtures Using 1H NMR Relaxometry.
The fractions of hydrogen populations in various liquid mixtures, including liquid drug products, were quantified using time-domain 1H NMR relaxometry. Different hydrogens in a liquid mixture have...
Electrochemistry as a Tool for Redox-Based Bio-Information Processing.
Redox, a native modality in biology involving the flow of electrons, energy, and information, is used for energy-harvesting, biosynthesis, immune-defense, and signaling. Because electrons (in...