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Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biology

Elisar Barbar analyzing lab results with two students in her lab.

The Biochemistry and Biophysics department has active research in molecular biophysics and structural biology on a wide range of topics including intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), the dynamics of molecular motors, membrane protein biophysics, RNA structure and function, and many facets of protein signaling. Our faculty use many techniques including nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), single-molecular light microscopy, molecular simulation, and isothermal titration calorimetry.

Home to the highest-field NMR in the state of Oregon

The OSU Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) facility is a campus-wide core facility dedicated to providing state-of-the-art NMR spectroscopy resources to the research and education community at OSU and throughout the Pacific Northwest. In an effort led by Elisar Barbar, more than 2.4 million in funding was secured for the 800 MHz instrument and supported the hire of facility director Patrick Reardon. The facility supports scientific inquiry in a diverse array of research areas such as structural biology, organic chemistry, natural products analysis and environmental studies.