applying high-resolution
solid-state NMR spectroscopy
to elucidate the
structure & dynamics of
complex non-crystalline
biological macromolecules
Structural Biophysics From Solid-State NMR
The Hong group develops and applies magic-angle-spinning solid-state NMR spectroscopy to elucidate the structure and dynamics of biological macromolecules. We seek to understand how molecular conformation, motion, and intermolecular interactions enable proteins and carbohydrates to carry out their functions such as ion conduction across lipid membranes, membrane fusion between viruses and cells, membrane scission during virus budding, and maintenance and expansion of plant cell walls. We also investigate the structure and dynamics of amyloid proteins in neurodegenerative diseases. To answer these mechanistic biophysical questions, we innovate multinuclear (1H, 13C, 15N, 19F, 2H, & 31P) and multidimensional solid-state NMR techniques that measure molecular structure, inter-atomic distances, and amplitudes and rates of molecular motions with high sensitivity.

Lab News: Tweets by @MeiHongLab
- Jammy plants! See how impaired methylation of pectins lead to dwarf plants because of significant changes in the ce… https://t.co/cHpA1teuxt 2 weeks ago
- The small methyl group can do big things! Solid-state NMR reveals how de-methylation of pectins in plant cell walls… https://t.co/l39sxXBngn 2 weeks ago
- Solid-state NMR data reveal that two versions of the protein tau are fluently mixed in the neurotoxic tangles in th… https://t.co/jiyRWxKzz0 4 weeks ago
- 19F NMR illuminates how acidic pH and calcium ions change the sidechain conformation of two aromatic residues in th… https://t.co/0Cyj5nUkTn 3 months ago
- Second structure of EmrE determined by NMR, finally showing this transporter in action, using pH-controlled alterna… https://t.co/yoJxl3sMoP 4 months ago
- https://t.co/dPcJD8EhtE https://t.co/XeBKWIDmBJ 5 months ago
