{"id":238792,"date":"2017-02-12T12:21:21","date_gmt":"2017-02-12T17:21:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yfiledev.uit.yorku.ca\/?p=238792"},"modified":"2025-04-03T13:43:34","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T17:43:34","slug":"lassonde-partners-in-research-that-could-revolutionize-new-drug-discoveries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/yfile\/2017\/02\/12\/lassonde-partners-in-research-that-could-revolutionize-new-drug-discoveries\/","title":{"rendered":"Lassonde partners in research that could revolutionize new drug discoveries"},"content":{"rendered":"

Researchers from York University\u2019s Lassonde School of Engineering have developed a new set of algorithms that rapidly generate 3D structures of proteins, and could revolutionize the development of new drug therapies.<\/p>\n

One of the lead researchers on the project, Lassonde Professor Marcus Brubaker, says the current cryo-EM (electron cryomicroscopy) technology for developing 3D protein structures is a lengthy, computationally demanding task requiring specific expertise. Currently, it can take days to weeks for certain results.<\/p>\n

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Researchers from York University\u2019s Lassonde School of Engineering have found a new set of algorithms that can help determine the 3D structure of proteins, which could one day lead to new treatments for diseases including Alzheimer\u2019s, HIV and cancer<\/p><\/div>\n

The algorithms researchers developed are\u00a0combined\u00a0in a software program called cryoSPARC (cryo-EM single-particle ab initio<\/i> reconstruction and classification), which\u00a0enables non-specialized cryo-EM users to process data in a matter of hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cCollecting data on an electron microscope might take a few hours or maybe a day or two,\u201d said Brubaker. \u201cHowever, processing that data to determine the 3D structure would require weeks or even months of computation time on large, expensive computer clusters. Our work now makes this possible in a few hours on a relatively inexpensive desktop computer.\u201d<\/p>\n

The research is published in the current edition of the journal Nature Methods<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The dramatic change in processing times not only speeds up the existing process, but also enables experts to dig deeper into their data to discover new biology that, before, would not have been practical. It also has potential for\u00a0enhanced research into drug treatments for a range of diseases,\u00a0including Alzheimer\u2019s, HIV and cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur developments have also enabled us to determine structures without any prior knowledge, opening up an entire new class of molecules that were unable to be studied otherwise,\" said Brubaker.<\/p>\n