CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter
Cluster of ExcellenceCUI: Advanced
Imaging of Matter
Imaging of Matter
British Crystallographic Association Award for Andrea Thorn
14 April 2022
Photo: Cromarte Rogers / Coronavirus Structural Task Force
Dr. Andrea Thorn is a specialist in the development of new methods in crystallography and cryo electron microscopy.
Dr. Andrea Thorn of the Department of Physics at Universität Hamburg has been awarded the BSG Early Career Prize of the British Crystallographic Association. The structural biologist receives the award for her contributions to the study of coronavirus and for her results on the use of artificial intelligence in structural biology.
Andrea Thorn is a specialist in the development of new methods in crystallography and cryo electron microscopy, developing, for example, software to help researchers optimize the measurement and processing of crystallographic data and the AI-assisted method HARUSPEX for the automatic interpretation of cryo-electron microscopy results.
After positions in Cambridge, Oxford and Würzburg, Andrea Thorn moved to Hamburg at the end of 2020 and now heads a junior research group at the Institute of Nanostructure and Solid-State Physics. Since 2022, she has also been conducting research in the cluster "CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter" and is involved in the cluster's "Machine Learning Task Force".
Dr. Thorn's team is one of the few structural biology groups with experience in biological preparation and measurement at large facilities, as well as expertise in developing new algorithms. This deep understanding of methodology allows them to closely examine and - where possible - improve upon molecular structures that were found by other researchers. Since 2020, the "Coronavirus Structural Task Force" under Dr. Thorn's leadership has been reviewing all published molecular structures from the coronaviruses SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. Their work has been a significant contribution in the fight against the pandemic, as the improved structures can then be used to develop drugs and vaccines against COVID-19.
The BSG Early Career Prize is awarded by the British Society of Crystallography to promising young researchers in structural biology. The prize was awarded on 13 April 2022 at the Society's spring meeting.
