By integrating advances in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) with artificial intelligence (AI), we are visualising biology at the atomic scale, revealing molecular details never seen before, and designing entirely new artificial proteins with potential applications in cancer research.
Óscar Llorca
Many of the breakthroughs that benefit patients today stem from foundational discoveries about the biological mechanisms underlying cancer. The Structural Biology Programme (SBP) is dedicated to deepening our understanding of the biological processes that drive cancer initiation and progression. To achieve this, we make use of the latest advances in structural biology, with a particular focus on high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM)—a revolutionary technique that is reshaping biomedical research by enabling detailed structural characterisation of individual macromolecules. Understanding how macromolecules function, and uncovering their three-dimensional structures, provides critical insights that guide the development of new strategies to combat cancer.
The SBP currently comprises 1 Senior Group, 4 Junior Groups and 4 Core Units. The Groups at the SBP led by Rafael Fernández-Leiro, Iván Plaza and Óscar Llorca are currently focused on unravelling the structure and function of protein kinases and multiprotein complexes involved in genome maintenance, the DNA damage response, and other cellular pathways relevant in cancer. In addition, the SBP has recently expanded with the recruitment of two new Junior Groups. Lucas Tafur, from the University of Geneva, joined in October 2024 as leader of the “Structural Mechanisms of Cell Growth Group”. Lucas Tafur uses cryo-EM, biochemistry and cell biology to investigate the molecular mechanisms by which specific nutrients, growth factors and other signals regulate cell growth and metabolism.
In 2024, the CNIO received funding from the European NextGeneration EU programme to incorporate scientists in Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI). As part of this institutional initiative, the SBP recruited Roger Castells-Graells in 2025 to lead the “Biomolecular Design and Structural Nanomedicine Group”. Roger Castells-Graells combines AI and cryo-EM to design new proteins that have never existed before, as innovative tools for research and drug discovery. These strategic recruitments have consolidated the SBP’s critical mass, enabling us to tackle complex challenges in cancer research and to integrate AI-driven protein design into our scientific mission.
In addition to the Research Groups, SBP’s four Core Units provide essential support to CNIO researchers, in many cases to those outside the programme who may lack expertise in structural biology techniques. These Units specialise in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), biophysical methods, protein purification and protein crystallography. Together, they ensure that CNIO scientists have access to structural biology and biophysical tools and expertise to advance their research.