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Projects

As a scientific user facility, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) provides expertise, instrumentation, and resources to 250 projects each year. 

EMSL projects displayed on the EMSL web site project page reflect project abstracts and information migrated to this page before April 30, 2024. To review current and past EMSL user projects, visit EMSL Science Central.™ 

 

Structural and mechanistic studies of the CARD8 inflammasome

Lead Institution
Boston Children's Hospital
Principal Investigator
Hao Wu
Innate immunity comprises ancient and evolutionarily conserved biological pathways that are imperative for the recognition of pathogens and endogenous damage. One such major signaling axis termed the…

Structure determination of non-coding RNAs

Lead Institution
University of California, San Diego
Principal Investigator
Navtej Toor
Non-coding RNAs (ncRNA) play many diverse but essential roles in biology. Among the first characterized ncRNAs are transfer RNAs, ribosomal RNAs, and the spliceosomal RNAs. Later on, researchers…

Cryo-EM studies on C-type Inactivation in Kv channels

Lead Institution
Oregon Health & Science University
Principal Investigator
Francis Valiyaveetil
Voltage gated K+ (Kv) channels discriminate K+ from Na+ in the selectivity filter, which consists of four K+ binding sites. In addition to the selective conduction of K+, the selectivity filter…

Structure of the first purified manganese oxidase Mnx

Lead Institution
University of Washington
Principal Investigator
Bradley Tebo
Microbial production of manganese oxide (MnO2) is a globally important biomineralization process. MnO2 is a key component of the Mn cycle, which supports life through the Mn catalytic centers of many…

Common Architecture Chemistry Components for Terascale Simulations

Lead Institution
Sandia National Laboratory
Principal Investigator
Joseph Kenny
Project type
Exploratory Research
We plan to utilize the HP cluster for porting and testing of our Common Component Architecture infrastructure and components on the IA64 architecture. In addition, we will utilize this platform in…

Novel Analyses of Hanford Plutonium Particles

Lead Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Principal Investigator
Dallas Reilly
Understanding the chemical speciation of plutonium particles currently in the ground at the Hanford site has major implications for nuclear forensics (looking back in time at which processes produced…

Structure of an acid-sensing ion channel in a lipid environment.

Lead Institution
Oregon Health & Science University
Principal Investigator
Eric Gouaux
Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are voltage-insensitive and proton-gated members of the Na-selective epithelial sodium channel/degenerin (ENaC/DEG) superfamily of ion channels and are expressed…

Rosetta ab initio protein folding

Lead Institution
Institute for Systems Biology
Principal Investigator
Richard Bonneau
Project type
Exploratory Research
We propose developing tools and scheduling techniques to make use of the unutilized compute cycles on the HP supercomputer in the Molecular Science Computing Facility to predict the structure of…

CryoEM Studies of KdpFABC

Lead Institution
New York University School of Medicine
Principal Investigator
David Stokes
Our project addresses the molecular mechanism of an unusual K+ pump called KdpFABC. In K+ deficient conditions, bacteria induce expression of this pump in order to maintain osmotic conditions…

Screening of a Candida albicans drug resistance transporter MLT1

Lead Institution
University of Arizona
Principal Investigator
Thomas Tomasiak
Fungal infections present a rising and underappreciated threat to health. The CDC identified one species of fungal infections, Candida, as one of 18 leading antibiotic resistant infection threats…

Magnetic and transport studies of Co doped TiO2 thin films

Lead Institution
Boise State University
Principal Investigator
Alex Punnoose
Project type
Exploratory Research
Thin films of Co doped TiO2 will be prepared using the MBE and sputter deposition facilities available at PNNL. The magnetic and transport properties of the samples will then be investigated using a…

Broad-spectrum inhibitors of ebolavirus entry

Lead Institution
La Jolla Institute for Immunology
Principal Investigator
Erica Saphire
There are six known viruses in the ebolavirus genus, at least three of which are known to cause severe hemorrhagic fever in humans. All ebolaviruses display one surface protein, a glycoprotein termed…