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2. Career self-efficacy disparities in underrepresented biomedical scientist trainees

Author

Deepshikha Chatterjee, Gabrielle A. Jacob, Susi Sturzenegger Varvayanis, Inge Wefes, Roger Chalkley, Ana T. Nogueira, Cynthia N. Fuhrmann, Janani Varadarajan, Nisaan M. Hubbard, Christiann H. Gaines, Rebekah L. Layton, and Sunita Chaudhary

Subjects
Medicine, Science
Abstract

The present study examines racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in career self-efficacy amongst 6077 US citizens and US naturalized graduate and postdoctoral trainees. Respondents from biomedical fields completed surveys administered by the National Institutes of Health Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (NIH BEST) programs across 17 US institutional sites. Graduate and postdoctoral demographic and survey response data were examined to evaluate the impact of intersectional identities on trainee career self-efficacy. The study hypothesized that race, ethnicity and gender, and the relations between these identities, would impact trainee career self-efficacy. The analysis demonstrated that racial and ethnic group, gender, specific career interests (academic principal investigator vs. other careers), and seniority (junior vs. senior trainee level) were, to various degrees, all associated with trainee career self-efficacy and the effects were consistent across graduate and postdoctoral respondents. Implications for differing levels of self-efficacy are discussed, including factors and events during training that may contribute to (or undermine) career self-efficacy. The importance of mentorship for building research and career self-efficacy of trainees is discussed, especially with respect to those identifying as women and belonging to racial/ethnic populations underrepresented in biomedical sciences. The results underscore the need for change in the biomedical academic research community in order to retain a diverse biomedical workforce.

Published
2023

3. Applying inter-rater reliability to improve consistency in classifying PhD career outcomes [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]

Author

C. Abigail Stayart, Patrick D. Brandt, Abigail M. Brown, Tamara Dahl, Rebekah L. Layton, Kimberly A. Petrie, Emma N. Flores-Kim, Christopher G. Peña, Cynthia N. Fuhrmann, and Gabriela C. Monsalve

Subjects
Medicine, Science
Abstract

Background: There has been a groundswell of national support for transparent tracking and dissemination of PhD career outcomes. In 2017, individuals from multiple institutions and professional organizations met to create the Unified Career Outcomes Taxonomy (UCOT 2017), a three-tiered taxonomy to help institutions uniformly classify career outcomes of PhD graduates. Early adopters of UCOT 2017, noted ambiguity in some categories of the career taxonomy, raising questions about its consistent application within and across institutions. Methods: To test and evaluate the consistency of UCOT 2017, we calculated inter-rater reliability across two rounds of iterative refinement of the career taxonomy, classifying over 800 PhD alumni records via nine coders. Results: We identified areas of discordance in the taxonomy, and progressively refined UCOT 2017 and an accompanying Guidance Document to improve inter-rater reliability across all three tiers of the career taxonomy. However, differing interpretations of the classifications, especially for faculty classifications in the third tier, resulted in continued discordance among the coders. We addressed this discordance with clarifying language in the Guidance Document, and proposed the addition of a flag system for identification of the title, rank, and prefix of faculty members. This labeling system provides the additional benefit of highlighting the granularity and the intersectionality of faculty job functions, while maintaining the ability to sort by - and report data on - faculty and postdoctoral trainee roles, as is required by some national and federal reporting guidelines. We provide specific crosswalk guidance for how a user may choose to incorporate our suggestions while maintaining the ability to report in accordance with UCOT 2017. Conclusions: Our findings underscore the importance of detailed guidance documents, coder training, and periodic collaborative review of career outcomes taxonomies as PhD careers evolve in the global workforce. Implications for coder-training and use of novice coders are also discussed.

Published
2020
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4. Applying inter-rater reliability to improve consistency in classifying PhD career outcomes [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

Author

C. Abigail Stayart, Patrick D. Brandt, Abigail M. Brown, Tamara Dahl, Rebekah L. Layton, Kimberly A. Petrie, Emma N. Flores-Kim, Christopher G. Peña, Cynthia N. Fuhrmann, and Gabriela C. Monsalve

Subjects
Research Article, Articles, workforce development, higher education, career outcomes, STEM education, career taxonomy
Abstract

Background: There has been a groundswell of national support for transparent tracking and dissemination of PhD career outcomes. In 2017, individuals from multiple institutions and professional organizations met to create the Unified Career Outcomes Taxonomy (UCOT 2017), a three-tiered taxonomy to help institutions uniformly classify career outcomes of PhD graduates. Early adopters of UCOT 2017, noted ambiguity in some categories of the career taxonomy, raising questions about its consistent application within and across institutions. Methods: To test and evaluate the consistency of UCOT 2017, we calculated inter-rater reliability across two rounds of iterative refinement of the career taxonomy, classifying over 800 PhD alumni records via nine coders. Results: We identified areas of discordance in the taxonomy, and progressively refined UCOT 2017 and an accompanying Guidance Document to improve inter-rater reliability across all three tiers of the career taxonomy. However, differing interpretations of the classifications, especially for faculty classifications in the third tier, resulted in continued discordance among the coders. We addressed this discordance with clarifying language in the Guidance Document, and proposed the addition of a flag system for identification of the title, rank, and prefix of faculty members. This labeling system provides the additional benefit of highlighting the granularity and the intersectionality of faculty job functions, while maintaining the ability to sort by - and report data on - faculty and postdoctoral trainee roles, as is required by some national and federal reporting guidelines. We provide specific crosswalk guidance for how a user may choose to incorporate our suggestions while maintaining the ability to report in accordance with UCOT 2017. Conclusions: Our findings underscore the importance of detailed guidance documents, coder training, and periodic collaborative review of career outcomes taxonomies as PhD careers evolve in the global workforce. Implications for coder-training and use of novice coders are also discussed.

Published
2020
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5. Creating the 'new normal': Career development embedded into the Ph.D. curriculum for all trainees

Author

Meghan E. Spears, Grant C. Weaver, Brent B. Horowitz, Sumeet Nayak, Heather S. Loring, Spencer L. Fenn, Mary Ellen Lane, Daniel Hidalgo, and Cynthia N. Fuhrmann

Subjects
Medical education, Focus (computing), New normal, ComputingMilieux_THECOMPUTINGPROFESSION, Professional development, ComputingMilieux_COMPUTERSANDEDUCATION, Medical school, Organizational culture, Career planning, Psychology, Curriculum, Career development
Abstract

To prompt and support early and informed career exploration and preparation across all Ph.D. students, the University of Massachusetts Medical School took an approach fundamentally different from traditional career development programs: rather than focus on creating opt-in workshops or opportunities, we integrated career and professional development directly into and across the span of Ph.D. training as part of the required curriculum for all students. Five years later, we are now seeing significant changes on our campus, from students embracing career planning and taking earlier actions toward their career development, to changes in institutional culture. Here, we tell the story through student voices.

