Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute at 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
2023A. L. Patterson award, ACA: The Structural Science Society

Publications in PubMed

Publications

164 entries « 2 of 4 »

2019

Nannenga, Brent L; Gonen, Tamir

The cryo-EM method microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) Journal Article

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

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

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

MicroED with the Falcon III direct electron detector Unpublished

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 Unpublished

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 Journal Article

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

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

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 Journal Article

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

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

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 Journal Article

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

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

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 Journal Article

In: Elife, vol. 8, 2019.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

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 Journal Article

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

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

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 Unpublished

bioRxiv, 2018.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

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 Journal Article

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

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

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

MicroED data collection with SerialEM Unpublished

bioRxiv, 2018.

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 Unpublished

bioRxiv, 2018.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

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

A conformational change in the N terminus of SLC38A9 signals mTORC1 activation Unpublished

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 Journal Article

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

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Liu, Shian; Gonen, Tamir

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

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

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

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 Journal Article

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

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

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 Unpublished

bioRxiv, 2018.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

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

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

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

bioRxiv, 2018.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

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 Journal Article

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

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Martynowycz, Michael W; Gonen, Tamir

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

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

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Hughes, Michael P; Sawaya, Michael R; Boyer, David R; Goldschmidt, Lukasz; Rodriguez, Jose A; Cascio, Duilio; Chong, Lisa; Gonen, Tamir; Eisenberg, David S

Atomic structures of low-complexity protein segments reveal kinked β sheets that assemble networks Journal Article

In: Science, vol. 359, no. 6376, pp. 698–701, 2018.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Nannenga, Brent L; Gonen, Tamir

MicroED: a versatile cryoEM method for structure determination Journal Article

In: Emerg Top Life Sci, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 1–8, 2018.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

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 Unpublished

bioRxiv, 2018.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Gallagher-Jones, Marcus; Glynn, Calina; Boyer, David R; Martynowycz, Michael W; Hernandez, Evelyn; Miao, Jennifer; Zee, Chih-Te; Novikova, Irina V; Goldschmidt, Lukasz; McFarlane, Heather T; Helguera, Gustavo F; Evans, James E; Sawaya, Michael R; Cascio, Duilio; Eisenberg, David S; Gonen, Tamir; Rodriguez, Jose A

Sub-ångström cryo-EM structure of a prion protofibril reveals a polar clasp Journal Article

In: Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol., vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 131–134, 2018.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

2017

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 Unpublished

bioRxiv, 2017.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Seidler, P M; Boyer, D R; Rodriguez, J A; Sawaya, M R; Cascio, D; Murray, K; Gonen, T; Eisenberg, D S

Structure-based inhibitors of tau aggregation Journal Article

In: Nat Chem, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 170–176, 2017.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

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

Near-Atomic Cryo-EM Imaging of a Small Protein Displayed on a Designed Scaffolding System Unpublished

bioRxiv, 2017.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Vergara, Sandra; Lukes, Dylan A; Martynowycz, Michael W; Santiago, Ulises; Plascencia-Villa, Germán; Weiss, Simon C; de la Cruz, Jason M; Black, David M; Alvarez, Marcos M; López-Lozano, Xochitl; Barnes, Christopher O; Lin, Guowu; Weissker, Hans-Christian; Whetten, Robert L; Gonen, Tamir; Yacaman, Miguel Jose; Calero, Guillermo

MicroED Structure of Au₁₄₆(p-MBA)₅₇ at Subatomic Resolution Reveals a Twinned FCC Cluster Journal Article

In: J Phys Chem Lett, vol. 8, no. 22, pp. 5523–5530, 2017.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Rodriguez, Jose A; Eisenberg, David S; Gonen, Tamir

Taking the measure of MicroED Journal Article

In: Curr. Opin. Struct. Biol., vol. 46, pp. 79–86, 2017.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Wright, Zoë V F; McCarthy, Stephen; Dickman, Rachel; Reyes, Francis E; Sanchez-Martinez, Silvia; Cryar, Adam; Kilford, Iian; Hall, Adrian; Takle, Andrew K; Topf, Maya; Gonen, Tamir; Thalassinos, Konstantinos; Tabor, Alethea B

The Role of Disulfide Bond Replacements in Analogues of the Tarantula Toxin ProTx-II and Their Effects on Inhibition of the Voltage-Gated Sodium Ion Channel Naᵥ1.7 Journal Article

