Profile
Bio
Structural biologist Gabriel Demo and his team at CEITEC study translational processes in bacteria and humans, i.e. the regulation of ribosome formation and protein production. He uses cryo-electron microscopy to investigate how ribosome complexes look at different stages of their assembly and how factors controlling ribosome folding influence this process. In addition, he uses cryo-electron tomography to observe directly in human cells how ribosomes are affected by viral infections, in particular poxviruses causing smallpox.
He is a graduate of the Faculty of Science at Masaryk University, a laureate of the prestigious Neuron Prize for promising scientists and a recipient of a Czech ERC grant. His career has been significantly influenced by stays at foreign research institutes, especially his involvement in research at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School in Worcester, USA.