Published
2020
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6. Contributors

Author

Janet Alder, Avery August, Tracey Baas, Chelsea R. Barbercheck, Lars Berglund, Amanda Florence Bolgioni, Ashley E. Brady, Patrick D. Brandt, Patrick J. Brennwald, Abigail M. Brown, Roger Chalkley, Christine S. Chow, Rebekah St. Clair, Milagros Copara, Tamara Dahl, Laura Daniel, Steve Dewhurst, M. Isabel Dominguez, Jennie Dorman, Susan R. Engelhardt, Spencer L. Fenn, Michael J. Friedlander, David A. Fruman, Cynthia N. Fuhrmann, Kathleen L. Gould, Jennifer Greenier, Stacy Hayashi, Daniel Hidalgo, Sarah Chobot Hokanson, Brent B. Horowitz, Linda E. Hyman, Arthee Jahangir, Karen Klomparens, Mary Ellen Lane, Lorena Infante Lara, Rebekah L. Layton, Bill Lindstaedt, Heather S. Loring, Ambika Mathur, Nael A. McCarty, Julia Melkers, Frederick Meyers, Keith Micoli, Daniel Moglen, Judith A. Moldenhauer, Gabriela C. Monsalve, Sumeet Nayak, Wendy C. Newstetter, Theresa C. O'Brien, Kimberly A. Petrie, Sarah Peyre, Christine Ponder, Rachel L. Reeves, Carol Shoshkes Reiss, Julie W. Rojewski, Chris B. Schaffer, Barbara M. Schreiber, Elizabeth A. Silva, Harinder Singh, Meghan E. Spears, Jean L. Spencer, C. Abigail Stayart, Kate F.Z. Stuart, Audra Van Wart, Susi Varvayanis, Bineti Vitta, Stephanie W. Watts, Grant C. Weaver, Inge Wefes, and Keith R. Yamamoto

Published
2020
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7. Enhancing Graduate and Postdoctoral Education To Create a Sustainable Biomedical Workforce

Author

Cynthia N. Fuhrmann

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, Biomedical Research, Biological Science Disciplines, 03 medical and health sciences, Professional Competence, Genetics, Humans, Medicine, Education, Graduate, Molecular Biology, Academic career, Medical education, Career Choice, ComputingMilieux_THECOMPUTINGPROFESSION, Graduate education, business.industry, Mentors, Professional development, Research Personnel, Variety (cybernetics), 030104 developmental biology, Perspective, Workforce, Molecular Medicine, Engineering ethics, ComputingMethodologies_GENERAL, business, Career development
Abstract

PhD-trained biomedical scientists are moving into an increasingly diverse variety of careers within the sciences. However, graduate and postdoctoral training programs have historically focused on academic career preparation, and have not sufficiently prepared trainees for transitioning into other scientific careers. Advocates for science have raised the concern that the collective disregard of the broader career-development needs for predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees could drive talent away from science in upcoming generations. A shift is occurring, wherein universities are increasingly investing in centralized career development programs to address this need. In this Perspective, I reflect on the movement that brought biomedical PhD career development to the spotlight in recent years, and how this movement has influenced both the academic biomedical community and the field of career development. I offer recommendations for universities looking to establish or strengthen their career development programs, including recommendations for how to develop a campus culture that values career development as part of pre- and postdoctoral training. I also suggest steps that faculty might take to facilitate the career development of their mentees, regardless of the mentee's career aspirations. Finally, I reflect on recent national efforts to incentivize innovation, evaluation, and research in the field of biomedical PhD career development, and propose actions that the scientific community can take to support biomedical career development further as a scholarly discipline. These investments will enable new approaches to be rigorously tested and efficiently disseminated to support this rapidly growing field. Ultimately, strengthening biomedical career development will be essential for attracting the best talent to science and helping them efficiently move into careers that will sustain our nation's scientific enterprise.

Published
2016
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8. Applying inter-rater reliability to improve consistency in classifying PhD career outcomes

Author

Abigail M. Brown, Emma N. Flores-Kim, Gabriela C. Monsalve, Tamara Dahl, Rebekah L. Layton, Kimberly A. Petrie, C. Abigail Stayart, Christopher G. Peña, Patrick D. Brandt, and Cynthia N. Fuhrmann

Subjects
workforce development, 0301 basic medicine, Higher education, Global workforce, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, 03 medical and health sciences, Consistency (negotiation), 0302 clinical medicine, career taxonomy, Taxonomy (general), Humans, Education, Graduate, General Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics, 030304 developmental biology, 0303 health sciences, Medical education, Career Choice, General Immunology and Microbiology, business.industry, 4. Education, 05 social sciences, STEM education, 050301 education, Reproducibility of Results, Guidance documents, Articles, General Medicine, Workforce development, Faculty, career outcomes, Test (assessment), Identification (information), Inter-rater reliability, 030104 developmental biology, Categorization, higher education, Workforce, Professional association, Sources of error, business, Psychology, 0503 education, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, Research Article
Abstract

Background: There has been a groundswell of national support for transparent tracking and dissemination of PhD career outcomes. In 2017, individuals from multiple institutions and professional organizations met to create the Unified Career Outcomes Taxonomy (UCOT 2017), a three-tiered taxonomy to help institutions uniformly classify career outcomes of PhD graduates. Early adopters of UCOT 2017, noted ambiguity in some categories of the career taxonomy, raising questions about its consistent application within and across institutions. Methods: To test and evaluate the consistency of UCOT 2017, we calculated inter-rater reliability across two rounds of iterative refinement of the career taxonomy, classifying over 800 PhD alumni records via nine coders. Results: We identified areas of discordance in the taxonomy, and progressively refined UCOT 2017 and an accompanying Guidance Document to improve inter-rater reliability across all three tiers of the career taxonomy. However, differing interpretations of the classifications, especially for faculty classifications in the third tier, resulted in continued discordance among the coders. We addressed this discordance with clarifying language in the Guidance Document, and proposed the addition of a flag system for identification of the title, rank, and prefix of faculty members. This labeling system provides the additional benefit of highlighting the granularity and the intersectionality of faculty job functions, while maintaining the ability to sort by - and report data on - faculty and postdoctoral trainee roles, as is required by some national and federal reporting guidelines. We provide specific crosswalk guidance for how a user may choose to incorporate our suggestions while maintaining the ability to report in accordance with UCOT 2017. Conclusions: Our findings underscore the importance of detailed guidance documents, coder training, and periodic collaborative review of career outcomes taxonomies as PhD careers evolve in the global workforce. Implications for coder-training and use of novice coders are also discussed.

