Angela Gronenborn, Ph.D.

  • UPMC Rosalind Franklin Professor and Chair
  • Department of Structural Biology and Bioengineering

Education & Training

  • Vordiplom, Chemistry, Physics, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany, 1972
  • Diplom (MS), Chemistry, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany, 1975
  • Dr. rer.nat (PHD), Organic Chemistry, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany, 1978
  • Post-doctoral Fellow, Division of Molecular Pharmacology, National Institute for Medical Research, 1978-1979

Research Interest Summary

Integrative Structural Biology Studies on Disease-Related Proteins

Research Categories

Research Interests

Our laboratory combines NMR spectroscopy with Biophysics, Biochemistry, and Chemistry to investigate cellular processes at the molecular and atomic levels in relation to human disease. We presently focus on three main areas in biology: HIV pathogenesis, structural methods, such as NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography, protein-carbohydrate recognition, and protein deposition diseases. In order to understand how biological macromolecules work and intervene in a rational manner with respect to activity and function, detailed knowledge of their architecture and dynamic features is required. Evaluation of the major determinants for stability and conformational specificity of normal and disease-causing forms of these molecules, will allow us to unravel the complex processes associated with disease.

Representative Publications

Selected Earlier Publications

Kay, L.E., Clore, G.M., Bax, A. & Gronenborn, A.M.  Four-dimensional heteronuclear triple resonance NMR spectroscopy of interleukin-1b in solution. Science 249, 411 (1990)

Clore, G.M. & Gronenborn, A.M.  Structures of larger proteins in solution: three- and four-dimensional heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy. Science 252, 1390 (1991)

Gronenborn, A.M., Filpula, D.R., Essig, N.Z., Achari, A., Whitlow, M., Wingfield, P.T. & Clore, G.M. A novel highly stable fold of the immunoglobulin binding domain of Streptococcal protein G. Science 253, 657-661 (1991)

Omichinski, J.G., Clore, G.M., Schaad, O., Felsenfeld, G., Trainor, C., Appella, E., Stahl, S.J. & Gronenborn, A.M.   NMR structure of a specific DNA complex of Zn-containing DNA binding domain of GATA-1. Science 261, 438-446 (1993)

Clore, G.M., Omichinski, J.G., Sakaguchi, K., Zambrano, N., Sakamoto, H., Appella, E. & Gronenborn, A.M.  High-resolution solution structure of the oligomerization domain of p53 by multi-dimensional NMR. Science 265, 386-391 (1994)

Selected Recent Publications

Gronenborn, AM. Protein acrobatics in pairs - dimerization via domain swapping. Curr. Opin. Struct. Biol. 19, 39-49 (2009)

Koharudin, LMI, Liu, H, DiMaio, R, Kodali, RB, Graham, SH, Gronenborn, AM. Cyclopentenone prostaglandin-induced unfolding and aggregation of the Parkinson disease-associated UCH-L1. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 107, 6835–6840 (2010)

Byeon, I-JL, Ahn, J, Mitra, M, Byeon, C-H, Hercik, K, Hritz, J, Charlton, LM, Levin, JG, Gronenborn, AM. NMR structure of human restriction factor APOBEC3A reveals substrate binding and enzyme specificity. Nat. Commun. 4, 1890 (2013)

Zhao, G, Perilla, JR, Yufenyuy, EL, Meng, X, Chen, B, Ning, J, Ahn, J, Gronenborn, AM, Schulten, K, Aiken, C, Zhang, P. Mature HIV-1 capsid structure by cryo-electron microscopy and all-atom molecular dynamics. Nature 497, 643-646 (2013)

Koharudin LMI, Gronenborn, AM. Antiviral lectins as potential microbicides. Curr. Opin. Virol. 7, 95-100 (2014)

Matei, E, Gronenborn, AM. 19F Paramagnetic Relaxation Enhancement: A valuable tool for distance measurements in proteins. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 55, 150-154 (2016)

Perilla, JR, Gronenborn, AM. Molecular architecture of retroviral capsids. Trends Biochem. Sci. 41, 410-420 (2016)

Krzysiak TC, Thomas L, Choi YJ, Auclair S, Qian Y, Luan S, Krasnow SM, Thomas LL, Koharudin LMI, Benos PV, Marks DL, Gronenborn AM, Thomas G. An insulin-responsive sensor in the SIRT1 disordered region binds DBC1 and PACS-2 to control enzyme activity. Mol Cell. 72(6):985-998.e7. (2018).

Gronenborn AM. Integrated multidisciplinarity in the natural sciences. J Biol Chem. 294(48):18162-18167. (2019).

Full List of Publications