Welcome to the Danev Lab

The last decade was transformational for electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM). It matured from a mostly manual low-resolution imaging method, often jokingly referred to as "blobology", into a high-resolution high-throughput structural biology approach. This "resolution revolution" is rapidly attracting researchers using other structural techniques, such as X-ray crystallography.

In our lab we use cryo-EM to study the structure of important macromolecular machines, such as cell membrane receptors. Many of them are implicated in various diseases and knowing their structure is essential for understanding of their function. Structural information is also crucial for comprehending the mechanism of action of active compounds that bind to the receptors. We hope that our research could help to develop new drugs for the treatment of chronic and acute diseases.

Another major area of our research is the development and applications of new methods for cryo-EM. We would like to ease some of the current experimental challenges, such as sample preparation, automation and image contrast and therefre improve the overall performance and efficiency of the technique.