Enrica Bordignon | |
---|---|
Born | 5 April 1975 |
Nationality | Italian |
Alma mater | University of Padua |
Scientific career | |
Institutions | Ruhr University Bochum Free University of Berlin Osnabrück University ETH Zurich University of Geneva |
Thesis | (2000) |
Enrica Bordignon (born 5 April 1975) is an Italian chemist and Chair of Electron Spin Resonance at the University of Geneva. Her research involves the development of electron paramagnetic resonance to study membrane potentials.
Bordignon was an undergraduate student and doctoral researcher at the University of Padua. Her doctoral research investigated the photo-physical properties of reaction centres in antenna complexes. [1] During her doctorate she worked at Berlin's Max Volmer Laboratory. She completed her undergraduate studies summa cum laude in 1999. She was a postdoctoral researcher at the Osnabrück University and ETH Zurich. [2] At Osnabrück Bordignon studied bacterial photoaxis membrane protein complexes (including Neuropeptide S receptors) and ABC-transporters (including Escherichia coli) using spin labelling. [1] At Zurich Bordignon continued to apply spin labelling to investigate the ATP-binding cassette transporters, including BtuCD-F vitamin B12 importer. [1]
In 2013 Bordignon was made a professor of biophysics at the Free University of Berlin. Her research uses site-directed spin labelling EPR to understand the dynamics and conformational changes of membrane proteins. Membrane proteins are the targets of many pharmaceuticals. Transporter membranes move substances in and out of the cellular environment. [3] Bordignon has shown that EPR can be used to study membrane potentials in situ , i.e. in cells. She has particularly developed double electron–electron resonance (DEER), which can be used to monitor one system of spins while exciting another set of spins at a second microwave frequency. [4] She was the first to use spin-labelled nanobodies to report cellular membrane potentials. [5] She moved to the Ruhr University Bochum in 2016. She was appointed Professor of Chemistry at the University of Geneva in 2021, and made Vice Dean for Science in 2023. [6]
Bordignon has one child. [2]
A spin label (SL) is an organic molecule which possesses an unpaired electron, usually on a nitrogen atom, and the ability to bind to another molecule. Spin labels are normally used as tools for probing proteins or biological membrane-local dynamics using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. The site-directed spin labeling (SDSL) technique allows one to monitor a specific region within a protein. In protein structure examinations, amino acid-specific SLs can be used.
Site-directed spin labeling (SDSL) is a technique for investigating the structure and local dynamics of proteins using electron spin resonance. The theory of SDSL is based on the specific reaction of spin labels with amino acids. A spin label's built-in protein structure can be detected by EPR spectroscopy. SDSL is also a useful tool in examinations of the protein folding process.
Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) or electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy is a method for studying materials that have unpaired electrons. The basic concepts of EPR are analogous to those of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), but the spins excited are those of the electrons instead of the atomic nuclei. EPR spectroscopy is particularly useful for studying metal complexes and organic radicals. EPR was first observed in Kazan State University by Soviet physicist Yevgeny Zavoisky in 1944, and was developed independently at the same time by Brebis Bleaney at the University of Oxford.
In biochemistry, a conformational change is a change in the shape of a macromolecule, often induced by environmental factors.
In biology, a transporter is a transmembrane protein that moves ions across a biological membrane to accomplish many different biological functions, including cellular communication, maintaining homeostasis, energy production, etc. There are different types of transporters including pumps, uniporters, antiporters, and symporters. Active transporters or ion pumps are transporters that convert energy from various sources—including adenosine triphosphate (ATP), sunlight, and other redox reactions—to potential energy by pumping an ion up its concentration gradient. This potential energy could then be used by secondary transporters, including ion carriers and ion channels, to drive vital cellular processes, such as ATP synthesis.
Molecular biophysics is a rapidly evolving interdisciplinary area of research that combines concepts in physics, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and biology. It seeks to understand biomolecular systems and explain biological function in terms of molecular structure, structural organization, and dynamic behaviour at various levels of complexity. This discipline covers topics such as the measurement of molecular forces, molecular associations, allosteric interactions, Brownian motion, and cable theory. Additional areas of study can be found on Outline of Biophysics. The discipline has required development of specialized equipment and procedures capable of imaging and manipulating minute living structures, as well as novel experimental approaches.
