Spring 2001 -- Vol. 18, No. 1

FACES OF PENN STATE

Song Tan
Assistant professor of biochemistry

Song Tan uses X-ray crystallography to study the structures of proteins involved in gene regulation. He hopes to learn how genes get turned on or off and how that process differs between normal and cancerous cells.

Long hours of painstaking preparation followed by meticulous research and the study of results account for a large part of what Song Tan does on a daily basis.

His efforts represent the culmination of years of hard work as well as ongoing collaborations among colleagues and members of his laboratory.

What he does also requires a bit of luck. Rarely do scientists acknowledge the role of luck, but Tan does not mean luck in terms of his scientific method or research results. Through the use of X-ray crystallography, Tan visualizes proteins involved in gene regulation. Two basic methods exist for such research--either magnetic imaging, much like an MRI used for diagnostic purposes in health-care situations, or X-rays of crystallized solutions that contain the proteins of interest.

Creating the crystals represents one of the most difficult facets of X-ray research--and that's where luck can make an impact. Using supersaturated fluids, members of Tan's laboratory group attempt to create their protein crystals by evaporation in much the same way grade-school experimenters create salt or sugar crystals. But crystals do not always form in a consistent manner, and Tan's work requires perfectly formed crystals.

"There are so many things that can go wrong in the process that you wonder how it's going to work," Tan says. "But, it does work. And the results are simply amazing."

Ensuring a more scientific process for crystallization represents one of the significant goals of Tan's laboratory. He hopes to limit any unknowns and make his work even more predictable and productive.

Using X-ray techniques appeals to Tan for personal and practical reasons. He appreciates the visual aspect of the work and likes seeing what molecules look like. In addition, X-ray crystallography allows him to study complexes that are larger than those that can be studied exclusively through magnetic imaging. Mixing fields of study and different techniques also defines much of Tan's approach. He appreciates the cross-disciplinary nature of the work that often combines biochemistry, genetics, protein chemistry, protein expression, computation, and physics to address biological questions.

"One of the goals of the project is to determine the structure and that's an end but it's also a beginning," Tan says. "You have to determine the structure in the context of other people's biochemical and genetic results."

He believes he has an opportunity to do that because the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology features a very collegial atmosphere. Those in the department agree on that and on the importance of Tan's role.

"He's a perfect fit," says Robert Schlegel, head of the department. "Much of the regulatory machinery is composed of several different proteins complexed with each other and with DNA. He was among the first to solve the structure of a simple complex of this sort and he's positioned to solve the structure of large complexes in collaboration with faculty here and elsewhere."

-- By Steve Sampsell

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