The TransFORM synergy team, uniting experts in in-cell structural biology and translation biology, aims to elucidate how ribosomes operate systemically in cells.

Despite extensive understanding of ribosome function, the organisation and regulation of ribosomal complexes, their responses to cellular changes, and their adaptation to stress remain unclear. Utilising advancements in cryo-electron tomography, cross-linking mass spectrometry, and structural modelling, TransFORM seeks to map the structural and functional states of ribosomes, including their compositional shifts during stress and viral infections. By examining ribosomes in human cells and organoids, from individual particles to polysomes, this project will offer an unprecedented in-cell view of protein synthesis, introducing cutting-edge methods for future structural biology research.

Julia Mahamid (EMBL Heidelberg), Jan Kosinski (EMBL Hamburg), Rachel Green (Johns Hopkins University), Juri Rappsilber (Technische Universität Berlin)