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Eva Nogales, Ph.D. Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of California, Berkeley
The 2026 lecture series in biology is “Folding the Future: The Structural Biology Revolution.” In this series, scientists will explore the rapid advances transforming how we visualize and engineer the molecular machinery of life. From breakthroughs in protein structure prediction to innovations in integrative structural biology, speakers will examine how these computational and experimental tools are reshaping drug discovery, synthetic biology, and our broader understanding of cellular function.
2026 Lecture Series Themes
Biology – Folding the Future: The Structural Biology Revolution
Mathematics and Computer Science – Randomness
Neuroscience and Autism Science – Brain and Body: Communication and Connection
Presidential Lectures are a series of free public colloquia spotlighting groundbreaking research across four themes: neuroscience and autism science, physics, biology, and mathematics and computer science. These curated, high-level scientific talks feature leading scientists and mathematicians and are designed to foster discussion and drive discovery within the New York City research community. We invite those interested in these topics to join us for this weekly lecture series.
Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is a powerful technique for analyzing the structure of samples that challenge other methods, such as large protein complexes involved in regulating gene expression and cytoskeletal polymers that maintain cellular structure. The Nogales lab has used cryo-EM to study both.
In this Presidential Lecture, Eva Nogales will talk about her lab’s work using cryo-EM to study protein complexes and cytoskeletal polymers. She will discuss transcriptional coactivator complexes — large protein assemblies with functional modules flexibly attached to a structural scaffold. These modules are often conserved across eukaryotes, and some are shared among multiple coactivators. Her lab has discovered surprising differences in module organization between yeast and human complexes, highlighting the versatility of coactivator assembly and function. Nogales also studies microtubules, which are regulated by a myriad of microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) and serve as freeways for motor proteins. Interestingly, there is a complex interplay between MAPs and motors on the microtubule surface. Her lab is characterizing the competition, coexistence, and regulatory interactions between these factors, with important repercussions for our understanding of microtubule-based cellular transport.
About the Speaker
Nogales is an MCB professor at the University of California, Berkeley, a senior faculty scientist at LBNL and an HHMI Investigator. She obtained her B.S. in physics from the Autonomous University of Madrid in Spain and her Ph.D. in biophysics from Keele University in England. As a postdoctoral researcher with Ken Downing at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), she determined the structure of tubulin using electron crystallography. Her current work utilizes cryo-EM to visualize the macromolecular architecture, functional states and regulatory interactions in the study of gene expression and the microtubule cytoskeleton. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a foreign member of the European Molecular Biology Organization, the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society of London.