Comparative modeling in structural genomics.

team research. Moreover, to address fundamental problems in medicine and biology, there is no one tool that can provide all the answers. Thus, in addition to developing specific technologies, a second set of programs is envisioned, focusing on bringing together topicor disease-based expertise with multiple structural methodologies to work on a key problem in medicine and biology. For these teams, an emphasis would also be placed on developing approaches to foster integration of the structural expertise and technologists with functional analyses of the system under investigation. The objective here is to demonstrate the power of integration by achieving successes in specific areas of high biomedical relevance. This aspect of the PSI would lead naturally to partnerships with disease-based institutes at NIH. How would this modified PSI operate? The key feature is that rather than developing a small number of very large centers, the new PSI strategy would involve a series of tightly coordinated smaller groups, each with a specific focus that feeds into the overall technology development plan. These delocalized and smaller-scale teams would be built around institutional and regional groups of investigators who can interact readily on a daily basis. The smaller size and larger number of research teams will provide for a much greater degree of flexibility and adaptability. In this scenario, there has to be a very strong central organizational structure responsible for maintaining a high degree of coordination of the research efforts and facile exchange between the various teams. This group could be housed at one of the existing PSI sites or on the NIH campus. The NIGMS PSI is evolving and the time is ripe to make key modifications in response to new knowledge and the changing environment. Generating a consensus across the structural biology community and focusing on grand structural challenges will enhance the PSI and result in high impact on the biomedical research enterprise.