Published
2020
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9. Transforming training to reflect the workforce

Author

Theresa C. O’Brien, Cynthia N. Fuhrmann, Ambika Mathur, Roger G. Chalkley, and Frederick J. Meyers

Subjects
Limelight, Inservice Training, Organizational innovation, ComputingMilieux_THECOMPUTINGPROFESSION, business.industry, Extramural, MEDLINE, General Medicine, Public relations, Popular press, Training (civil), Article, Organizational Innovation, United States, law.invention, ComputingMilieux_GENERAL, National Institutes of Health (U.S.), law, Practice Guidelines as Topic, Workforce, Medicine, Resizing, business
Abstract

The past few years have placed scientific workforce pressures in the limelight: National committees, academic thought-leaders, trainees, politicians, and the popular press have highlighted, in reports and essays, issues such as the increasing numbers of Ph.D.-trained scientists, the shrinking supply

Published
2015
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10. Recognition of Nucleic Acid Bases and Base-pairs by Hydrogen Bonding to Amino Acid Side-chains

Author

William W. Chen, Alan C. Cheng, Alan D. Frankel, and Cynthia N. Fuhrmann

Subjects
Models, Molecular, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Databases, Factual, Base pair, Stereochemistry, Context (language use), Arginine, Crystallography, X-Ray, Protein Structure, Secondary, Nucleic acid secondary structure, Nucleobase, Protein structure, Structural Biology, Nucleic Acids, Serine, Computer Simulation, Amino Acids, Nucleic acid structure, Base Pairing, Molecular Biology, chemistry.chemical_classification, Base Composition, Hydrogen bond, Chemistry, Hydrogen Bonding, DNA, Amino acid, Models, Structural, Pyrimidines, Purines, Nucleic Acid Conformation, RNA, Asparagine, Protons, Protein Binding
Abstract

Sequence-specific protein-nucleic acid recognition is determined, in part, by hydrogen bonding interactions between amino acid side-chains and nucleotide bases. To examine the repertoire of possible interactions, we have calculated geometrically plausible arrangements in which amino acids hydrogen bond to unpaired bases, such as those found in RNA bulges and loops, or to the 53 possible RNA base-pairs. We find 32 possible interactions that involve two or more hydrogen bonds to the six unpaired bases (including protonated A and C), 17 of which have been observed. We find 186 "spanning" interactions to base-pairs in which the amino acid hydrogen bonds to both bases, in principle allowing particular base-pairs to be selectively targeted, and nine of these have been observed. Four calculated interactions span the Watson-Crick pairs and 15 span the G:U wobble pair, including two interesting arrangements with three hydrogen bonds to the Arg guanidinum group that have not yet been observed. The inherent donor-acceptor arrangements of the bases support many possible interactions to Asn (or Gln) and Ser (or Thr or Tyr), few interactions to Asp (or Glu) even though several already have been observed, and interactions to U (or T) only if the base is in an unpaired context, as also observed in several cases. This study highlights how complementary arrangements of donors and acceptors can contribute to base-specific recognition of RNA, predicts interactions not yet observed, and provides tools to analyze proposed contacts or design novel interactions.

Published
2003
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12. Contributors

