Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Professor, Biological Chemistry and Physiology, UCLA

Tamir Gonen is a membrane biophysicist and an expert in crystallography and cryo-EM. Gonen is a professor of Biological Chemistry and Physiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine of the University of California, Los Angeles, an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and a Member of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He received a Career Development Award from the American Diabetes Association and was an Early Career Scientist of HHMI. Gonen served on several study sections of the National Institutes of Health and acted as ad hoc reviewer for several international funding agencies. In 2011 while leading a lab at the HHMI Janelia Research Campus he began developing microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) as a new method for structural biology. In 2017 Dr Gonen moved his laboratory to the David Geffen School of Medicine of the University of California, Los Angeles as an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a Professor of Biological Chemistry and Physiology, where he continues studying membrane protein structure and function using cryo-EM and MicroED. With this method Dr Gonen has pushed the boundaries of cryo-EM and determined several previously unknown structures at resolutions better than 1 Å. Gonen authored more than 120 publications and several of his past trainees are now faculty around the world at top universities.

Honors

1996Dean’s list—Organic Chemistry, University of Auckland, New Zealand
1996Dean’s list—Inorganic Chemistry, University of Auckland, New Zealand
1997Center for Gene Technology Research Scholarship, University of Auckland, New Zealand
1997Dean’s List—Inorganic Chemistry, University of Auckland, New Zealand
1998Senior prize in Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, New Zealand
1998First class honors in Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, New Zealand
1999University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship, University of Auckland, New Zealand
2000Contestable Travel Fund Award, University of Auckland, New Zealand
2001Contestable Travel Fund Award, University of Auckland, New Zealand
2009American Diabetes Association Career Development Award
2009Howard Hughes Medical Institute Early Career Scientist
2010New investigator, Science in Medicine Lecture
2012Member, The Royal Society of New Zealand
2017Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
2018Chair elect, Biophysical Society cryo-EM subgroup
2023Thermo Fisher MicroED Innovation Award
2023A. L. Patterson award, ACA: The Structural Science Society

Publications in PubMed

Publications

192 entries « 2 of 4 »

2021

Danelius, E; Gonen, T

Protein and Small Molecule Structure Determination by the Cryo-EM Method MicroED

In: Owens, Raymond J. (Ed.): vol. 2305, pp. 323–342, 2021.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Martynowycz, M W; Gonen, T

Studying Membrane Protein Structures by MicroED

In: Schmidt-Krey, Ingeborg; Gumbart, James C. (Ed.): vol. 2302, pp. 137–151, 2021.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Martynowycz, M W; Gonen, T

Microcrystal Electron Diffraction of Small Molecules

In: J Vis Exp, no. 169, 2021.

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Halaby, Steve; Martynowycz, Michael W.; Zhu, Ziyue; Tretiak, Sergei; Zhugayevych, Andriy; Gonen, Tamir; and Martin Seifrid,

Microcrystal Electron Diffraction for Molecular Design of Functional Non-Fullerene Acceptor Structures

In: Chem. Mater., vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 966–977, 2021.

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Martynowycz, Michael W.; Gonen, Tamir

Ligand Incorporation into Protein Microcrystals for MicroED by On-Grid Soaking

In: Structure, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 88–95.e2, 2021.

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2020

Martynowycz, M W; Khan, F; Hattne, J; Abramson, J; Gonen, T

MicroED structure of lipid-embedded mammalian mitochondrial voltage-dependent anion channel

In: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, vol. 117, no. 51, pp. 32380–32385, 2020.

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Zhu, Lan; Bu, Guanhong; Jing, Liang; Shi, Dan; Lee, Ming-Yue; Gonen, Tamir; Liu, Wei; Nannenga, Brent L.

Structure Determination from Lipidic Cubic Phase Embedded Microcrystals by MicroED

In: Structure, vol. 28, no. 10, pp. 1149–1159.e4, 2020.

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Martynowycz, Michael W.; Shiriaeva, Anna; Ge, Xuanrui; Hattne, Johan; Nannenga, Brent L.; Cherezov, Vadim; Gonen, Tamir

MicroED structure of the human adenosine receptor determined from a single nanocrystal in LCP

bioRxiv, 2020.

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Nannenga, Brent L.; Gonen, Tamir

Microcrystal electron diffraction methodology and applications

In: MRS Bulletin, vol. 44, pp. 956–960, 2020.

