Gabriele Cordara

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Room VU50/VU54
Username
Visiting address Sem Sælands vei 26 0371 Oslo
Postal address Postboks 1033,Blindern 0315 Oslo

Academic interests

Proteins are carbon-based nanomachines, one of the 'big four' building blocks of living matter, mediating actions as diverse as contracting muscles, seeing colors or digesting food. Their three-dimensional structure reveals how a limited chemical toolbox, the 21 proteinogenic amino acids, is assembled in clever combinations, forming molecular devices that carry out complex tasks.

My professional interest lies in understanding what specific proteins do, how they work, and why. In practical terms, I collect structural data and use them to understand the mechanism underlying known protein-mediated processes or to investigate the function of poorly understood proteins. Experimentally, I mainly rely on X-ray diffraction-based methods for structural analysis (X-ray crystallography, SAXS), which I integrate with a broad spectrum of biochemical and biophysical techniques for functional characterization.

 

Curriculum vitæ

I studied Chemistry/Physical Chemistry at the University of Turin (Turin, Italy) graduating in 2006 with a MSc thesis on a Molecular Angiogenesis project (Federico Bussolino's lab, Candiolo Cancer Institute, Turin, Italy). I got my PhD in 2013, at the University of Oslo, working in Ute Krengel's Structural Biology Lab and mainly focusing on structure-functional analysis of cytotoxic lectins.

Later on, I worked as a postdoctoral fellow/lecturer at Rikkert Wierenga's lab (Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Finland), on a structure-based enzyme redesign project. In 2018 I joined back the Krengel's lab, where I am involved in several projects, ranging from lectins to bacterial toxins, metabolic enzyme and colonization factors. I am additionally responsible for day-to-day operations of both the Krengel's lab and the PX-Oslo Protein Crystallization Core Facility.

 

Courses taught

  • Protein Crystallography ( KJM4350 / KJM9350 - BIOCAT): data processing theory, model building/refinement and molecular graphics labs
  • Biomolecular Structure and Function ( KJM5310 / KJM9310 - BIOCAT): molecular graphics lab
  • Structural Biology Techniques  ( KJM5320 ): molecular graphics lab
  • Advanced molecular and pharmaceutical microbiology course ( FARMBIOS4860 ): drug design lecture

 

Tags: metabolic enzymes, lectins, adhesins, toxins, structural biology, biological chemistry, biochemistry, protein structure, X-ray diffraction, glycobiology, Life Science

