Maryland Center for Advanced Molecular Analysis (M-CAMA)

Technological breakthroughs in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) have revolutionized the field of structural biology, especially for large protein complexes, viral assemblies, and membrane proteins.

A collaboration among the three IBBR partner institutions (University of Maryland, College Park; University of Maryland, Baltimore; National Institute for Standards and Technology) has established cryo-EM capabilities at the Maryland Center for Advanced Molecular Analysis (M-CAMA), located at IBBR. Dr. David Weber (IBBR Associate Director; Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Maryland School of Medicine) serves as the center's director.

M-CAMA researchers are using cryo-EM structure data to inform the design of small molecule drugs, biotherapeutics, and vaccines, as well as to gain insight into the molecular architecture of large protein complexes and viruses and the dynamic flexibility of biomolecules.

Dr. Hasan removes a sample from the Arctica Talos 200 kV
Dr. Hasan removes a sample from the Arctica Talos 200 kV

Instrumentation

  • Talos Arctica 200 kV, FEI Falcon3EC detector, installed Spring 2019
  • Glacios 200 kV, Gatan K3 detector, anticipated Spring 2020
  • High-Performance Computing Cluster: dedicated 750 TB parallel file system, two dedicated 8-GPU nodes
Dr. Pozharskiy collects Cryo-EM data
Dr. Edvin Pozharskiy (IBBR Fellow) collects Cryo-EM data

For more information, contact:

Dr. Edvin Pozharskiy
IBBR Fellow
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Maryland School of Medicine
EPozharskiy@som.umaryland.edu
(240) 314-6870