Scientific research requires patience. The rewards are not always immediate, and the technology needed does not always exist. Michael A. Trakselis, Ph.D., professor and director of graduate affairs for the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Baylor University, understands this.
For 15 years, Trakselis has been interested in the MCM8/9 enzyme. Part of the minichromosome maintenance protein family, MCM8/9 is directly linked to ovarian insufficiency, infertility and cancers including ovarian, testicular and colon cancers, yet little is known about how this enzyme works and its connection to disease. There was no understanding of the relationship between the structure and function of the enzyme.
Mutations in MCM8 or MCM9 can cause infertility and cancer; yet, we don't know why we get certain diseases when there are mutations in this protein. Having the structure might help us figure out some of that." Before that could happen, Trakselis had to overcome two barriers: technology and a stable protein solution needed to conduct the research.
On this research, collaborating with researchers from Rice University and the University of Texas Health Science System in Houston, Dr. Trakselis was able access a cryo-EM. . This state-of-the-art flagship microscope is one of a kind in its field, with the capability to magnify objects several million times and image cell membranes, proteins and even atoms.)
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