Tackling the pandemic through global collaboration - the Covid19-NMR consortium*

Teresa Carlomagno
University of Hannover, Chemistry Departement Hannover, Germany

Using NMR to understand Covid-19 at the molecular level

At Biomolekulares Wirkstoffzentrum (BMWZ), Prof. Dr. Teresa Carlomagno and her group use solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to address the structure of RNAs and understand interactions between structured and unstructured molecules and how this effects druggability. Within the COVID-19 NMR Consortium, she is working to understand the how SARS-CoV-2 virus proteins and RNA interact to block the production of proteins in the host cell.

Harald Schwalbe
Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Uncovering the inspiration behind the Covid-19 NMR consortium

Prof. Dr. Harald Schwalbe is based at the Goethe University Frankfurt and is an expert in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based structural biology of RNA, proteins and their complexes. He set up

the Covid-19 NMR Consortium at the start of the pandemic, an international group that now has more than 50 research partners in 70 countries worldwide.

Markus Zweckstetter
Max-Planck Institute, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Göttingen, Germany

Covid-19 NMR International Project

Prof. Dr. Markus Zweckstetter is a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopist who uses NMR to study the most challenging molecules in biology including large macromolecular complexes, membrane proteins, and biomolecular condensates.

Carolin Hacker
SIGNALS GmbH & Co. KG, Frankfurt, Germany

Data management improvements for NMR research

Dr. Carolin Hacker works at SIGNALS, Goethe University, which was founded to promote the digitalization of research and scientific workflows. Dr. Hacker’s expertise lie in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data set management and her team oversees a single central data hub where all the scientific data for the Covid-19 NMR Consortium is stored.

Mei Hong
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, USA

The power of NMR

Professor Mei Hong, Professor of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, speaks about the potential of high-resolution solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to help resolve the challenges faced by the world’s healthcare industry.

Jesús Jiménez-Barbero
Center for Cooperative Research in Biosciences (CIC bioGUNE), Derio, Bizkaia, Spain

Using NMR to understand the role of glycans in COVID-19

At CIC bioGUNE, Prof. Dr. Jesús Jiménez-Barbero and his group use nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to research the role of glycans in molecular recognition relating to pathological events and infectious diseases. Within the COVID-19 NMR Consortium, they are working to understand the receptor binding domain of the spike glycoprotein as the first interacting point of the virus.

Lucia Banci
University of Florence (CERM), Italy

Consortium demonstrates the power of collaboration

Researchers at the University of Florence in Italy were excited about the opportunities and responsibilities that would come with working with the world’s largest NMR instrument. It went on to produce boundary-pushing results that would help solve one of the thorniest bimolecular scientific challenges to date

Eldon Ulrich
Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank (BMRB), Madison, Wisconsin, USA

Furthering NMR research through data

The Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank (BMRB) aims to empower scientists in their analysis of the structure, dynamics, and chemistry of biological systems and to support further development in biomolecular NMR spectroscopy.

Andreas Schlundt
Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Bringing expertise in RNA-protein interactions

Dr. Andreas Schlundt and his group are seeking to understand how ribonucleic acid (RNA) coronavirus protein complexes are structured. They are then using this information to understand if the sequence has a clear impact on ‘drugability’.

Katja Petzold
Wallenberg Academy Fellows, Stockholm, Sweden

NMR reveals how changes in RNA form deliver viral function

Dr. Petzold leads a group that uses nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to establish the structure and functionality of ribonucleic acid (RNA) which makes up the genetic material in certain human pathogens, which is highly relevant to investigating SARS-CoV-2, an RNA virus.

Lucio Frydman
Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel

NMR: At the intersection between physics, chemistry and biology

At the Weizmann Institute of Science, Prof. Lucio Frydman’s main focus is using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to investigate the structure of matter and of molecules. Translating this into COVID-19 research, he and his team are developing new tools to help better understand the structure of the RNA of the virus and the binding ability of drugs.

José Gallego
Universidad Católica de Valencia, Spain

Using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to help eliminate SARS-CoV-2

Professor Jose Gallego is a research professor at the Universidad Católica de Valencia, in Spain and is currently working within the Covid-19 NMR Consortium to investigate the potential of anti-viral drugs that act by binding to RNA structures in human cells.

Georgios Spyroulias
Department of Pharmacy, University of Patras, Greece

COVID-19 NMR International Project

Prof. Dr. Georgios Spyroulias works on the Covid-19 NMR consortium project, using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to discover how viral proteins react with host proteins

Martin Blackledge
Institute of Structural Biology, Grenoble, France

Fast NMR exposes machinery of tricky viral proteins

Most proteins – including the all-too-familiar spike protein on SARS-CoV-2 – adopt a functional shape once in situ, known as a three-dimensional fold. NMR spectroscopy enables scientists to study the behaviour of these highly dynamic proteins right down to atomic-level resolution.