The UNIVMED-AFMB laboratory (UMR 6098, affiliated to the CNRS, the University of Provence and the University of the Mediterranée) is a Structural Biology laboratory, which counts approximately 84 persons, out of which 33 hold permanent positions. Since January 2007, the UNIVMED-AFMB laboratory is organized in two research Departments supported by a state-of-the- art technical platform and various services. The UNIVMED-AFMB Laboratory is at the forefront of structural proteomics and has developed an operating structural proteomics platform "from gene to structure", which includes domain design, parallel and robotised cloning, expression, purification and crystallisation steps of targets of interest. This structure allows an efficient involvement in several European projects on viral enzymes.

Tasks:

Viral proteins production. Data Management and scientific/technical management Experience: Since 2000, UNIVMED-AFMB set up a HT platform for protein production and developed methods dedicated to viral proteins. Several members of the team have been involved in European projects management.

Key staff members:

Jean Louis Romette: project scientific coordinator, is professor at the "University de la Méditerranée" . Before joining the UNIVMED and UNIVMED-AFMB in 1994, he was the R&D manager of the BioPharma Process division of the TetraLaval International company, based in Zurich (CH).

Bruno Canard is Research Director, in charge of the UNIVMED-AFMB group "Viral replication: structure, mechanism, and drug-design". He is also the coordinator of the European Integrated project VIZIER (http://www.vizier-europe.org/). He has 96 published articles in refereed journal.

Bruno Coutard is a young scientist, in charge of the viral protein production platform. He was involved in several Structural Genomics Projects and is currently the Production Manager of VIZIER.

Philippe Lieutaud is a Bioinformatics engineer who is in charge of the conception, developments and management of the EVA project’s Website, Bioinformatics and DataBases. Before joining this project he was involved in the European Integrated project "VIZIER" in which he gained experience in these areas of expertise.

Ernest Gould is the former Director of CEH Oxford and Virology Research Fellow; he has 179 published articles in refereed journals and one of the largest collections of arboviruses in the world.

References:

Coutard B, Gorbalenya AE, Snijder EJ, Leontovich AM, Poupon A, De Lamballerie X, Charrel R, Gould EA, Gunther S, Norder H, Klempa B, Bourhy H, Rohayem J, L’hermite E, Nordlund P, Stuart DI, Owens RJ, Grimes JM, Tucker PA, Bolognesi M, Mattevi A, Coll M, Jones TA, Aqvist J, Unge T, Hilgenfeld R, Bricogne G, Neyts J, La Colla P, Puerstinger G, Gonzalez JP, Leroy E, Cambillau C, Romette JL, Canard B.The VIZIER project: Preparedness against pathogenic RNA viruses. Antiviral Res. 2007 Nov 29

Care S, Bignon C, Pelissier MC, Blanc E, Canard B, Coutard B. The translation of recombinant proteins in E. coli can be improved by in silico generating and screening random libraries of a -70/+96 mRNA region with respect to the translation initiation codon. Nucleic Acids Res. 2008 Jan;36(1):e6

Gould EA, Solomon T.* Pathogenic flaviviruses. Lancet. 2008 Feb 9;371(9611):500-9.

Romette JL, Benarroch D, Canard B, Egloff MP Capping enzyme of Flavivirus and utilization of this protein in a process to test drugs with antiviral properties Brevet US 6,949,353, (2005)

Romette JL, Benarroch D, Canard B, Egloff M, Selisko B Active truncated form of the RNA polymerase of Flavivirus Brevet US PCT US 10/857,244 (08/2004), publication (2005)