MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology

One of the world's leading research institutes, our scientists are working to advance understanding of biological processes at the molecular level - providing the knowledge needed to solve key problems in human health.

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Scientific Seminars

Below is a list of upcoming seminars at the LMB aimed at a general scientific audience and open to individuals throughout Cambridge. If you are not at the LMB and wish to attend a seminar, please contact the seminar secretary, unless the seminar is held online and joining information is included in the seminar information below. The LMB hosts ‘The LMB Seminar Series’, where 1-2 leading scientists per month are invited to speak throughout the year. Four of these lectures are named in honour of LMB Nobel Laureates Max Perutz, Francis Crick, César Milstein and John Kendrew, given by eminent scientists from around the world. The LMB Seminar talks and LMB Named Seminar talks are advertised widely throughout the local area and are open to all.

A full list of LMB Named Lectures to date can be found here. Details of other local seminars can be found here

  • LMB Seminar: Molecular views into cellular functions by in-cell cryo-electron tomography

    Speaker: Dr Julia Mahamid, Group Leader, EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
    Host: Kelly Nguyen
    Date: 20/04/2021 at 11:00am in the Webinar.

    Further information

    Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/97074945822?pwd=NWZvc3VEVWJxWmREVXJhaisxTkJ5dz09

    Most structural biology focuses on the structure and function of individual macromolecular complexes, but falls short of revealing how they come together to give rise to cellular functions. As a consequence, structural and cell biology have traditionally been separate disciplines and employed techniques that were well defined within the realm of either one or the other. Here, cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) provides a unique opportunity for obtaining structural information across a wide range of spatial scales - from whole cells to individual macromolecules. We develop and employ advanced sample preparation techniques for in-cell cryo-electron tomography, including cryo-focused ion beam thinning guided by 3D correlative fluorescence microscopy. Preparations of site-specific ‘electron-transparent windows’ in cellular model systems enable assignment of molecular structures directly from three-dimensional stills of intact cells and reveal their molecular sociology. Using the genome-reduced human pathogen Mycoplasma pneumoniae as a model system, we further developed the synergistic application of whole-cell crosslinking mass spectrometry, cellular cryo-ET and integrative modelling, and determine in-cell structures of transient, actively transcribing RNA polymerases coupled to a translating ribosomes. Recent computational breakthroughs now allow resolving these molecular machines to residue-level and reveal small molecule antibiotics bound to their active cite within the intact pathogen. These methodologies unlock an enormous potential for novel discovery enabled by label-free structural cell biology.

  • Perutz Lecture 2021: The coming of age of de novo protein design

    Speaker: Professor David Baker, Director of the Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, USA
    Host: Manu Derivery
    Date: 27/04/2021 at 4:00pm in the Webinar.

    Further information

    Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/92141784758?pwd=MC9UVVBLaUdkTkg4dDdJb2RRaGhmUT09

    Proteins mediate the critical processes of life and beautifully solve the challenges faced during the evolution of modern organisms. Our goal is to design a new generation of proteins that address current-day problems not faced during evolution. In contrast to traditional protein engineering efforts, which have focused on modifying naturally occurring proteins, we design new proteins from scratch based on Anfinsen’s principle that proteins fold to their global free energy minimum. We compute amino acid sequences predicted to fold into proteins with new structures and functions, produce synthetic genes encoding these sequences, and characterize them experimentally. SARS-COV2 provided a test of the relevance of these methods to real-world challenges. In this talk, I will describe the de novo design of SARS-COV2 candidate diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines: designed switches which luminesce in the presence of antiviral antibodies, designed 55 residue proteins that bind to the Spike with picomolar affinity and block viral infection, and nanoparticle immunogens which elicit much higher yields of neutralizing antibodies in animals than the Spike trimer that is the basis of most current vaccine trials. I will close by describing the status of getting these into the clinic, and lessons for combatting future pandemics.