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Martynowycz, Michael W.; Khan, Farha; Hattne, Johan; Abramson, Jeff; Gonen, Tamir

MicroED structure of lipid-embedded mammalian mitochondrial voltage dependent anion channel

bioRxiv, 2020.

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Danelius, E; Halaby, S; van der Donk, W A; Gonen, T

MicroED in natural product and small molecule research

In: Nat Prod Rep, vol. 38, no. 3, 2020.

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Richards, Logan S.; Millán, Claudia; Miao, Jennifer; Martynowycz, Michael W.; Sawaya, Michael R.; Gonen, Tamir; Borges, Rafael J.; Usón, Isabel; Rodriguez, Jose A.

Fragment-based determination of a proteinase K structure from MicroED data using ARCIMBOLDO_SHREDDER

In: Acta Crystallogr D Biol Crystallogr., vol. 76, no. 8, pp. 703-712, 2020.

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Nguyen, Chi; Gonen, Tamir

Beyond protein structure determination with MicroED

In: Curr. Opin. Struct. Biol., vol. 64, pp. 51–58, 2020.

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Martynowycz, Michael W.; Gonen, Tamir

Efficient, high-throughput ligand incorporation into protein microcrystals by on-grid soaking

bioRxiv, 2020.

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Martynowycz, M W; Hattne, J; Gonen, T

Experimental Phasing of MicroED Data Using Radiation Damage

In: Structure, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 458–464, 2020.

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Wolff, A M; Young, I D; Sierra, R G; Brewster, A S; Martynowycz, M W; Nango, E; Sugahara, M; Nakane, T; Ito, K; Aquila, A; Bhowmick, A; Biel, J T; Carbajo, S; Cohen, A E; Cortez, S; Gonzalez, A; Hino, T; Im, D; Koralek, J D; Kubo, M; Lazarou, T S; Nomura, T; Owada, S; Samelson, A J; Tanaka, T; Tanaka, R; Thompson, E M; van den Bedem, H; Woldeyes, R A; Yumoto, F; Zhao, W; Tono, K; Boutet, S; Iwata, S; Gonen, T; Sauter, N K; Fraser, J S; Thompson, M C

Comparing serial X-ray crystallography and microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) as methods for routine structure determination from small macromolecular crystals

In: IUCrJ, vol. 7, no. Pt 2, pp. 306–323, 2020.

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2019

Dick, Markus; Sarai, Nicholas S; Martynowycz, Michael W; Gonen, Tamir; Arnold, Frances H

Tailoring Tryptophan Synthase TrpB for Selective Quaternary Carbon Bond Formation

In: J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2019.

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Martynowycz, Michael W.; Hattne, Johan; Gonen, Tamir

Experimental phasing of MicroED data using radiation damage

bioRxiv, 2019.

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Griner, Sarah L; Seidler, Paul; Bowler, Jeannette; Murray, Kevin A; Yang, Tianxiao Peter; Sahay, Shruti; Sawaya, Michael R; Cascio, Duilio; Rodriguez, Jose A; Philipp, Stephan; Sosna, Justyna; Glabe, Charles G; Gonen, Tamir; Eisenberg, David S

Structure-based inhibitors of amyloid beta core suggest a common interface with tau

In: Elife, vol. 8, 2019.

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Martynowycz, Michael W; Zhao, Wei; Hattne, Johan; Jensen, Grant J; Gonen, Tamir

Qualitative Analyses of Polishing and Precoating FIB Milled Crystals for MicroED

In: Structure, vol. 27, no. 10, pp. 1594–1600, 2019.

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Wolff, Alexander M; Young, Iris D; Sierra, Raymond G; Brewster, Aaron S; Martynowycz, Michael W; Nango, Eriko; Sugahara, Michihiro; Nakane, Takanori; Ito, Kazutaka; Aquila, Andrew; Bhowmick, Asmit; Biel, Justin T; Carbajo, Sergio; Cohen, Aina E; Cortez, Saul; Gonzalez, Ana; Hino, Tomoya; Im, Dohyun; Koralek, Jake D; Kubo, Minoru; Lazarou, Tomas S; Nomura, Takashi; Owada, Shigeki; Samelson, Avi; Tanaka, Rie; Tanaka, Tomoyuki; Thompson, Erin M; van den Bedem, Henry; Woldeyes, Rahel A; Yumoto, Fumiaki; Zhao, Wei; Tono, Kensuke; Boutet, Sébastien; Iwata, So; Gonen, Tamir; Sauter, Nicholas K; Fraser, James S; Thompson, Michael C

Comparing serial X-ray crystallography and microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) as methods for routine structure determination from small macromolecular crystals

bioRxiv, 2019.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Dick, Markus; Sarai, Nicholas S.; Martynowycz, Michael W.; Gonen, Tamir; Arnold, Frances H.

