Verna and Marrs McLean Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
We are a center for research in the life sciences at Baylor College of Medicine.
Wensel Lab Research
Structure of heat-sensitive ion channel TRPV1, the receptor for capsaicin, the active ingredient in hot chile pepper. The Wensel, Chiu, and Zhou labs determine membrane protein structures using cryo-electron microscopy and x-ray crystallography.
Green Eyed Mouse
These mice with glowing green eyes carry the gene for human rhodopsin, the most commonly mutated gene in inherited blindness, fused to Green Fluorescent Protein, to enable development of new therapeutic strategies.
Wang Lab Research
The potent actin nucleator Cordon-bleu (green fluorescence) co-localizes with actin (red fluorescence) to form membrane ruffles (orange/yellow). The Wang and Ma labs have discovered the structural basis for actin nucleation.
Chiu Lab Research
Molecular model based on cryo-electron microscopy of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus at 4.4 Å resolution. The structure suggests mechanisms for nucleocapsid assembly, virulence attenuation, host recognition and neutralization.