Author

Catherine Anne Abbott, Carmela R. Abraham, Hideki Adachi, Osao Adachi, Zach Adam, Michael W.W. Adams, Michael J. Adang, Ibrahim M. Adham, Patrizia Aducci, David A. Agard, Alexey A. Agranovsky, Tetsuya Akamatsu, Yoshinori Akiyama, Reidar Albrechtsen, Alí Alejo, Sean M. Amberg, Alexander Y. Amerik, Piti Amparyup, Felipe Andrade, Germán Andrés, Daniel M. Andrews, Robert K. Andrews, Toni M. Antalis, Colin S. Anthony, Naoya Aoki, Suneel S. Apte, Kazunari Arima, Gérard Arlaud, Raghuvir Krishnaswamy Arni, Pascal Arnoux, Nathan N. Aronson, Michel Arthur, Yasuhisa Asano, Paolo Ascenzi, Marina T. Assakura, David S. Auld, Veridiana de Melo Rodrigues Ávila, Francesc X. Avilés, William M. Awad, Anand K. Bachhawat, Shan Bai, Teaster T. Baird, S. Paul Bajaj, Susan C. Baker, Agnieszka Banbula, Alan J. Barrett, Jemima Barrowman, John D. Bartlett, Jörg W. Bartsch, Nikola Baschuk, Isolda P. Baskova, Jyotsna Batra, Karl Bauer, Ulrich Baumann, Wolfgang Baumeister, Cédric Bauvois, Alex Bayés, Anne Beauvais, Christoph Becker-Pauly, Tadhg P. Begley, Miklós Békés, Robert Belas, Daniah Beleford, Teruhiko Beppu, Ernst M. Bergmann, Bruno A. Bernard, Dominique Bernard, Michael C. Berndt, Giovanna Berruti, Colin Berry, Greg P. Bertenshaw, Christian Betzel, Chetana Bhaskarla, Manoj Bhosale, Gabriele Bierbaum, B. Bjarnason Jón, Michael Blaber, Michael J. Blackman, Alexander Blinkovsky, Jef D. Boeke, Matthew Bogyo, Stefan Bohn, Guy Boileau, Mike Boland, Tové C. Bolken, Judith S. Bond, Jan Bondeson, Javier Bordallo, Claudia Borelli, Tiago O. Botelho, Richard R. Bott, David G. Bourne, Niels Bovenschen, Ralph A. Bradshaw, Klaus Breddam, Keith Brew, Paul J. Brindley, Diane L. Brinkman, Collette Britton, Jeff R. Broadbent, Anne Broadhurst, Dieter Brómme, Murray Broom, Jeremy S. Brown, Mark A. Brown, Iris Bruchhaus, Barbara A. Burleigh, Kristin E. Burns, James F. Burrows, Michael J. Butler, David J. Buttle, Chelsea M. Byrd, Tony Byun, Sandrine Cadel, Conor R. Caffrey, Santiago Cal, Javier Caldentey, Thomas Candela, Clemente Capasso, Daniel R. Capriogilio, Vincenzo Carginale, Adriana Karaoglanovic Carmona, Vern B. Carruthers, Francis J. Castellino, Joseph J. Catanese, Bruce Caterson, George H. Caughey, Naimh X. Cawley, Tim E. Cawston, Juan José Cazzulo, Jijie Chai, Karl X. Chai, Olga Meiri Chaim, L.S. Chang, Julie Chao, Marie-Pierre Chapot-Chartier, Jean-Louis Charli, Paulette Charlier, Karen J. Chave, Jian-Min Chen, Jinq-May Chen, Li-Mei Chen, Ya-Wen Chen, Yu-Yen Chen, Bernard Chevrier, Jean-François Chich, Jeremy Chien, Suneeta Chimalapati, Ki Joon Cho, Kwan Yong Choi, Woei-Jer Chuang, Chin Ha Chung, Ivy Yeuk Wah Chung, Christine Clamagirand, Ian M. Clark, Adrian K. Clarke, Nicola E. Clarke, Steven Gerard Clarke, Philippe Clauziat, Judith A. Clements, Catherine Coffinier, Paul Cohen, Alain Colige, Anne Collignon, Sean D. Colloms, Andreas Conzelmann, Graham H. Coombs, Jakki C. Cooney, Jonathan B. Cooper, Max D. Cooper, Nikki A. Copeland, Graeme S. Cottrell, Joseph T. Coyle, Charles S. Craik, John W.M. Creemers, Daniela Cretu, Jenifer Croce, Keith J. Cross, Rosario Cueva, Sheng Cui, Luis Cunha, Simon Cutting, Christophe d’Enfert, Hugues D’Orchymont, Björn Dahlbäck, Shujia Dai, Ross E. Dalbey, John P. Dalton, Pam M. Dando, R.M. Daniel, Sergei M. Danilov, Donna E. Davies, Heloisa S. De Araujo, Teresa De los Santos, Viviana de Luca, Ingrid De Meester, Ana Karina de Oliveira, Eduardo Brandt de Oliveira, Pedro Lagerblad De Oliveira, Sarah de Vos, Jeroen Declercq, Wim Declercq, Ala-Eddine Deghmane, Niek Dekker, Sonia Del Prete, Marina Del Rosal, Bernard Delmas, Robert DeLotto, Ilya V. Demidyuk, Mark R. Denison, Jan M. Deussing, Lakshmi A. Devi, Eleftherios P. Diamandis, Isabel Diaz, Araceli Díaz-Perales, Bauke W. Dijkstra, Yan Ding, Jack E. Dixon, Johannes Dodt, Terje Dokland, Iztok Dolenc, Ningzheng Dong, Tran Cat Dong, Ying Dong, Mitesh Dongre, Mark Donovan, Timothy M. Dore, Loretta Dorstyn, Hong Dou, Zhicheng Dou, Annette M. Dougall, Marcin Drag, Edward G. Dudley, Ben M. Dunn, Bruno Dupuy, Maria Conceicāo Duque-Magalhāes, M. Asunción Durá, Yves Eeckhout, Vincent Eijsink, Arthur Z. Eisen, Azza Eissa, Sandra Eklund, Ziad M. Eletr, Vincent Ellis, Wolfgang Engel, Ervin G. Erdös, Teresa Escalante, David A. Estell, Michael Etscheid, Herbert J. Evans, Roger D. Everett, Alex C. Faesen, Falk Fahrenholz, Miriam Fanjul-Fernández, Christopher J. Farady, Georges Feller, Hong Feng, Kurt M. Fenster, Claude Férec, Silvia Ferrari, Barbara Fingleton, Jed F. Fisher, Paula M. Fives-Taylor, Loren G. Fong, F. Forneris, Brian M. Forster, Friedrich Forster, Simon J. Foster, Thierry Foulon, Stephen I. Foundling, Jay William Fox, Bruno Franzetti, Alejandra P. Frasch, Hudson H. Freeze, Jean-Marie Frère, Teryl K. Frey, Beate Fricke, Lloyd