Posted on July 1, 2015 in ASRC News, Structural Biology Initiative
The City University of New York’s Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC) has named Dr. Amédée des Georges as an Assistant Professor with the Structural Biology Initiative.
Des Georges’ research focuses on how regulatory factors influence the function of large macromolecular assemblies and how the malfunction of such control mechanisms leads to disease. Using state-of-the-art methods in cryo-electron microscopy and other biophysical and biochemical approaches, des Georges develops atomic-level structures of cellular machines to obtain this level of understanding into their function.
For instance, ion channels such as the ryanodine receptor and the dihydropyridine receptor work together in a highly regulated process to trigger the contraction of muscles. Failures in this process, due to genetic mutations, stress or aging, lead to heart and muscular diseases such as arrhythmias and myopathies. A better understanding of these processes could reveal drugable targets to treat these diseases.
“I’m tremendously enthusiastic to have Amédée join us at the ASRC as our first new Structural Biology Initiative faculty member,” said Dr. Kevin Gardner, Director of the ASRC Structural Biology Initiative. “His combination of research excellence, taste in scientific challenges, and record of collaborating with a range of colleagues make him an outstanding addition to our center and the CUNY structural biology community more broadly.”
Des Georges is one of the first non-director faculty appointments at the ASRC. He will hold an assistant professorship in The City College of New York’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Prior to his appointment at CUNY, des Georges was a postdoctoral fellow with Prof. Joachim Frank, an HHMI Investigator working at Columbia University’s Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics. He received his doctorate from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England and completed his undergraduate studies at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris.
“We’re very pleased to have Amedee join our faculty at the ASRC and City College,” said Dr. Gillian Small, CUNY Vice Chancellor for Research and ASRC Executive Director. “We look forward to his work both with Structural Biology and with the other Initiatives. The connections he will create with other faculty throughout CUNY and other collaborating institutions will help enhance the ASRC’s reputation within the wider scientific community.”
The ASRC Structural Biology Initiative supports research in one of the most interdisciplinary fields in science with state-of-the-art instrumentation and a highly collaborative environment. Through highly regarded faculty, institutional collaborators and organized events designed to catalyze scientific interchange and discussion, the initiative aims to make critical breakthroughs with practical applications in the field of structural biology.
About the ASRC: The new CUNY Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC) is a University-wide venture that elevates CUNY’s legacy of scientific research and education through initiatives in five distinctive, but increasingly interconnected disciplines: Nanoscience, Photonics, Structural Biology, Neuroscience and Environmental Science. Led by Dr. Gillian Small, CUNY Vice Chancellor for Research and the ASRC’s Executive Director, the center is designed to promote a unique, interdisciplinary research culture. Researchers from each of the initiatives work side by side in the ASRC’s core facilities, sharing equipment that is among the most advanced available. New York State funding provided for the ASRC is gratefully acknowledged.
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