Publications

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  • Stocker, Christian; Khatanbaatar, Tamjidmaa; Bressan, Luca; Würth-Roderer, Kathrin; Cordara, Gabriele & Krengel, Ute [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2023). Novel exported bifunctional fusion enzymes with chorismate mutase and cyclohexadienyl dehydratase activity: shikimate pathway enzymes teamed up in no man's land. bioRxiv. ISSN 2692-8205. doi: 10.1101/2023.03.13.532365.
  • Kersten, Flore Marie Colette; Cordara, Gabriele & Krengel, Ute (2023). Cryo-EM reveals a novel domain fold of a fungal toxin.
  • Kersten, Flore Marie Colette; Cordara, Gabriele & Krengel, Ute (2022). Cryo-EM structure of a fungal toxin.
  • Kersten, Flore Marie Colette; Cordara, Gabriele & Krengel, Ute (2022). Cryo-EM structure of a fungal toxin.
  • Kersten, Flore Marie Colette; Cordara, Gabriele & Krengel, Ute (2022). Cryo-EM structure of a fungal chimerolectin.
  • Manna, Dipankar; Cordara, Gabriele; Sandvig, Kirsten & Krengel, Ute (2016). I Robot- Biological nanomachines for fungal defense.
  • Manna, Dipankar; Cordara, Gabriele; Pust, Sascha; Goldstein, Irwin J; Winter, Harry C. & Krengel, Ute [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2015). PSL1a: a new member in the growing family of fungal chimerolectin.
  • Manna, Dipankar; Cordara, Gabriele; Goldstein, Irwin J. & Krengel, Ute (2014). Conserved catalytic machinery in the MOA-PSL family of fungal chimerolectins.
  • Cordara, Gabriele (2013). Thermofluor - A complementary technique in structural biology.
  • Cordara, Gabriele (2013). Structure-function studies on the proteolytic mechanism of the Marasmius oreades agglutinin (MOA), a cytotoxic lectin.
  • Manna, Dipankar; Cordara, Gabriele; Goldstein, Irwin J. & Krengel, Ute (2013). Towards structural and functional characterization of the Marasmius oreades agglutinin (MOA) and its role in host-pathogen interactions.
  • Munack, Steffi; Cordara, Gabriele; Van Eerde, Jan Hendrik; Kamarauskaite, Jurate; Roderer, Kathrin & Kast, Peter [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2012). Towards New Drugs Against Tuberculosis.
  • Cordara, Gabriele; Goldstein, Irwin; Sandvig, Kirsten & Krengel, Ute (2012). Structure-function studies on the proteolytic activity of the Marasmius oreades agglutinin (MOA), a cytotoxic lectin.
  • Munack, Steffi; Roderer, Kathrin; Kamarauskaite, Jurate; Cordara, Gabriele; van Eerde, André & Kast, Peter [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2012). Towards New Drugs Against Tuberculosis.
  • Cordara, Gabriele; Grahn, Elin; Jacobsen, Wolfgang Mathias; Goldstein, Irwin; Sandvig, Kirsten & Krengel, Ute (2012). Marasmius oreades Agglutinin (MOA): proteolytic activity of a cytotoxic lectin.
  • Cordara, Gabriele; Grahn, Elin; Jacobsen, Wolfgang Mathias; Goldstein, Irwin; Sandvig, Kirsten & Krengel, Ute (2011). MOA : structure-driven discovery of the proteolytic activity of a cytotoxic lectin.
  • Cordara, Gabriele; Grahn, Elin; Jacobsen, Wolfgang Mathias; Goldstein, IJ; Sandvig, Kirsten & Krengel, Ute (2011). Marasmius oreades agglutinin (MOA) is a cytotoxic lectin with proteolytic activity.
  • Cordara, Gabriele; Grahn, Elin; Jacobsen, Wolfgang Mathias; Goldstein, IJ; Sandvig, Kirsten & Krengel, Ute (2011). Marasmius oreades agglutinin (MOA): A lectin with a proteolytic domain.
  • Cordara, Gabriele; Grahn, Elin; Jacobsen, Wolfgang Mathias; Goldstein, IJ; Sandvig, Kirsten & Krengel, Ute (2011). MOA : structure-driven discovery of the proteolytic activity of a cytotoxic lectin.
  • Cordara, Gabriele; Grahn, Elin; Jacobsen, Wolfgang Mathias; Goldstein, IJ; Sandvig, Kirsten & Krengel, Ute (2011). MOA : structure-driven discovery of the proteolytic activity of a cytotoxic lectin.
  • Cordara, Gabriele; Grahn, Elin; Jacobsen, Wolfgang Mathias; Goldstein, IJ; Sandvig, Kirsten & Krengel, Ute (2010). MOA – A cytotoxic lectin from a mushroom could provide an animal model for HUS/TPP.
  • Cordara, Gabriele (2010). MOA - s sugar binding protein - From structure to hypotheses on function.
  • Cordara, Gabriele; Grahn, Elin; Goldstein, IJ & Krengel, Ute (2010). MOA, a sugar binding protein - From structure to hypotheses on function.
  • Cordara, Gabriele; Krengel, Ute & Sandvig, Kirsten (2013). Structure-function studies on the Marasmius oreades agglutinin (MOA), a cytotoxic protease. Akademika Publishing.

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Published June 17, 2019 9:56 AM - Last modified May 15, 2024 9:25 PM