Wayne L. Hubbell is an American biochemist and member of the National Academy of Sciences. He is Professor of Biochemistry and Jules Stein Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of California, Los Angeles. His research focuses on the visual system, and is primarily supported by a grant from the National Eye Institute.
Harden M. McConnell was an American physical chemist. His many awards included the National Medal of Science and the Wolf Prize, and he was elected to the National Academy of Science."
Pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) is an electron paramagnetic resonance technique that involves the alignment of the net magnetization vector of the electron spins in a constant magnetic field. This alignment is perturbed by applying a short oscillating field, usually a microwave pulse. One can then measure the emitted microwave signal which is created by the sample magnetization. Fourier transformation of the microwave signal yields an EPR spectrum in the frequency domain. With a vast variety of pulse sequences it is possible to gain extensive knowledge on structural and dynamical properties of paramagnetic compounds. Pulsed EPR techniques such as electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) or pulsed electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) can reveal the interactions of the electron spin with its surrounding nuclear spins.
Jack H. Freed is an American chemist known for his pioneering work in electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. He is the Frank and Robert Laughlin Professor of Physical Chemistry, emeritus, at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
James S. Hyde was an American biophysicist. He held the James S. Hyde chair in Biophysics at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) where he specialized in magnetic resonance instrumentation and methodology development in two distinct areas: electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). He is senior author of the widely cited 1995 paper by B.B. Biswal et al. reporting the discovery of resting state functional connectivity (fcMRI) in the human brain. He also served as Director of the National Biomedical EPR Center, a Research Resource supported by the National Institutes of Health. He was author of more than 400 peer-reviewed papers and review articles and held 35 U.S. Patents. He was recognized by Festschrifts in both EPR and fcMRI.
Sandra Eaton is an American chemist and professor at the University of Denver, known for her work on electron paramagnetic resonance.
Albumin transport function analysis by EPR spectroscopy is an in vitro blood test that detects changes to the transport and molecular conformation of serum albumin using the method of EPR spectroscopy. The test is used for diagnosis of cancer, sepsis and toxemia.
Wolfgang Lubitz is a German chemist and biophysicist. He is currently a director emeritus at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion. He is well known for his work on bacterial photosynthetic reaction centres, hydrogenase enzymes, and the oxygen-evolving complex using a variety of biophysical techniques. He has been recognized by a Festschrift for his contributions to electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and its applications to chemical and biological systems.
The Cluster of Excellence Frankfurt "Macromolecular Complexes" (CEF) was established in 2006 by Goethe University Frankfurt together with the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics and the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in the context of the German Universities Excellence Initiative. Funding by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) endet in October 2019. CEF grew out of the long-standing collaborative research on membrane proteins and RNA molecules and strengthened research efforts in these fields by recruiting further scientists to Frankfurt/Main. CEF brought together the research activities of up to 45 research groups, the majority of which were based on Riedberg Campus in Frankfurt/Main. CEF founded the Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences (BMLS).
Daniella Goldfarb is an Israeli chemist who is the Erich Klieger Professorial Chair in Chemical Physics at the Weizmann Institute of Science. She is the President’s Advisor for Advancing Women in Science. Her research makes use of electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. She was awarded the 2016 Israel Chemical Society Excellence prize.
{{Infobox scientist | name = Marina Bennati | workplaces = [[Max Planck Institute for multidisciplinary Sciences]
[University of Göttingen]]
Goethe University Frankfurt
Massachusetts Institute of Technology | alma_mater = University of Stuttgart
University of Münster | thesis_title = Zeitaufgelöste Elektronen-Spin-Resonanz an photoangeregten Zuständen spezieller Donor-Akzeptor-Systeme | thesis_url = http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/258062810 | thesis_year = 1995 }}
Frances Ann Walker was an American chemist known for her work on heme protein chemistry. She was an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Chemical Society.
Linda Columbus is an American chemist who is Professor of Chemistry and Molecular Physiology at the University of Virginia. Her research considers the structure-function properties of membrane proteins.
Songi Han is an American chemist who is a professor in the department of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research considers electron and nuclear spins as sensors and detectors. She was elected a Fellow of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in 2019 and president of the International EPR Society in 2020.