St. Jude appoints leading scientist to create groundbreaking Center of Excellence for Structural Cell Biology

MEMPHIS, Tennessee – November 21, 2024 St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital today announced the addition of Georgios Skiniotis, PhD, as a faculty member in the Department of Structural Biology. Skiniotis will also develop and lead the newly created Center of Excellence for Structural Cell Biology.

In his role as director of the Center of Excellence, Skiniotis will develop a world-class technology center that will advance our understanding of cell biology from the atomic scale to the micron scale, including the implementation of emerging capabilities in cryogenic electron tomography (cryo-ET) and volume electron microscopy (vEM) imaging. This will bridge the strengths of St. Jude in structural biology and cell biology and define the leading edge of innovation in this new field.

“St. Jude has long recognized fundamental biological research as an essential and powerful tool in understanding catastrophic diseases,” said J. Paul Taylor, MD, PhD, Scientific Director and Executive Vice President of St. Jude. “The addition of Dr. Skiniotis allows St. Jude to continue its cutting-edge research, paving the way for fundamental insights into the basis of catastrophic pediatric diseases.”

Skiniotis is a leading scientist in structural biology, contributing to a better understanding of G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling. GPCRs act as the main conduit for information transfer between cells and their environment and represent outstanding therapeutic targets for many pathologies. Skiniotis’s work combines cutting-edge cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) techniques to study proteins’ structure and signaling mechanism in isolation and, more recently, in intact cells through cryo-ET. 

“Understanding the intricate architecture and positioning of proteins along with their dynamic interactions with other molecules in cells is key to unlocking new avenues for therapeutic intervention,” said Skiniotis. “This new Center of Excellence will allow us to build the experimental framework to visualize these and countless other cellular complexes in their native environment, further enabling researchers of different disciplines across the institution to synergize towards understanding underlying diseases and designing novel treatments with improved outcomes.”

Skiniotis comes to St. Jude from Stanford University, where he held the positions of Professor of Structural Biology and Molecular & Cellular Physiology, Director of the Stanford Cryo-EM Center, and Professor, by courtesy, of Photon Science at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC). Skiniotis received his undergraduate degree from the University of Leeds in the UK and his PhD from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany. He has also received numerous awards and honors, including the White House’s Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the Earl and Thressa Stadtman Scholar Award and being named a Pew Scholar. 

###

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital  

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and cures childhood cancer, sickle cell disease and other life-threatening disorders. It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Treatments developed at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to 80% since the hospital opened more than 60 years ago. St. Jude shares the breakthroughs it makes to help doctors and researchers at local hospitals and cancer centers around the world improve the quality of treatment and care for even more children. To learn more, visit stjude.org, read Progress: A Digital Magazine and follow St. Jude on social media at @stjuderesearch.   

St. Jude Media Relations Contacts 

Chelsea Bryant  
Desk: (901) 595-0564 
Cell: (256) 244-2048 
chelsea.bryant@stjude.org 
media@stjude.org 

Rae Lyn Hartley 
Desk: (901) 595-4419 
Cell: (901) 686-2597 

raelyn.rushing@stjude.org 

media@stjude.org 

 

END