Wikipedia

Draft:Garib Murshudov

Garib Murshudov
Garib Murshudov in Shusha
Born (1962-12-19) December 19, 1962 (age 62)
Dallar Jayir, Shamkir District, Azerbaijan,
Alma materBaku State University (B.Sc., M.Sc.)
Institute of Crystallography, Moscow (PhD)
Known forREFMAC5, AceDRG, Servalcat
AwardsHonored Scientist of Azerbaijan (2022)
Member of European Molecular Biology Organization
Scientific career
FieldsStructural biology, Computational biology
InstitutionsUniversity of York, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology

Garib Novruz Murshudov (Qərib Novruz oğlu Mürşüdov; born 19 December 1962) is an Azerbaijani-British Applied Mathematician and Structural Biologist, renowned for his contributions to computational structural biology, particularly in macromolecular crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM)[1]. He is a Group Leader at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge[1], United Kingdom, and an Honored Scientist of Azerbaijan[2]. His research focuses on developing mathematical, statistical, and computational algorithms to analyse and model biological macromolecules.

Early life and education

edit

Garib N Murshudov was born in Dallar-Jayir (Dəllər Cəyir) village, Shamkir District (Şəmkir Rayonu), Azerbaijan, on 19 December 1962. He received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics and Cybernetics at Baku State University in 1985, graduating with distinction. He later pursued a Ph.D. at the Institute of Crystallography, Moscow, defending his dissertation in 1993 on Three-dimensional structure of the enzyme catalase, isolated from the bacterium Micrococcus lysodeikticus at a resolution of 1.5 Å.

 
Garib Murshudov with school children in Shamkir, Azerbaijan

Career

edit

Between 1985 and 1987, Murshudov worked at the Institute of Physics in Baku, before moving to the Institute of Crystallography in Moscow (1987–1993). In 1993, he joined the University of York[3], UK, as a postdoctoral researcher in the Chemistry Department’s Structural Biology Laboratory. From 2001 to 2011, he held a Wellcome Trust Senior Fellowship[4], where he established his own research group. Since 2011, he has been a Group Leader at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, heading the Computational Structural Biology Group.

His research focuses on developing algorithms and software for macromolecular crystallography (MX) and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), enabling high-resolution structural analysis of proteins and nucleic acids. His group’s software, distributed through initiatives like CCP4 and CCP-EM, is widely used in the structural biology community.[1]

Notable contributions include:

  • REFMAC5 – maximum likelihood refinement program
  • AceDRG – ligand dictionary generator
  • Servalcat – refinement and map calculation tool co-developed with Keitaro Yamashita
  • metalCoord – analysis of metal coordination, co-developed with Kave Babai

Murshudov’s work extensively employs Bayesian statistics, integrating prior structural and chemical knowledge with experimental data to enhance the accuracy of structural models.

Alongside research, he has organised and taught international courses in countries such as Japan, Brazil, Thailand, China, the USA, and India.[5][6][7][8] He also contributes to scientific education in Azerbaijan through teaching and outreach activities.[9][10][11]

Research and contributions

edit

Murshudov’s group develops computational methods for analysing macromolecular structures, improving refinement of atomic models in MX and cryo-EM. His work has been applied to structures relevant to Alzheimer’s disease, Pick’s disease, and ribosomal complexes.

Selected publications

edit
  • Murshudov, G.N., Vagin, A.A., Dodson, E.J. (1997). "Refinement of macromolecular structures by the maximum-likelihood method." Acta Crystallographica Section D, 53(3), 240–255.
  • Murshudov, G.N., et al. (2011). "REFMAC5 for the refinement of macromolecular crystal structures." Acta Crystallographica Section D, 67(4), 355–367.
  • Long, F., et al. (2017). "AceDRG: a stereochemical description generator for ligands." Acta Crystallographica Section D, 73(2), 112–122.
  • Fitzpatrick, A.W., et al. (2017). "Cryo-EM structures of tau filaments from Alzheimer’s disease." Nature, 547, 185–190.
  • Yamashita, K., et al. (2021). "Cryo-EM single-particle structure refinement and map calculation using Servalcat." Acta Crystallographica Section D, 77(2), 1282–1291.
  • Babai, K., et al. (2024). "Improving macromolecular structure refinement with metal-coordination restraints." Acta Crystallographica Section D, 80(12), 821-833.

Awards and honors

edit

Personal life

edit

Murshudov was born to Novruz and Basti Murshudov in Şəmkir, Azerbaijan. His father was a shepherd and his mother a collective farmer. He is married to Olga, and the couple have two sons, Arslan and Ruslan. He holds dual citizenship in the United Kingdom and Azerbaijan, and lives in the Greater Cambridge area.

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Garib Murshudov - MRC LMB". MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology.
  2. ^ "Azerbaijani President awards honorary titles to scientists". Trend News Agency. 2022-04-21. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
  3. ^ "Garib Novruz Murshudov – University of York". York Research Database. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
  4. ^ "LINXS Event: Seminar with Dr. Garib Murshudov". LINXS. 2019-12-06. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
  5. ^ "CCP4 School Japan 2014 Tutorials". CCP4. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
  6. ^ "South American Macromolecular Crystallography School". CCP4. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
  7. ^ "SEA-COAST 2024 - Protein Society of Thailand". ProteinSocThai. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
  8. ^ "CCP4 School India 2018 Tutorials". CCP4. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
  9. ^ "UK Medical Research Council scientist delivers lecture at BSU". Baku State University. 2016-05-11. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
  10. ^ "Guest Professor Garib Murshudov delivers training at NDU". Nakhchivan State University. 2023-05-12. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
  11. ^ "A meeting with Garib Murshudov, Professor of Cambridge University, at UFAZ". UFAZ. 2022-12-15. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Draft:Garib_Murshudov&oldid=1313952408"