James Fraser
Biophysicist Faculty Scientist
Professor of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, UC San Francisco
Recent Pubilcations
Related News
Fraser Honored by The Protein Society
James Fraser, a faculty scientist in MBIB, was presented with the Carl Brändén Award during The Protein Society’s recent 39th Annual Symposium, held in San Francisco. The Brändén Award honors an outstanding protein scientist who has also made exceptional contributions in the areas of education and/or service to the field.
AI Technology Designs Novel Functional Enzyme
Researchers used an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm, similar to those used in natural-language “chatbot” models, to design a functional protein that was then structurally validated at the Advanced Light Source.
Building Blocks for COVID-19 Antiviral Drugs Identified in Rapid Study
Members of the UC San Francisco Quantitative Bioscience Institute Coronavirus Research Group (QCRG), in collaboration with Berkeley Lab and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), have identified key chemical building blocks for an eventual antiviral drug against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The newly identified compounds bind to an enzyme produced by the virus, called the “macro domain,” which is known to be crucial for the virus’s ability to replicate in human cells. The authors are writing up a formal manuscript describing the results for submission to a peer-reviewed academic journal, but also published their data directly online on July 1 to accelerate global efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
