Structural Biology and Biophysics Seminar (SBBS)
D6: Structural Biology and Biophysics I – 79575 (Fall 2026)
D7: Structural Biology and Biophysics II – 76287 (Spring 2026)
(2 hrs/week; 1 CP)
Sebastian Hiller, Rod Lim, Timm Maier
The Structural Biology and Biophysics Seminar series (SBBS) is organized by PhD students of the Biozentrum, University of Basel since 2009. World-leading scientists are invited to present their current work to an audience of students, researchers and PIs. Typical lectures in this series describe applications of advanced structural biology and biophysics methods to solve biological problems. Methods include NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy, surface plasmon resonance and atomic force microscopy, but not only. The list of the past SBBS speakers is accessible here.
The talks take place on Tuesdays at 12:15, room U1.197
Unless mentioned, attendance is open to all interested people, without registration. The program for the fall semester 2026 is as follows:
September 15th, 2025 at 12:15, room U1.197
SBBS introductory meeting for students
If you missed the introduction meeting, feel free to contact one of the organizers by email or at the first seminar.
October 06th, 2026 at 12:15, room U1.197
Prof. Julia Mahamid
Molecular Systems Biology Unit, EMBL
Heidelberg, Germany
In-cell structural biology at a systems level
Recent technological breakthroughs in cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) open the disruptive possibility to image macromolecular complexes in their native cellular or multicellular context at close to atomic resolution, and can directly reveal how their different conformational states and interaction networks are linked to biological functions.
We develop and employ advanced sample preparation techniques for in-cell cryo-ET, including cryo-focused ion beam thinning and 3D correlative (super resolution) fluorescence microscopy. Preparations of such site-specific ‘electron-transparent windows’ enable the assignment of macromolecular structures directly from the high-resolution three-dimensional stills captured by cryo-ET when aided by an array of methods, including computational patter recognition and novel developments of genetically-encoded molecular tags. Furthermore, integration of multiple data sources is key to the interpretation of the mined structural signatures. For example, using the genome-reduced human pathogen Mycoplasma pneumoniae as a minimal cell model, we established the synergistic application of whole-cell crosslinking mass spectrometry and cellular cryo-ET to determine an in-cell integrative structural model of actively transcribing RNA polymerases coupled to translating ribosomes. Recent computational breakthroughs now allow resolving these molecular machines to near-atomic resolution directly inside the cell, reveal small molecule antibiotics bound to their active site in ribosomes within the intact pathogen, provide snapshots of their structural dynamics along reaction cycles, and illuminate functions of previously unknown macromolecular complexes. Such integration of cutting-edge methods unlocks an enormous potential for mechanistic understanding and system-spanning discovery by in-cell structural biology.
October 13th, 2026 at 12:15, room U1.197
Prof. Birthe Kragelund
University of Copenhagen
Copenhagen, Denmark
October 27th, 2026 at 12:15, room U1.197
Prof. Kirsty Wan
University of Exeter
Exeter, UK
November 03rd 2026 at 12:15, room U1.197
Prof. Chengdong Huang
University of Science and Technology of China
Hefei, China
November 17th, 2026 at 12:15, room U1.197
Prof. Carolin Seuring
University of Hamburg
Hamburg, Germany
November 24th, 2026 at 12:15, room U1.197
Prof. Michael Webster
John Innes Center
Norwich, UK
Important information for students enrolled at the University of Basel:
- You can earn one credit point (CP) by registering to the course.
- To get the CP for this course, all of the proposed seminars have to be attended from start to finish and a written exam in the form of an essay must be passed.
- It is your responsibility to check this website for eventual updates/changes to the program.
- Each in-person seminar is followed by a lunch with the speaker. Contact the host if you are interested in participating.
Links:
- List of the past SBBS speakers
- Members of the SBBS organizing committee
- Twitter: @SBBS_Biozentrum
- Zoom: TBA