Tailoring Tryptophan Synthase TrpB for Selective Quaternary Carbon Bond Formation

ChemRxiv, 2019.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Hattne, Johan; Martynowycz, Michael W; Penczek, Pawel A; Gonen, Tamir

MicroED with the Falcon III direct electron detector

In: IUCrJ, vol. 6, no. Pt 5, pp. 921–926, 2019.

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Zhu, Lan; Bu, Guanhong; Jing, Liang; Shi, Dan; Gonen, Tamir; Liu, Wei; Nannenga, Brent L.

Structure determination from lipidic cubic phase embedded microcrystals by MicroED

bioRxiv, 2019.

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Warmack, Rebeccah A; Boyer, David R; Zee, Chih-Te; Richards, Logan S; Sawaya, Michael R; Cascio, Duilio; Gonen, Tamir; Eisenberg, David S; Clarke, Steven G

Structure of amyloid-β (20-34) with Alzheimer's-associated isomerization at Asp23 reveals a distinct protofilament interface

In: Nat Commun, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 3357, 2019.

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Ting, Chi P; Funk, Michael A; Halaby, Steve L; Zhang, Zhengan; Gonen, Tamir; van der Donk, Wilfred A

Use of a scaffold peptide in the biosynthesis of amino acid-derived natural products

In: Science, vol. 365, no. 6450, pp. 280–284, 2019.

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Martynowycz, Michael W.; Gonen, Tamir

MicroED Structure of Hexagonal Ice Ih

ChemRxiv 2019.

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de la Cruz, Jason M; Martynowycz, Michael W; Hattne, Johan; Gonen, Tamir

MicroED data collection with SerialEM

In: Ultramicroscopy, vol. 201, pp. 77–80, 2019.

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Nannenga, Brent L; Gonen, Tamir

The cryo-EM method microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED)

In: Nat. Methods, vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 369–379, 2019.

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Hattne, Johan; Martynowycz, Michael W.; Gonen, Tamir

MicroED with the Falcon III direct electron detector

bioRxiv, 2019.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Martynowycz, Michael W.; Zhao, Wei; Hattne, Johan; Jensen, Grant J.; Gonen, Tamir

Qualitative analyses of polishing and pre-coating FIB milled crystals for MicroED

bioRxiv, 2019.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Martynowycz, Michael W; Zhao, Wei; Hattne, Johan; Jensen, Grant J; Gonen, Tamir

Collection of Continuous Rotation MicroED Data from Ion Beam-Milled Crystals of Any Size

In: Structure, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 545–548, 2019.

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Zee, Chih-Te; Glynn, Calina; Gallagher-Jones, Marcus; Miao, Jennifer; Santiago, Carlos G; Cascio, Duilio; Gonen, Tamir; Sawaya, Michael R; Rodriguez, Jose A

Homochiral and racemic MicroED structures of a peptide repeat from the ice-nucleation protein InaZ

In: IUCrJ, vol. 6, no. Pt 2, pp. 197–205, 2019.

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Ma, Jinming; Lei, Hsiang-Ting; Reyes, Francis E; Sanchez-Martinez, Silvia; Sarhan, Maen F; Hattne, Johan; Gonen, Tamir

Structural basis for substrate binding and specificity of a sodium-alanine symporter AgcS

In: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., vol. 116, no. 6, pp. 2086–2090, 2019.

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2018

Purdy, Michael D; Shi, Dan; Chrustowicz, Jakub; Hattne, Johan; Gonen, Tamir; Yeager, Mark

MicroED structures of HIV-1 Gag CTD-SP1 reveal binding interactions with the maturation inhibitor bevirimat

In: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., vol. 115, no. 52, pp. 13258–13263, 2018.

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Zee, Chih-Te; Glynn, Calina; Gallagher-Jones, Marcus; Miao, Jennifer; Santiago, Carlos G.; Cascio, Duilio; Gonen, Tamir; Sawaya, Michael R.; Rodriguez, Jose A.

