Prof. Frank's pioneering work in cryo-electron microscopy has transformed structural biology and contributed to critical health solutions, including vaccines and drugs. Join us for a rare opportunity to engage with a global leader and learn first hand about his journey, from challenges to breakthroughs.

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About Our Guest, Prof Joachim Frank:

Prof Joachim Frank is a Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Columbia University. He worked on his dissertation under Professor Walter Hoppe’s mentorship at the MPI in Munich and, in 1970, received his Ph.D. from the Technical University. A two-year Harkness Fellowship allowed him to visit three labs in the USA for postdoctoral research.  He went to the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge to work as a group leader in the lab of Dr. Vernon Ellis Cosslett. In 1975 he joined the Wadsworth Center in Albany as a Senior Research Scientist. In 1985 he also joined the Biomedical Sciences faculty of SUNY Albany.  In 2008 he moved to New York to assume his current positions.  From 1998 to 2017 Dr. Frank was supported as an HHMI Investigator. 

Prof Frank’s lab has developed techniques of single-particle reconstruction of biological macromolecules, specializing in the mathematical and computational approaches.  He has applied these techniques of visualization to explore the structure and dynamics of the ribosome during protein synthesis and the structure and gating mechanisms of several ion channels. 

Prof Frank is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and of the American Academy of Microbiology.  He is also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  He was honored for his contributions to the development of cryo-EM of biological molecules and the study of protein synthesis with the 2014 Franklin Medal for Life Science.  In 2017 he shared the Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences with Richard Henderson and Marin van Heel. Later in the same year he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with Richard Henderson and Jacques Dubochet.

Itinerary

Saturday 17 Aug (6pm-8pm): "Inside the Researcher's Mindset" 

Sunday 18 Aug (5pm – 7pm): Social Event in the Foyer of the New Engineering Building (near the EM Unit) Finger supper and wine will be served.

Monday 19 Aug (9am – 5pm): All day workshop at the Institute for Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, Wolfson Theatre: “ The role of CryoEM in discovering new drugs and vaccines” – will be broadcast on Zoom to a national audience. Aimed at scientists

Tuesday 20 Aug (6pm-7pm): VC’s lecture “Cryo-electron microscopy, a new foundation for molecular medicine and drug design” aimed at the general public.