Department of Chemistry

Structural and dynamic studies of supramolecular assemblies by solid-state NMR spectroscopy

Chris Jaroniec | Professor, Ohio State University

Hosted by Professor Dave Cafiso

I will present recent work from my lab on the development and applications of magic-angle spinning solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques toward the structural and dynamic analysis of supramolecular protein and protein-DNA assemblies. The main topics will include: (1) new paramagnetic solid-state NMR methodologies for the rapid determination of three-dimensional protein structures and (2) studies of mammalian Y145Stop prion protein variants aimed at providing an atomic level structural basis for the phenomena of amyloid strains and cross-seeding barriers associated with these proteins. If time permits, I will also discuss our studies of the flexible histone N-terminal tail domains in large nucleosome arrays under experimental conditions corresponding to extended, folded and highly condensed chromatin.

Biosketch

Christopher Jaroniec received his B.S. degree in Chemistry from Kent State University in 1997 and his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2003, where he was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow with Prof. Robert Griffin, and he was a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow with Dr. Ad Bax at the National Institutes of Health. He joined The Ohio State University as an Assistant Professor in 2006, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2011 and Professor in 2014, and named Evans Scholar in 2013. He currently also serves as the Vice Chair for Research and Administration in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Director of the OSU CCIC Solid-State NMR Center, which houses multiple state-of-the-art high-field solid-state NMR instruments. Professor Jaroniec’s research in biomolecular solid-state NMR spectroscopy has been recognized by multiple awards including the NSF CAREER Award, the Eli Lilly Young Investigator Award in Analytical Chemistry, the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, the Founders’ Medal from the International Council on Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, and the ACS Physical Division Early-Career Award in Experimental Physical Chemistry. He was also elected as Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has held an Invited Visiting Professor position at Sorbonne Universités/Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, France.