D. Fricker, Rafael Fridman, Christopher J. Froelich, Camilla Fröhlich, Hsueh-Liang Fu, Cynthia N. Fuhrmann, Satoshi Fujimura, Hiroshi Fujiwara, Jun Fukushima, Keiichi Fukuyama, Robert S. Fuller, Martin Fusek, Christine Gaboriaud, Christian Gache, Oleksandr Gakh, Peter Gal, Junjun Gao, Adolfo García-Sastre, Donald L. Gardiner, John A. Gatehouse, G.M. Gaucher, Francis Gauthier, Jean-Marie Ghuysen, Wade Gibson, Jennifer Gillies, Elzbieta Glaser, Fabian Glaser, Michael H. Glickman, Peter Goettig, Colette Goffin, Eiichi Gohda, Alfred L. Goldberg, Daniel E. Goldberg, Gregory I. Goldberg, Nathan E. Goldfarb, F. Xavier Gomis-Rüth, B. Gopal, Alexander E. Gorbalenya, Stuart G. Gordon, Mark D. Gorrell, Friedrich Götz, Theodoros Goulas, Cécile Gouzy-Darmon, K. Govind, Lászlo Gráf, Robert R. Granados, Melissa Ann Gräwert, Douglas A. Gray, Thomas P. Graycar, Jonathan A. Green, Luiza Helena Gremski, Michael Groll, Tania Yu Gromova, P. Gros, Marvin J. Grubman, Amy M. Grunden, Ágústa Gudmundsdóttir, Micheline Guinand, Djamel Gully, Alla Gustchina, José María Gutiérrez, Byung Hak Ha, Jesper Z. Haeggström, James H. Hageman, Johanna Haiko, Stephan Hailfinger, Hans Michael Haitchi, Ji Seon Han, Chantal Hanquez, Minoru Harada, Ikuko Hara-Nishimura, Marianne Harboe, Torleif Härd, David A. Harris, Ulrich Hassiepen, Shoji Hata, Akira Hattori, Rong-Qiao He, Albert J.R. Heck, Dirk F. Hendricks, Bernhard Henrich, Patrick Henriet, Andrés Hernández-Arana, Irma Herrera-Camacho, Gerhard Heussipp, Toshihiko Hibino, P.M. Hicks, Bradley I. Hillman, B. Yukihiro Hiraoka, Jun Hiratake, Yohei Hizukuri, Heng-Chien Ho, Ngo Thi Hoa, Mark Hochstrasser, Kathryn M. Hodge, Theo Hofmann, Thomas Hohn, John R. Hoidal, Joachim-Volker Höltje, Koichi J. Homma, John F. Honek, Vivian Y.H. Hook, John D. Hooper, Nigel M. Hooper, Kazuo Hosoi, Christopher J. Howe, Dennis E. Hruby, James J.-D. Hseih, Chun-Chieh Hsu, Tony T. Huang, Tur-Fu Huang, Yoann Huet, Clare Hughes, Jean-Emmanuel Hugonnet, Adrienne L. Huston, Oumaïma Ibrahim-Granet, Eiji Ichishima, Yukio Ikehara, Tadashi Inagami, Jessica Ingram, R.E. Isaac, Grazia Isaya, Clara E. Isaza, Shin-ichi Ishii, Amandine Isnard, Kiyoshi Ito, Koreaki Ito, Yoshifumi Itoh, Xavier Iturrioz, Sadaaki Iwanaga, Ralph W. Jack, Mel C. Jackson, Michael N.G. James, Jiří Janata, Claire Janoir, Hanna Janska, Ken F. Jarrell, Mariusz Jaskolski, Sheila S. Jaswal, Ying Y. Jean, Dieter E. Jenne, Young Joo Jeon, Ping Jiang, John E. Johnson, Michael D. Johnson, James A. Johnston, Amanda Jones, Elizabeth W. Jones, Carine Joudiou, Luiz Juliano, Hea-Jin Jung, Ray Jupp, Todd F. Kagawa, Hubert Kalbacher, Yayoi Kamata, Shuichi Kaminogawa, Yoshiyuki Kamio, Makoto Kaneda, Sung Gyun Kang, Sung Hwan Kang, Mary Kania, Tomasz Kantyka, Nobuyuki Kanzawa, Abdulkarim Y. Karim, Takafumi Kasumi, Hiroaki Kataoka, Hardeep Kaur, Shun-Ichiro Kawabata, Mari Kawaguchi, John Kay, Murat Kaynar, Kenneth C. Keiler, R.M. Kelly, Nathaniel T. Kenton, Michael A. Kerr, Kristof Kersse, Jukka Kervinen, Benedikt M. Kessler, Efrat Kessler, Timo K. Khoronen, Simon Kidd, Marjolein Kikkert, Mogens Kilian, Do-Hyung Kim, Doyoun Kim, Eunice EunKyeong Kim, In Seop Kim, Jung-Gun Kim, Kyeong Kyu Kim, Kyung Hyun Kim, Matthew S. Kimber, Yukio Kimura, Heidrun Kirschke, Yoshiaki Kiso, Colin Kleanthous, Jürgen R. Klein, Michael Klemba, Beata Kmiec, Hideyuki Kobayashi, Hiroyuki Kodama, Gerald Koelsch, Jan Kok, P.E. Kolattukody, Fabrice A. Kolb, Harald Kolmar, Yumiko Komori, Jan Konvalinka, Brice Korkmaz, Sergey V. Kostrov, Hans-Georg Kräusslich, Gabi Krczal, Lawrence F. Kress, Magnüs Már Kristjánsson, Tomáš Kučera, Sayali S. Kukday, Hidehiko Kumagai, Sharad Kumar, Malika Kumarasiri, Takashi Kumazaki, Beate M. Kümmerer, Kouji Kuno, Markku Kurkinen, Eva Kutejová, Marie Kveiborg, Agnieszka Kwarciak, Liisa Laakkonen, Nikolaos E. Labrou, Gavin D. Laing, Gayle Lamppa, Thomas Langer, Richard A. Laursen, Richard A. Lawrenson, Matthew D. Layne, Bernard F. Le Bonniec, María C. Leal, Ronald M. Lechan, David H. Lee, Irene Lee, Jae Lee, Kye Joon Lee, Soohee Lee, Xiaobo Lei, Jonathan Leis, Ellen K. LeMosy, Thierry Lepage, Stephen H. Leppla, Adam Lesner, Ivan A.D. Lessard, Guy Lhomond, Huilin Li, Shu-Ming Li, Weiguo Li, Ta-Hsiu Liao, Robert C. Liddington, Toby Lieber, H.R. Lijnen, Christopher D. Lima, Chen-Yong Lin, Gang Lin, Ming T. Lin, Xinli Lin, Yee-Shin Lin, L.L. Lindsay, William N. Lipscomb, John W. Little, Ching-Chuan Liu, Chuan-ju Liu, Mark O. Lively, Nurit Livnat-Levanon, Per O. Ljungdahl, Catherine Llorens-Cortes, Peter Lobel, Y. Peng Loh, Jouko Lohi, G.P. Lomonossoff, Yvan Looze, Carlos López-Otin, Landys Lopez-Quezada, Alex Loukas, Long-Sheng Lu, Áke Lundwall, Liu-Ying Luo, Andrei Lupas, Dawn S. Luthe, Nicholas J. Lynch, Peter J. Lyons, Vivian L. MacKay, Jesica M. Levingston