Center for Protein Structure and Function

The University of Arkansas NIH NIGMS IDeA COBRE Center for Protein Structure and Function was established in September 2000 with COBRE Phase I NIH NCRR Grant 1 P20 RR15569-01 and continued with NIH Phase II and Phase III grants 1P30RR031154 and 8P30GM103450 for a total of $27.8 million for the period 2000 - 2015.

Protein structure and function is a central biomedical research area that has great potential for leading to improvements in human health. Proteins do nearly all the work in the cells of our bodies, ranging from brain function and nerve transmission to metabolic energy production and muscular contraction. Moreover, most diseases are associated with defects in protein function. Future advances in the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of human disease will depend upon better understanding of the structures, functions and interactions of the thousands of proteins that are encoded within the genomes of humans, and human pathogens. Such understanding will emerge from detailed investigations of the molecular structure and function of proteins that play an important role in human disease.

The Center supports multidisciplinary research projects involving junior faculty and senior faculty with expertise in a broad range of techniques needed to study protein structure and function. The investigators are in the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Biological Sciences in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UAMS, as well as other UA departments and colleges. The Center has made excellent progress since its establishment in October 2000, bringing in more than $154 million in external grant support, including 49 NIH grants, and 40 NSF, DOE and EPA grants. Sixteen outstanding new faculty members have been hired, and Core Facilities in NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, mass spectrometry, large-scale protein production, and chemical synthesis have been established.

The COBRE Center is conducting numerous biomedical research projects important to human health, including the development of new methods to treat osteoporosis, hepatitis C, the COVID-19 virus, cancer, and heart disease.