ACA Election Candidate

Melanie Ohi: Candidate for Cryo-EM SIG Chair Elect

Dr. Ohi is a Professor at the University of Michigan in the Life Sciences Institute and the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology. During the course of Dr. Ohi’s research career she has focused on understanding how proteins interact and function as macromolecular machines. As a graduate student she trained in Dr. Kathy Gould’s laboratory at Vanderbilt University, learning how to use the fission yeast S. pombe as a model system for functionally characterizing and purifying large complexes, such as the spliceosome. As a post-doctoral fellow, she joined Dr. Tom Walz’s laboratory at Harvard Medical School, learning how to use single particle cryo-EM to determine structures of large complexes. As an independent investigator, she has developed a research program with the capability of combining the necessary multi-disciplinary research tools and methods to embark on structural and functional studies of biologically interesting machines. Her lab has most recently focused on determining the structures of complexes that span membranes and/or alter membrane architecture. Her lab continues to take an integrative approach that allows them to address questions from biophysical, biochemical, and in vivo perspectives.