Macleod, Viktor Magdolen, Jean-Luc Mainardi, Kauko K. Mäkinen, Jeremy P. Mallari, Surya P. Manandhar, Fajga R. Mandelbaum, Anne M. Manicone, Johanna Mansfeld, Joseph Marcotrigiano, Michael Mares, Gemma Marfany, Francis S. Markland, Judith Marokházi, Hélène Marquis, Robert A. Marr, Enzo Martegani, Erik W. Martin, Manuel Martinez, L. Miguel Martins, Masato Maruyama, Masugi Maruyama, Sususmu Maruyama, Takeharu Masaki, Ramin Massoumi, Rency T. Mathew, Lynn M. Matrisian, Yoshihiro Matsuda, Osamu Matsushita, Marco Matuschek, Anna Matušková, Krisztina Matúz, Cornelia Mauch, Michael R. Maurizi, Lorenz M. Mayr, Dewey G. McCafferty, J. Ken McDonald, James H. McKerrow, David McMillan, Robert P. Mecham, Darshini P. Mehta, Chris Meisinger, Alan Mellors, Roger G. Melton, Jeffrey A. Melvin, Robert Ménard, Luis Menéndez-Arias, Milene C. Menezes, Andrew Mesecar, Stéphane Mesnage, Diane H. Meyer, Gregor Meyers, Susan Michaelis, Karolina Michalska, Wojciech P. Mielicki, Igor Mierau, Galina V. Mikoulinskaia, Charles G. Miller, Lydia K. Miller, John Mills, Kenneth V. Mills, Jinrong Min, Michel-Yves Mistou, Yoshio Misumi, Shin-ichi Miyoshi, Shigehiko Mizutani, Shahriar Mobashery, Satsuki Mochizuki, William L. Mock, Frank Möhrlen, Nathalie Moiré, Paul E. Monahan, Angela Moncada-Pazos, Véronique Monnet, Michel Monod, Cesare Montecucco, Laura Morelli, Sumiko Mori, Takashi Morita, James H. Morrissey, Richard J. Morse, John S. Mort, Uffe H. Mortensen, Rory E. Morty, Joel Moss, Hidemasa Motoshima, Jeremy C. Mottram, Ana M. Moura-da-Silva, Mary Beth Mudgett, Egbert Mundt, Kazuo Murakami, Mario Tyago Murakami, Kimiko MurakamiMurofoshi, Sawao Murao, Gillian Murphy, M.R.N. Murthy, Tatsushi Muta, Elmarie Myburgh, Nino Mzhavia, A.H.M. Nurun Nabi, Hideaki Nagase, Michael W. Nagle, Dorit K. Nägler, Rajesh R. Naik, Divya B. Nair, Toshiki Nakai, Yoshitaka Nakajima, Yukio Nakamura, Hitoshi Nakatogawa, Toru Nakayama, Natalia N. Nalivaeva, Dipankar Nandi, Maria Clara Leal Nascimento-Silva, Kim Nasmyth, Carl F. Nathan, Fernando Navarro-García, Dayane Lorena Naves, Danny D. Nedialkova, Keir C. Neuman, Jeffrey-Tri Nguyen, Ky-Anh Nguyen, Gabriela T. Niemirowicz, Toshiaki Nikai, Eiichiro Nishi, Wataru Nishii, Makoto Nishiyama, Yasuhiro Nishiyama, Masatoshi Noda, Seiji Nomura, Shigemi Norioka, Desire M.M. Nsangou, Amornrat O’Brien, Michael B. O’Connor, Kohei Oda, Irina V. Odinokova, Joyce Oetjen, Teru Ogura, Dennis E Ohman, Yoshinori Ohsumi, Mukti Ojha, Akinobu Okabe, Yasunori Okada, Keinosuke Okamoto, Kenji Okuda, Nobuaki Okumura, Takashi Okuno, Kjeld Oleson, Priscila Oliveira de Giuseppe, Martin Olivier, Yasuko Ono, Stephen Oroszlan, Nobuyuki Ota, Michael Ovadia, Jiyang O-Wang, Claus Oxvig, Jeremy C.L. Packer, Sergio Padilla-López, Mark Paetzel, Michael J. Page, Andrea Page-McCaw, Mark J.I. Paine, Byoung Chul Park, Eunyong Park, John E. Park, Pyong Woo Park, Sung Goo Park, Kirk L. Parkin, William C Parks, Thaysa Paschoalin, Annalisa Pastore, Alexander Nikolich Patananan, Sudhir Paul, Henry L. Paulson, Ulrich von Pawel-Rammingen, David A. Pearce, Mark S. Pearson, Duanqing Pei, Gunnar Pejler, Alan D. Pemberton, Jianhao Peng, Julien Pernier, Jan-Michael Peters, Thorsten Pfirrmann, Viet-Laï Pham, Iva Pichová, Darren Pickering, Christophe Piesse, David Pignol, Robert N. Pike, Lothaire Pinck, Hubert Pirkle, Henry C. Pitot, Andrew G. Plaut, Hidde Ploegh, László Polgár, Corrine Porter, Rolf Postina, Jan Potempa, Knud Poulsen, Scott D. Power, Rex. F. Pratt, Gerd Prehna, Gilles Prévost, Alexey V. Pshezhetsky, Mohammad A. Qasim, Feng Qian, Jiazhou Qiu, Víctor Quesada, Evette S. Radisky, Stephen D. Rader, Kavita Raman, Andrew J. Ramsay, Derrick E. Rancourt, Najju Ranjit, Narayanam V. Rao, Kiira Ratia, Neil D. Rawlings, Robert B. Rawson, Vijay Reddy, Colvin M. Redman, Maria Elena Regonesi, Andreas S. Reichert, Antonia P. Reichl, Han Remaut, S. James Remington, Martin Renatus, David Reverter, Eric C. Reynolds, Mohamed Rholam, Charles M. Rice, Todd W. Ridky, Howard Riezman, D.C. Rijken, Marie-Christine Rio, Alison Ritchie, Janine Robert-Baudouy, Mark W. Robinson, Michael Robinson, Adela Rodriguez-Romero, Renata Santos Rodriques, John C. Rogers, Camilo Rojas, Floyd E. Romesberg, David J. Roper, Nora Rosas-Murrieta, A.M. Rose, Philip J. Rosenthal, J. Rosing, Ornella Rossetto, Véronique Rossi, Richard A. Roth, Hanspeter Rottensteiner, Andrew D. Rowan, Mikhail Rozanov, Alexandra Rucavado, Andrea Ruecker, Françoise Rul, Till Rümenapf, Ilaria Russo, Martin D. Ryan, Elena Sacco, J. Evan Sadler, W. Saenger, Hans-Georg Sahl, Mohammed Sajid, Masayoshi Sakaguchi, Fumio Sakiyama, Maria L. Salas, Maria Cristina O. Salgado, Guy S. Salvesen, Edith Sánchez, Eladio F. Sanchez, Qing-Xiang Amy Sang, Krishnan Sankaran, Susanta K. Sarkar, Michael P. Sarras, Yoshikiyo