Scripps Research Joint Appointments

Department of Chemistry
The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology
Faculty, Kellogg School of Science and Technology

Research Focus

Structure and function of proteins and nucleic acids, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, structural genomics and proteomics.

The Wüthrich group specializes in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy with biological macromolecules. Recent contributions include the extension of solution NMR studies to very large molecular structures, using the principles of transverse relaxation-optimized spectroscopy (TROSY), the introduction of automated projection spectroscopy (APSY) for efficient structure determination of small soluble proteins, and the use of 5-, 6- and 7- dimensional APSY-NMR experiments for atomic resolution characterization of denatured proteins and functional non-globular polypeptides. Practical applications are largely focused on structural genomics projects, in association with the Joint Center for Structural Genomics (JCSG), the JCSG Center for Innovative Membrane Protein Technologies (JCIMPT), and the Functional and Structural Proteomics Analysis of SARS-CoV-related Proteins Consortium (FSPS).

Education

Ph.D., Biology, University of Basel, 1964

Awards & Professional Activities

Prix Louis Jeantet de Médecine, 1993
Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology, 1998
Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2002
Honorary degrees: Universities of Siena, Italy, Zurich and Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, Valencia, Spain, Sheffield, UK, , Lucknow, India, Pécs, Hungary, Moscow, Russia.
Editor-in-Chief Journal of Biomolecular NMR and Editorial Boards of 11 science journals.
Numerous Scientific Advisory Boards and Patronage Committees in the USA, Japan and Europe.

Selected References

Wüthrich, K. (1986) NMR of Proteins and Nucleic Acids, Wiley, New York.

Wüthrich, K. (2003) Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 42, 3340--3363. NMR studies of structure and function of biological macromolecules (Nobel Lecture).

Peti, W., Johnson, M.A., Herrmann, T., Neuman, B.W., Buchmeier, M.J., Nelson, M., Joseph, J., Page, R., Stevens, R.C., Kuhn, P. and Wüthrich, K. (2005) J. Virol. 79, 12905–12913. Structural genomics of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus: nuclear magnetic resonance structure of the protein nsP7.

Horst, R., Wider, G., Fiaux, J., Bertelsen, E.B., Horwich, A.L. and Wüthrich, K. (2006) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 103, 15445–15450. Proton–proton Overhauser NMR spectroscopy with polypeptide chains in large structures.

Links

The Skaggs Institute Scientific Report

Wüthrich Wins 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry