The GBM study group Structural Biology was founded in 2005 to create a platform for promoting communication and cooperation in this interdisciplinary field.

Structural maps and models of biological macromolecules and complexes, now often obtained even within their cellular context, provide the molecular detail required to decipher their mechanism of action and regulation. These insights contribute to our general understanding in life science on how these nanomachines operate and provide the tools to exploit them for biotechnological or pharmacological purposes. The working methods of structural biology are cryo-electron microscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography, but also techniques such as single-molecule spectroscopy and dynamics simulations. All these methods are continuously evolving, have each their specific strengths and are largely complementary, offering different opportunities for structural characterization.

The study group offers a forum for exchange, networking and for the further development, discussion and integration of structural biology methods. To this end, the study group organizes the renowned international Murnau Conference on Structural Biology, which takes place every two years in autumn in the beautiful town of Murnau, Upper Bavaria.