Sasagawa, Araki Satohiko, Eric Sauvage, Loredana Saveanu, H.S. Savithri, Hitoshi Sawada, R. Gary Sawers, Isobel A. Scarisbrick, Andreas Schaller, Justin M. Scheer, Friedrich Scheiflinger, Cordelia Schiene-Fischer, Uwe Schlomann, Manfred Schlösser, Alvin H. Schmaier, Walter K. Schmidt, Anette Schneemann, Rick G. Schnellmann, Henning Scholze, Lutz Schomburg, Wilhelm J. Schwaeble, Christopher J. Scott, Rosaria Scudiero, Atsuko Sehara-Fujisawa, Nabil G. Seidah, Motoharu Seiki, Junichi Sekiguchi, Andrea Senff-Ribeiro, Ihn Sik Seong, Mihaela Serpe, Solange M.T. Serrano, Peter Setlow, Tina Shahian, M. Shanks, Feng Shao, Steven D. Shapiro, Navneet Sharma, Lindsey N. Shaw, Aimee Shen, Lei Shen, Roger F. Sherwood, Yun-Bo Shi, Hitoshi Shimoi, Yoichiro Shimura, A.D. Shirras, Viji Shridhar, Jinal K. Shukla, Ene Siigur, Jüri Siigur, Natalie C. Silmon de Monerri, Robert B. Sim, James P. Simmer, William H. Simmons, Jaspreet Singh, Alison Singleton, Tatiana D. Sirakova, Titia K. Sixma, Tim Skern, Randal A. Skidgel, Jeffrey Slack, David E. Sleat, Barbara S. Slusher, Janet L. Smith, Matthew A. Smith, Mark J. Smyth, Erik J. Snijder, Solmaz Sobhanifar, Kenneth Söderhaäll, Istvan Sohar, Peter Sonderegger, Marcos Henrique Ferreira Sorgine, Hiroyuki Sorimachi, Karen E. Soukhodolets, Tatiana de Arruda Campos Brasil de Souza, Tamás Sperka, Shiranee Sriskandan, Joseph W. St. Geme, Raymond J. St. Leger, Peter Staib, James L. Steele, Bjarki Stefansson, Christian Steinkühler, Leisa M. Stenberg, Johan Stenflo, Henning R. Stennicke, Valentin M. Stepanov, Olga A. Stepnaya, Frank Steven, Richard L. Stevens, Kenneth J. Stevenson, Mathieu St-Louis, Christopher C. Stobart, Walter Stöcker, Andrew C. Storer, Norbert Sträter, Ellen G. Strauss, James H. Strauss, Kvido Stříšovský, Natalie C.J. Strynadka, Edward D. Sturrock, Dan Su, Xiao-Dong Su, Paz Suárez-Rendueles, Traian Sulea, Venkatesh Sundararajan, Ryoji Suno, Carolyn K. Suzuki, Fumiaki Suzuki, Hideyuki Suzuki, Nobuhiro Suzuki, Stephen Swenson, Rose L. Szabady, Pal Bela Szecsi, Lászlo Szilágyi, Muhamed-Kheir Taha, Eizo Takahashi, Kenji Takahashi, Toshiro Takai, Atsushi Takeda, Soichi Takeda, Jeremy J.R.H. Tame, Tomohiro Tamura, Fulong Tan, Keiji Tanaka, Carmen Tanase, Jordan Tang, Martha M. Tanizaki, Egbert Tannich, Guido Tans, Anthony L. Tarentino, Anchalee Tassanakajon, Hiroki Tatsumi, Norbert Tautz, Erin Bassford Taylor, Pedro Filipe Teixeira, Bhanu Prakash V.L. Telugu, Markus F. Templin, Shigeyuki Terada, Uchikoba Tetsuya, C. Thacker, Maulik Thaker, Heinz-Jürgen Thiel, Nicole Thielens, Gonzales Thierry, Karine Thivierge, Mark D. Thomas, Margot Thome, Mary K. Thorsness, Peter E. Thorsness, Natalie J. Tigue, Sokol V. Todi, Birgitta Tomkinson, Fiorella Tonello, Liang Tong, H.S. Toogood, Paolo Tortora, József Tözsèr, Luiz Rodolpho Travassos, James Travis, Dilza Trevisan-Silva, Francesca Trinchella, Neil N. Trivedi, Carol M. Troy, Harald Tschesche, Yu-Lun Tseng, Masafumi Tsujimoto, Anthony T. Tu, Kathleen E. Tumelty, Boris Turk, Dusan Turk, Vito Turk, Anthony J. Turner, Tetsuya Uchikoba, Takayuki Ueno, Alejandro P. Ugalde, Veli-Jukka Uitto, Sinisa Urban, Olivier Valdenaire, Adrian Valli, Jozef Van Beeumen, Bertus Van den Burg, Renier A.L. Van der Hoorn, Jan Maarten van Dijl, Peter Van Endert, Bram J. Van Raam, Harold E. Van Wart, Tom Vanden Berghe, Peter Vandenabeele, Margo Vanoni, Silvio Sanches Veiga, William H. Velander, Gloria Velasco, Josep Vendrell, I. István Venekei, Vaclav Vetvicka, F.-Nora Vögtle, Waldemar Vollmer, Kei Wada, Fred W. Wagner, Sun Nyunt Wai, Timothy Wai, Shane Wainwright, Kenneth W. Walker, Stephen J. Walker, Jean Wallach, Linda L. Walling, Peter N. Walsh, Hai-Yan Wang, Hengbin Wang, Jianwei Wang, Peng Wang, Ping Wang, Michael Wassenegger, Kunihiko Watanabe, Helen Webb, Joseph M. Weber, Niklas Weber, Daniel R. Webster, Shuo Wei, Rodney A. Welch, James A. Wells, Herbert Wenzel, Ingrid E. Wertz, Ulla W. Wewer, Alison R. Whyteside, Sherwin Wilk, Jean-Marc Wilkin, Claudia Wilmes, Jakob R. Winther, David S. Wishart, Alexander Wlodawer, J. Fred Woessner, Michael S. Wolfe, Wilson Wong, Roger Woodgate, Gerry Wright, Jiunn-Jong Wu, Qingyu Wu, Magdalena Wysocka, Chao Xu, Zhenghong Xu, Kinnosuke Yahori, Shoji Yamada, Nozomi Yamaguchi, Shinji Yamaguchi, Yoshio Yamakawa, Hiroki Yamamoto, Ikao Yana, Maozhou Yang, Na Yang, Chenjuan Yao, Tingting Yao, Noriko Yasuda, Toshimasa Yasuhara, Shigeki Yasumasu, Edward T.H. Yeh, Irene Yiallouros, Jiang Yin, Hiroo Yonezawa, Soon Ji Yoo, Tadashi Yoshimoto, Michael W. Young, Stephen G. Young, Nousheen Zaidi, Ludmila L. Zavalova, Peter Zavodszky, Aidong Zhang, Xianming Zhang, Yi-Zheng Zhang, Dominick Zheng, Guangming Zhong, Rong Zhong, Yuan Zhou, Zhaohui Sunny Zhou, Michael Zick, Paola Zigrino, and Andrei A. Zimin

