In the quiet of a nature preserve, surrounded by white fallow deer and Canada geese, BioCARS researchers are unlocking the structures of macromolecular assemblies, leading the way towards a true understanding of biological structures at their smallest, most basic level. Their research is conducted at Argonne National Laboratory, the national research center owned by the U.S. Department of Energy and operated by the University of Chicago. The facility houses the Advanced Photon Source (APS), one of the world's top synchrotron x-ray sources. These high-energy x-rays are critical to the groundbreaking research in macromolecular structures and crystallographic techniques. The APS operates 24 hours a day for 200 or more days per year, requiring investigators to utilize the beam in shifts and necessitating around the clock monitoring by a large staff. The cost of this undertaking is so large that no single university could justify the cost of such an operation, making the University of Chicago's position as operator even more unique and important. BioCARS is one element of one of the largest users of the APS, the Consortium for Advanced Radiation Sources (CARS). CARS is a multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary consortium managed by the University of Chicago Center for Advanced Radiation Sources, and consists of BioCARS, GeoSoilEnviroCARS and ChemMatCARS.

In the case of BioCARS, the research revolves around the development and application of macromolecular crystallography and is directed by BioCARS Primary Investigator, Keith Moffat, Ph.D., the Louis Block Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, and Deputy Provost for Research. The goal of all research conducted at BioCARS, according to Moffat, is to "understand basic biological processes in structural terms, a goal fundamental to basic science as well as to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries." The BioCARS facility is located in a Biosafety Level 3 (BSL 3) area, which allows researchers to investigate macromolecular components of contagious human pathogens such as anthrax, botulism and plague, and mammalian, plant and insect viruses. Researchers in these areas are thus able to reach greater understanding of the structure of these components in an attempt to create vaccines, diagnostics and treatments.

"Our investigators have played a prominent role in determining the structures of various human pathogens, which in turn provide a foundation for the development of more effective treatments," said Moffat. "For instance, Dr. Wei-Jen Tang [Associate Professor, Ben May Institute for Cancer Research], solved the structure of anthrax edema factor, based in substantial part on the research he conducted at our facility."

In order to maintain operational control of the facility, which is funded by the National Center for Research Resources and the National Institutes of Health to the tune of nearly $2.5 million annually, University of Chicago-based BioCARS researchers must conduct research that will advance both science and technology. Much of this research centers on time-resolved crystallography (see the article on BioCARS in Medicine on the Midway, Summer 2003). Additionally, there are four other requirements that researchers must fulfill. First, they are to engage in collaborative or service-oriented research, either with individuals from the University of Chicago or from other institutions, and second, to disseminate that and individual research efforts through publication of scientific papers. Third, researchers at the facility instruct visiting investigators in the use of the facility, and last, educate both those in the field and the public at large of the importance of and uses for such a facility.

"The BioCARS group is one of the most productive users of the APS based on the number of refereed publications. For example, there were 104 such publications in 2003," says Moffat. We have more than 250 users per year from all around the country and the world using our facilities, creating a collaborative environment not found in the core facilities of individual institutions. Users frequently praise the BioCARS staff for the high level of support offered as they conduct their difficult experiments."

The BioCARS group welcomes collaborative inquiries by BSD faculty. Those researchers interested in applying for beamtime with BioCARS, or visiting the facility, can find the relevant on-line information at: http://cars.uchicago.edu/biocars

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