In: J. Am. Chem. Soc., vol. 139, no. 37, pp. 13063–13075, 2017.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Liu, Shian; Hattne, Johan; Reyes, Francis E; Sanchez-Martinez, Silvia; de la Cruz, Jason M; Shi, Dan; Gonen, Tamir

Atomic resolution structure determination by the cryo-EM method MicroED Journal Article

In: Protein Sci., vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 8–15, 2017.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Hughes, Michael P.; Sawaya, Michael R.; Goldschmidt, Lukasz; Rodriguez, Jose A.; Cascio, Duilio; Gonen, Tamir; Eisenberg, David S.

Low-complexity domains adhere by reversible amyloid-like interactions between kinked β-sheets Unpublished

bioRxiv, 2017.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

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

A method to minimize condenser lens-induced hysteresis effects in a JEOL JEM-3200FSC microscope to enable stable cryoEM low-dose operations Online

bioRxiv 2017.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Martynowycz, Michael W.; Glynn, Calina; Miao, Jennifer; de la Cruz, M. Jason; Hattne, Johan; Shi, Dan; Cascio, Duilio; Rodriguez, Jose; Gonen, Tamir

MicroED Structures from Micrometer Thick Protein Crystals Unpublished

bioRxiv, 2017.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

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 Journal Article

In: J. Biol. Chem., vol. 293, no. 8, pp. 2888–2902, 2017.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

de la Cruz, M. Jason; Hattne, Johan; Shi, Dan; Rodriguez, Jose A.; Reyes, Francis E.; Gonen, Tamir

Micro- and nanocrystal preparation for MicroED and XFEL serial crystallography by fragmentation of imperfect crystals Online

Nature Protocol Exchange 2017.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

de la Cruz, Jason M; Hattne, Johan; Shi, Dan; Seidler, Paul; Rodriguez, Jose; Reyes, Francis E; Sawaya, Michael R; Cascio, Duilio; Weiss, Simon C; Kim, Sun Kyung; Hinck, Cynthia S; Hinck, Andrew P; Calero, Guillermo; Eisenberg, David; Gonen, Tamir

Atomic-resolution structures from fragmented protein crystals with the cryoEM method MicroED Journal Article

In: Nat. Methods, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 399–402, 2017.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Krotee, Pascal; Rodriguez, Jose A; Sawaya, Michael R; Cascio, Duilio; Reyes, Francis E; Shi, Dan; Hattne, Johan; Nannenga, Brent L; Oskarsson, Marie E; Philipp, Stephan; Griner, Sarah; Jiang, Lin; Glabe, Charles G; Westermark, Gunilla T; Gonen, Tamir; Eisenberg, David S

Atomic structures of fibrillar segments of hIAPP suggest tightly mated β-sheets are important for cytotoxicity Journal Article

In: Elife, vol. 6, 2017.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Gonen, Tamir (Ed.)

Challenges in Structural Biology Conference

HHMI Janelia Research Campus, 2017.

2016

Nannenga, Brent L; Gonen, Tamir

MicroED opens a new era for biological structure determination Journal Article

In: Curr. Opin. Struct. Biol., vol. 40, pp. 128–135, 2016.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Sawaya, Michael R; Rodriguez, Jose; Cascio, Duilio; Collazo, Michael J; Shi, Dan; Reyes, Francis E; Hattne, Johan; Gonen, Tamir; Eisenberg, David S

Ab initio structure determination from prion nanocrystals at atomic resolution by MicroED Journal Article

In: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., vol. 113, no. 40, pp. 11232–11236, 2016.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Bale, Jacob B; Gonen, Shane; Liu, Yuxi; Sheffler, William; Ellis, Daniel; Thomas, Chantz; Cascio, Duilio; Yeates, Todd O; Gonen, Tamir; King, Neil P; Baker, David

Accurate design of megadalton-scale two-component icosahedral protein complexes Journal Article

In: Science, vol. 353, no. 6297, pp. 389–394, 2016.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Hsia, Yang; Bale, Jacob B; Gonen, Shane; Shi, Dan; Sheffler, William; Fong, Kimberly K; Nattermann, Una; Xu, Chunfu; Huang, Po‐Ssu.; Ravichandran, Rashmi; Yi, Sue; Davis, Trisha N; Gonen, Tamir; King, Neil P; Baker, David