Published
2013
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13. α-Lytic Protease

Author

David A. Agard, Stephen D. Rader, Cynthia N. Fuhrmann, Nobuyuki Ota, and Sheila S. Jaswal

Subjects
Chemistry
Published
2013
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14. Improving graduate education to support a branching career pipeline: recommendations based on a survey of doctoral students in the basic biomedical sciences

Author

D. G. Halme, Patricia S. O'Sullivan, Bill Lindstaedt, and Cynthia N. Fuhrmann

Subjects
Male, Biomedical Research, Guidelines as Topic, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Education, Argument, Pedagogy, ComputingMilieux_COMPUTERSANDEDUCATION, Humans, Education, Graduate, Career portfolio, Students, Curriculum, Demography, Scientific enterprise, Essays, Medical education, Data collection, ComputingMilieux_THECOMPUTINGPROFESSION, Career Choice, Cognitive Information Processing, Data Collection, Professional development, Pipeline (software), United States, Policy, Female, Psychology
Abstract

Today's doctoral programs continue to prepare students for a traditional academic career path despite the inadequate supply of research-focused faculty positions. We advocate for a broader doctoral curriculum that prepares trainees for a wide range of science-related career paths. In support of this argument, we describe data from our survey of doctoral students in the basic biomedical sciences at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Midway through graduate training, UCSF students are already considering a broad range of career options, with one-third intending to pursue a non–research career path. To better support this branching career pipeline, we recommend that national standards for training and mentoring include emphasis on career planning and professional skills development to ensure the success of PhD-level scientists as they contribute to a broadly defined global scientific enterprise.

Published
2011

15. Subangstrom crystallography reveals that short ionic hydrogen bonds, and not a His-Asp low-barrier hydrogen bond, stabilize the transition state in serine protease catalysis

Author

Cynthia N. Fuhrmann, Matthew D. Daugherty, and David A. Agard

Subjects
Models, Molecular, Conformational change, Hydrogen bond catalysis, Crystallography, Hydrogen bond, Stereochemistry, Chemistry, Protein Conformation, Low-barrier hydrogen bond, Serine Endopeptidases, Ionic bonding, Hydrogen Bonding, General Chemistry, Biochemistry, Transition state, Catalysis, Colloid and Surface Chemistry, Catalytic triad, Serine, Histidine, Asparagine, Hydrogen
Abstract

To address questions regarding the mechanism of serine protease catalysis, we have solved two X-ray crystal structures of alpha-lytic protease (alphaLP) that mimic aspects of the transition states: alphaLP at pH 5 (0.82 A resolution) and alphaLP bound to the peptidyl boronic acid inhibitor, MeOSuc-Ala-Ala-Pro-boroVal (0.90 A resolution). Based on these structures, there is no evidence of, or requirement for, histidine-flipping during the acylation step of the reaction. Rather, our data suggests that upon protonation of His57, Ser195 undergoes a conformational change that destabilizes the His57-Ser195 hydrogen bond, preventing the back-reaction. In both structures the His57-Asp102 hydrogen bond in the catalytic triad is a normal ionic hydrogen bond, and not a low-barrier hydrogen bond (LBHB) as previously hypothesized. We propose that the enzyme has evolved a network of relatively short hydrogen bonds that collectively stabilize the transition states. In particular, a short ionic hydrogen bond (SIHB) between His57 Nepsilon2 and the substrate's leaving group may promote forward progression of the TI1-to-acylenzyme reaction. We provide experimental evidence that refutes use of either a short donor-acceptor distance or a downfield 1H chemical shift as sole indicators of a LBHB.

Published
2006

16. The 0.83 A resolution crystal structure of alpha-lytic protease reveals the detailed structure of the active site and identifies a source of conformational strain

Author

David A. Agard, Brian A. Kelch, Nobuyuki Ota, and Cynthia N. Fuhrmann

Subjects
Steric effects, Models, Molecular, education.field_of_study, Binding Sites, biology, Stereochemistry, Chemistry, Protein Conformation, Sulfates, Population, Serine Endopeptidases, Active site, Cooperativity, Hydrogen Bonding, Crystallography, X-Ray, Crystallography, Protein structure, Structural Biology, Catalytic triad, biology.protein, Protein folding, Histidine, education, Molecular Biology, Conformational isomerism
Abstract

The crystal structure of the extracellular bacterial serine protease alpha-lytic protease (alphaLP) has been solved at 0.83 A resolution at pH 8. This ultra-high resolution structure allows accurate analysis of structural elements not possible with previous structures. Hydrogen atoms are visible, and confirm active-site hydrogen-bonding interactions expected for the apo enzyme. In particular, His57 N(delta1) participates in a normal hydrogen bond with Asp102 in the catalytic triad, with a hydrogen atom visible 0.83(+/-0.06)A from the His N(delta1). The catalytic Ser195 occupies two conformations, one corresponding to a population of His57 that is doubly protonated, the other to the singly protonated His57. Based on the occupancy of these conformations, the pKa of His57 is calculated to be approximately 8.8 when a sulfate ion occupies the active site. This 0.83 A structure has allowed critical analysis of geometric distortions within the structure. Interestingly, Phe228 is significantly distorted from planarity. The distortion of Phe228, buried in the core of the C-terminal domain, occurs at an estimated energetic cost of 4.1 kcal/mol. The conformational space for Phe228 is severely limited by the presence of Trp199, which prevents Phe228 from adopting the rotamer observed in many other chymotrypsin family members. In alphaLP, the only allowed rotamer leads to the deformation of Phe228 due to steric interactions with Thr181. We hypothesize that tight packing of co-evolved residues in this region, and the subsequent deformation of Phe228, contributes to the high cooperativity and large energetic barriers for folding and unfolding of alphaLP. The kinetic stability imparted by the large, cooperative unfolding barrier plays a critical role in extending the lifetime of the protease in its harsh environment.

Published
2003

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