Participant no. 5: Ivano Bertini, CERM, Florence, Italy
Institution
The Magnetic Resonance Centre (CERM) at the University of Florence has a long-term, excellent knowledge and tradition in the characterisation of structure and dynamics of proteins in solution through NMR. It has continuously contributed to the improvement of NMR-based techniques for macromolecular structure determination, and is currently involved in European Structural Proteomics projects. It is equipped with the most advanced instruments for spectroscopic and biophysical characterization. More than 100 protein structures were solved in the laboratory using NMR and/or X-ray spectroscopy.
Ivano Bertini's group is involved in the project on:
- Low molecular weight MET antagonists
Profile of the Group
The team has considerable experience in structural biology, particularly in structural and dynamic protein characterisation in solution through NMR, and unique expertise in paramagnetic systems. Recent contributions of the group include the use of paramagnetic metal ions in ligand screening, the use and evaluation of protein modelling procedures in conjunction with experimental determination, the application of NMR to the study of protein-protein complexes and extensive application of NMR in protein structure.
Ivano Bertini, Professor and Director of CERM, has pursued technological advancements in solution structure determination, particularly for paramagnetic metalloproteins, and established a molecular biology department for protein expression.
Lucia Banci is a Professor of structural biology and biophysics. She is one of the founders of CERM and focuses on structural biology in solution, through high resolution NMR spectroscopy, to which she contributed methodological and theoretical advancement. She is also involved in Structural Genomics projects.
Stefania Girotto is a post doctoral researcher of biophysics and spectroscopy. She mainly focuses her research on the application of a variety of spectroscopic techniques for the investigation of the structures of different proteins and their mechanisms of drug activation.
Andrea Giachetti is a post doctoral fellow and computational chemist. He worked in the field of drug-discovery screening of new drugs for specific target protein families and of protein-ligand interactions through NMR and dynamic simulations.
Rebecca Del Conte has a PhD in Chemical Sciences and is a senior technician. Besides experience in microbiology and biotechnology, she has a broad knowledge in the field of NMR spectroscopy.