The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer subject of this application supports a wide range of research among numerous investigators at UT Southwestern Medical Center. It allows the study of protein structure, dynamics, and molecular interactions on medically and biologically relevant systems. For example, Dr. Michael Rosen studies cytoskeletal dynamics, an important biological process involved in cell migration, adhesion, establishment and maintenance of polarity, and vesicle trafficking. Dr. Jose Rizo-Rey aims to understand the regulation of neurotransmitter release by proteins involved in membrane fusion. Dr. Kevin Gardner is interested in how signal transduction of environmental cues, like xenobiotics, light, and oxygen are ultimately involved in gene regulation. Dr. Xuelian Luo is characterizing the regulation of the spindle checkpoint signaling during cell mitosis, the chromosome inheritance point of the cell cycle. These systems are important to basic biology and to developing new methods to diagnose and treat human disease. The NMR spectrometer is over 10 years old, and uses technology no longer produced by the instrument manufacturer. Repairs are increasingly frequent and expensive, take longer, and soon will not be possible. This proposal requests funds to purchase a new 600MHz NMR spectrometer console. The console is the heart of a NMR spectrometer since it contains all the digital and radiofrequency electronics necessary to acquire NMR experiments. This equipment will continue supporting NIH-funded programs in the laboratories of Dr. Michael Rosen, Dr. Jose Rizo-Rey, Dr. Kevin Gardner, and Dr. Xuelian Luo, thus facilitating the above stated research. Additionally, this equipment will also be available to the UT Southwestern community in need of NMR data for biophysical studies on an even wider range of important biological processes.
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