Homochiral and racemic MicroED structures of a peptide from the ice nucleation protein InaZ

bioRxiv, 2018.

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Jones, Christopher G; Martynowycz, Michael W; Hattne, Johan; Fulton, Tyler J; Stoltz, Brian M; Rodriguez, Jose A; Nelson, Hosea M; Gonen, Tamir

The CryoEM Method MicroED as a Powerful Tool for Small Molecule Structure Determination

In: ACS Cent Sci, vol. 4, no. 11, pp. 1587–1592, 2018.

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de la Cruz, M. Jason; Martynowycz, Michael W.; Hattne, Johan; Gonen, Tamir

MicroED data collection with SerialEM

bioRxiv, 2018.

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Jones, Christopher G.; Martynowycz, Michael W.; Hattne, Johan; Fulton, Tyler J.; Stoltz, Brian M.; Rodriguez, Jose A.; Nelson, Hosea; Gonen, Tamir

The CryoEM Method MicroED as a Powerful Tool for Small Molecule Structure Determination

ChemRxiv, 2018.

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Martynowycz, Michael W.; Zhao, Wei; Hattne, Johan; Jensen, Grant J.; Gonen, Tamir

Collection of continuous rotation MicroED Data from Ion Beam Milled Crystals of Any Size

bioRxiv, 2018.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Jinming, Ma; Lei, Hsiang-Ting; Gonen, Tamir

A conformational change in the N terminus of SLC38A9 signals mTORC1 activation

bioRxiv, 2018.

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Lei, Hsiang-Ting; Ma, Jinming; Martinez, Silvia Sanchez; Gonen, Tamir

Crystal structure of arginine-bound lysosomal transporter SLC38A9 in the cytosol-open state

In: Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol., vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 522–527, 2018.

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Liu, Shian; Gonen, Tamir

MicroED structure of the NaK ion channel reveals a Na⁺ partition process into the selectivity filter

In: Commun Biol, vol. 1, pp. 38, 2018.

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Hattne, Johan; Shi, Dan; Glynn, Calina; Zee, Chih-Te; Gallagher-Jones, Marcus; Martynowycz, Michael W; Rodriguez, Jose A; Gonen, Tamir

Analysis of Global and Site-Specific Radiation Damage in Cryo-EM

In: Structure, vol. 26, no. 5, pp. 759–766, 2018.

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Ma, Jinming; Lei, Hsiang-Ting; Reyes, Francis E.; Sanchez-Martinez, Silvia; Sarhan, Maen; Gonen, Tamir

Structural basis for substrate binding and specificity of a sodium/alanine symporter AgcS

bioRxiv, 2018.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Lei, Hsiang-Ting; Ma, Jinming; Martinez, Silvia Sanchez; Gonen, Tamir

Crystal structure of arginine-bound lysosomal transporter SLC38A9 in the cytosol-open state

bioRxiv, 2018.

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Guenther, Elizabeth L; Ge, Peng; Trinh, Hamilton; Sawaya, Michael R; Cascio, Duilio; Boyer, David R; Gonen, Tamir; Zhou, Hong Z; Eisenberg, David S

Atomic-level evidence for packing and positional amyloid polymorphism by segment from TDP-43 RRM2

In: Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol., vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 311–319, 2018.

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Liu, Yuxi; Gonen, Shane; Gonen, Tamir; Yeates, Todd O

Near-atomic cryo-EM imaging of a small protein displayed on a designed scaffolding system

In: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., vol. 115, no. 13, pp. 3362–3367, 2018.

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Martynowycz, Michael W; Gonen, Tamir

From electron crystallography of 2D crystals to MicroED of 3D crystals

In: Curr Opin Colloid Interface Sci, vol. 34, pp. 9–16, 2018.

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Krotee, Pascal; Griner, Sarah L; Sawaya, Michael R; Cascio, Duilio; Rodriguez, Jose A; Shi, Dan; Philipp, Stephan; Murray, Kevin; Saelices, Lorena; Lee, Ji; Seidler, Paul; Glabe, Charles G; Jiang, Lin; Gonen, Tamir; Eisenberg, David S

Common fibrillar spines of amyloid-β and human islet amyloid polypeptide revealed by microelectron diffraction and structure-based inhibitors

In: J. Biol. Chem., vol. 293, no. 8, pp. 2888–2902, 2018.

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192 entries « 2 of 4 »