Welcome to the website of Efremov laboratory. The laboratory is hosted by the VIB Center for Structural Biology (CBS) located on the campus of Free University Brussels (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, VUB) in Belgium. Our research aims at understanding the structures and mechanisms of biological molecular machines using single-particle cryo-EM. We are also passionate about technology, which is why we are developing microfluidic devices that one day will revolutionize the preparation of cryo-EM samples.
The lab logo is a stylized working scheme of a brownian ratchet take from a paper of Dean Astumian
to remind us that a chemically-driven directional motion can be achieved in a simple system with two mechanical states and two transition pathways between them. The directionality is achieved because of the differences in affinities for substrate and product in states 0 and 1 and because the difference in chemical potentials leads to a directional conversion of the substrate into product.
The website is created and maintained by Rouslan Efremov. The website content reflects opinion of its author only.