-- One of the key challenges in modern structural biology is that widely used structure-determination and prediction approaches, including X-ray crystallography, cryo-EM, and AI-based structure prediction, often emphasize static or discrete structural states and may provide limited direct information on conformational dynamics in solution. Creative Biostructure, together with High Q Technologies, presented a free webinar on August 18. It featured the quantum-enhanced Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) platform – FATHOM® EPR – and covered how this technology will help researchers across the world overcome the challenges that come with the integration of structural biology and dynamic functional understanding.
FATHOM® is a quantum-enabled EPR platform designed to measure nanometer-scale distance distributions and probe conformational ensembles with improved sensitivity, stability, and acquisition efficiency. Conventional pulsed EPR/DEER measurements can require prolonged acquisition times, particularly for low-concentration samples. FATHOM® is designed to improve sensitivity and acquisition efficiency, enabling measurements with smaller sample volumes and shorter turnaround times, making it possible to study conformational dynamics using minimal sample amounts. Researchers can use FATHOM® EPR to complement experimentally determined structures from X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM, as well as AlphaFold-predicted models, with experimentally derived distance constraints and information on conformational ensembles, in order to obtain experimentally derived dynamic information. A combination of FATHOM® EPR and current technologies in structural biology will help researchers understand dynamic behavior.
The webinar brought together complementary expertise in structural biology and EPR. Dr. Xinyan Zhang contributed expertise in cryo-electron microscopy, biophysical characterization, and membrane-protein structure determination, while Dr. Austin Gamble Jarvi brought a background in EPR spin labeling and quantum-enabled EPR applications. One speaker, Dr. Xinyan Zhang, is the Principal Scientist and the Senior Project Manager at Creative Biostructure. He conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Zhang has expertise in cryo-electron microscopy, as well as biophysical characterization and the structure determination of membrane proteins. He uses his background to facilitate the translation of structural biology techniques from academia to industry. The other speaker is Dr. Austin Gamble Jarvi, whose PhD research at the University of Pittsburgh was on EPR spin-labeling. He now works at High Q Technologies with the goal of widening the scope of quantum EPR in structural biology and drug discovery. The two speakers provided both technical and application-oriented perspectives on how FATHOM® EPR can help address missing conformational-dynamics information in integrative structural biology.
FATHOM® EPR can support drug-discovery research and the characterization of conformationally heterogeneous systems, including flexible membrane proteins and proteins associated with neurodegenerative disease. FATHOM® EPR can characterize ligand-induced conformational changes by measuring changes in distance distributions under different ligand conditions. It can also help characterize conformational ensembles and structural changes in aggregation-prone proteins such as amyloid-β and tau, which are closely associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Zhang emphasized that protein function is inherently dynamic and that FATHOM® EPR adds an experimental dimension for evaluating structural models. Dr. Jarvi highlighted the potential of quantum-enabled EPR to make these capabilities more accessible to the global research community.”
The free webinar was held on August 18, 2026. Although the live event has passed, the full webinar recording is now available on demand. To watch the replay and learn more about the FATHOM® EPR workflow and its applications, please visit the dedicated service page: https://www.creative-biostructure.com/quantum-epr-spectroscopy-platform.htm. The page also provides detailed information on service offerings, sample requirements, and how to inquire for your specific project. A recorded Q&A session is also available. Creative Biostructure, established in Shirley, NY in 2005, is a contract research organization in structural biology. They provide services in Cryo-EM, X-ray crystallography, and EPR spectroscopy. High Q Technologies provides quantum sensing technologies, with their principal product, FATHOM® EPR, providing dynamic studies in structural biology.
Contact Info:
Name: Joanna Bowie
Email: Send Email
Organization: Creative Biostructure
Website: https://www.creative-biostructure.com
Release ID: 89203216
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