Design of a hyperstable 60-subunit protein icosahedron Journal Article

In: Nature, vol. 535, no. 7610, pp. 136–139, 2016.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Hattne, Johan; Shi, Dan; de la Cruz, Jason M; Reyes, Francis E; Gonen, Tamir

Modeling truncated pixel values of faint reflections in MicroED images Journal Article

In: J Appl Crystallogr, vol. 49, no. Pt 3, pp. 1029–1034, 2016.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Shi, Dan; Nannenga, Brent L; de la Cruz, Jason M; Liu, Jinyang; Sawtelle, Steven; Calero, Guillermo; Reyes, Francis E; Hattne, Johan; Gonen, Tamir

The collection of MicroED data for macromolecular crystallography Journal Article

In: Nat Protoc, vol. 11, no. 5, pp. 895–904, 2016.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Meyer, Peter A; Socias, Stephanie; Key, Jason; Ransey, Elizabeth; Tjon, Emily C; Buschiazzo, Alejandro; Lei, Ming; Botka, Chris; Withrow, James; Neau, David; Rajashankar, Kanagalaghatta; Anderson, Karen S; Baxter, Richard H; Blacklow, Stephen C; Boggon, Titus J; Bonvin, Alexandre M J J; Borek, Dominika; Brett, Tom J; Caflisch, Amedeo; Chang, Chung-I; Chazin, Walter J; Corbett, Kevin D; Cosgrove, Michael S; Crosson, Sean; Dhe‐Paganon, Sirano; Cera, Enrico Di; Drennan, Catherine L; Eck, Michael J; Eichman, Brandt F; Fan, Qing R; Ferré‐D’Ámaré, Adrian R; Fromme, Christopher J; Garcia, Christopher K; Gaudet, Rachelle; Gong, Peng; Harrison, Stephen C; Heldwein, Ekaterina E; Jia, Zongchao; Keenan, Robert J; Kruse, Andrew C; Kvansakul, Marc; McLellan, Jason S; Modis, Yorgo; Nam, Yunsun; Otwinowski, Zbyszek; Pai, Emil F; Pereira, Pedro José Barbosa; Petosa, Carlo; Raman, C S; Rapoport, Tom A; Roll‐Mecak, Antonina; Rosen, Michael K; Rudenko, Gabby; Schlessinger, Joseph; Schwartz, Thomas U; Shamoo, Yousif; Sondermann, Holger; Tao, Yizhi J; Tolia, Niraj H; Tsodikov, Oleg V; Westover, Kenneth D; Wu, Hao; Foster, Ian; Fraser, James S; Maia, Felipe R N C; Gonen, Tamir; Kirchhausen, Tom; Diederichs, Kay; Crosas, Mercè; Sliz, Piotr

Data publication with the structural biology data grid supports live analysis Journal Article

In: Nat Commun, vol. 7, pp. 10882, 2016.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Rodriguez, J A; Gonen, T

High-Resolution Macromolecular Structure Determination by MicroED, a cryo-EM Method Book Chapter

In: Methods in Enzymology, vol. 579, Chapter 14, pp. 369–392, 2016.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

2015

Rodriguez, Jose A; Ivanova, Magdalena I; Sawaya, Michael R; Cascio, Duilio; Reyes, Francis E; Shi, Dan; Sangwan, Smriti; Guenther, Elizabeth L; Johnson, Lisa M; Zhang, Meng; Jiang, Lin; Arbing, Mark A; Nannenga, Brent L; Hattne, Johan; Whitelegge, Julian; Brewster, Aaron S; Messerschmidt, Marc; Boutet, Sébastien; Sauter, Nicholas K; Gonen, Tamir; Eisenberg, David S

Structure of the toxic core of α-synuclein from invisible crystals Journal Article

In: Nature, vol. 525, no. 7570, pp. 486–490, 2015.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

Bale, Jacob B; Park, Rachel U; Liu, Yuxi; Gonen, Shane; Gonen, Tamir; Cascio, Duilio; King, Neil P; Yeates, Todd O; Baker, David

Structure of a designed tetrahedral protein assembly variant engineered to have improved soluble expression Journal Article

In: Protein Sci., vol. 24, no. 10, pp. 1695–1701, 2015.

Abstract | Links | Altmetric

164 entries « 2 of 4 »