The overall goal of this proposal is to provide an integrated, efficient synchrotron structural biology Resource to the research community. This Resource, called ALS-ENABLE, will be located at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) in Berkeley, California. It will provide a transparent interface to the mature structural biology technologies at the ALS, and be designed to optimize the chances of successful structure determination for both routine and challenging problems. Multiple access mechanisms, including on site, remote, mail-in and collaborative, will be provided, and the users will be guided through the most appropriate routes for answering their biological question. The Resource will leverage the substantial investment in construction and operations by other funding agencies, industry and academia. The Resource has 3 Technology Operations Cores (TOCs) that address specific needs in the research community: 1) rapid response crystallography, 2) high quality and high throughput small angle X-ray scattering, and 3) specialized crystallography. A multifaceted training and outreach program will incorporate face-to-face training, remote and online materials, and training groups. The Resource will have a robust web presence, be represented in peer-reviewed publications, and participate in professional meetings and workshops to promote ALS-ENABLE capabilities, recruit new users, and report Resource technologies to the greater structural biology community. The Resource will be managed by an administrative core, which will ensure that local, remote, and collaborative access is maintained for peer- reviewed beamtime proposals. Based on evaluation of metrics and user feedback, we will consistently improve the user interactions through the ALS-ENABLE web portal and the experimental resources.
- Overall X-ray crystallography and solution scattering are critical tools in the study of biological systems. They are able to provide information that has been a prerequisite to the understanding the fundamentals of life. They are also methods that have proved themselves to be central to the development of new therapeutics for human disease. The overarching goal of this proposal is to provide an integrated synchrotron Resource that makes mature technologies for crystallography and small angle X-ray scattering available to a broad research community. This will lead to more insightful biological interpretation and better drugs to improve human health.
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