Institute of Biophysics
CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
Institute of Biophysics
Director: Address: Tel: Fax: E-mail: Website: Prof. XU Tao
No. 15 Datun Road, Chaoyang District,
Beijing 100101, P.R.China
86-10-64888798
86-10-64871293
[email protected]
http://www.ibp.ac.cn
T
he I nst it ute of Biophysics, the Ch i nese
Academy of Sciences (CAS), focuses on basic
research in life sciences. Professor BEI Shizhang,
a renowned biologist and a distinguished CAS
member, founded the institute in 1958.
It has a highly qualified and innovative research
team, with 381 staff members, 482 students and
57 visiting scholars and post-doctoral candidates.
Within the scientific staff, there are 52 Principal
Investigators and three Technical Specialists,
of Whom, 10 are CAS members, 28 have been
awarded by the CAS’s “Hundred Talents Program”
and 10 have been funded by the “National Science
Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars” of the
National Natural Science Foundation of China
(NSFC).
T he main research focus of the instit ute is
on the f ields of protein science and brain &
cognitive sciences. The institute has two National
Key Laboratories: the National Laboratory of
Biomacromolecules and the National Laboratory
of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Our research in
the field of protein science includes the following
key areas: 3D-structure and function of proteins;
bio-membranes and membrane proteins; protein
t ranslation and folding; protein interaction
networks; the molecular basis of infection and
immunity; the molecular basis of sensation and
cognition; protein and peptide drugs; and new
techniques and methods in protein science research.
Key research areas in brain and cognitive sciences
include neural processes and mechanisms in
complex cognition, expression of visual perception
and attention, neural mechanisms of perceptional
information processing, and dysfunction in brain
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cognition. Establishment of the National Laboratory
of Protein Science was given approval by the
Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) in
December 2006.
The institute has won programs from the NSFC, “973
Program”, “863 Program”, the CAS Knowledge
Innovation Program and other major research grants.
These support outstanding research in a range of
areas. With research accomplishments including the
structural analysis of artificially synthesized insulin,
the synthesis of yeast Ala- tRNA, quantitative
m e a s u r e m e nt of t h e r el a t io n s h ip b e t we e n
modification of functional domains in proteins and
their bioactivity, and the three-dimensional structure
and function of insulin, the Institute of Biophysics
is considered world leader on the cutting edge of
the life sciences. More recently, we have made
breakthroughs in the analysis of crystal structures
of the mitochondrial respiratory membrane protein
complex II, the spinach major light-harvesting
complex and the SARS coronavirus main protease.
Important discoveries in the field of neuroscience
include the invariance of retinal position in visual
pattern recognition in Drosophila, choice behavior
of Drosophila when facing competition and the role
of topology in cognition. Achievements in terms of
awards, publications, patents and applied research
maintain the institute at the highest national level. In
research strength and standards the institute is close
to being a global leader in its field.
Institute of Biophysics
CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
T h e i n s t it u t e pl a c e s g r e a t i m p o r t a n c e o n
international communication and cooperation,
as well as establishing long-term, stable and
strategic cooperation partnerships with renowned
international universities and institutes. This
includes establishing joint-laboratories, arranging
exchange visits of research staff, joint-training
of graduate students, and scientif ic research
cooperation. The institute proposes, applies for
and undertakes international cooperation projects.
Scientists at the institute are recommended for
positions in international academic organizations,
thus improving the international academic standing
of IBP. The Scientific Advisory Committee of
our institute is chaired by Nobel Prize Laureates,
Prof. Robert Huber (a chemist) and Erwin Neher
(a physiologist). It also has other internationally
renowned scientists as members.
The Biophysics Society of China is affiliated
with our institute. We take responsibility for
editing two core national natural science journals,
namely, Progress in Biochemistry & Biophysics
and Acta Biophysica Sinica. Of these, Progress in
Biochemistry & Biophysics is indexed in the SCI
e-database.
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National Laboratory of Protein Science (Under construction)
The IBP was selected by both the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Ministry
of Science and Technology (MOST) in December 2006 to establish and house the
National Laboratory of Protein Sciences.
The goal of the National Lab is, through the assembly of a high caliber, highly interactive,
multidisciplinary research team, to make original, profound contributions to the resolution
of important scientific questions and to serve the national need in biomedical research.
Research will be focused on structural biology (especially multi-subunit macromolecular
complexes, membrane proteins, proteomics and structural basis of gene regulation),
molecular mechanisms of infections and immune responses, molecular basis of cognition,
therapeutic proteins and polypeptides, and method and technique development in protein
research. A full-fledged National Lab of Protein Sciences is expected to have 40-50
multidisciplinary research teams.
Up to now, a series of major steps had been taken to facilitate the start up of the National
Lab, including building of a new 9-story building, recruiting of the lab’s director and staff,
investment on the core facilities, etc.
CAS Protein Science Core Facility Center
The center currently has more than 30 large pieces of equipment including a high flux
X-ray diffractometer FRE to collect data for protein crystal structure determination, a 200
Kilovolts cryon electron microscope, 3 Tesla NMR image systems for brain imaging, a
600 MHz NMR spectrometer, and a mass spectrometer. In addition, there is a large
animal experimental center which meets national safety standards.
The center now has over 100 million RMB worth of equipment and will soon be
improved further as a result of a second round of major investment. About 180,000
equipment hours service time was used in 2006. In addition to providing services for the
basic research program at the IBP, this included facilitating experiments from about 50
projects from outside the Institute. The center also provided service and consultation for
more than 150 institutes or companies.
Staff in the center includes chief scientists, and scientists with PhD or Master's degrees in
the fields of biology or engineering. There are 38 full-time technical support personnel in
the center. They not only provide services but also develop new methodology and design
new equipment.