Jamie Cate Faculty Scientist, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
and Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Contact
info:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Physical Biosciences Division
One Cyclotron Road
Mailstop: Calvin Lab
Berkeley, California 94720
USA
Research Emphasis My lab is exploring the molecular basis for protein biosynthesis, a cellular process that is universally conserved. The ribosome, an RNA and protein factory common to all organisms, is responsible for protein synthesis and plays a key role in the conversion of genotype into phenotype in all forms of life. It translates the genetic code in messenger RNA into the corresponding protein chain. Understanding how the ribosome carries out protein synthesis remains a major challenge in molecular biology. In order to determine the mechanisms underlying protein synthesis and its regulation, my lab uses a combination of x-ray crystallography and biochemical assays to probe ribosome function. We are also developing new technologies that will greatly improve our ability to test the dynamics and energetics of translation in conditions closer to the physiology of the cell.
