At SBB, researchers study the structure and dynamics of macromolecular complexes in health and disease to explain their mode of action. Structural biology work is integrated with genetic and cellular studies, aiming to bridge molecular and cellular resolution, with a strong track record in translating discoveries into biotechnological and medical applications.

The vision is a structural biology that moves increasingly closer to the cellular context, working on in situ or ex vivo samples with minimal manipulation and as close as possible to physiological processes, further integrating time as a dimension of the structural biology principles studied, and transcending the explanatory power of the technique into an exploratory instrument that leads to the discovery of novel biological pathways.

The integrated centre supports the major methodologies for structural biology, including biophysics, NMR, XRD, cryoEM and cryoET, complemented by Nanobody technology and microfluidics platforms. Research focuses on key questions in biological systems, primarily in the area of protein signaling cascades and host-pathogen interaction, where atomic level structural and biophysical insights are challenged and validated in their biological context through prediction and in vivo and in vitro experimentation, generating integrated models of the mode of action and regulation of the molecular processes and pathways involved.

The centre also has a strong record of turning fundamental research into value for society, exemplified by the development of Nanobody technology, and provides shared technology platforms that give scientists access to cryo-EM and nanobody-enabled structural biology.