Sarah E. Bowman PhD
Sarah E. Bowman
PhD
Associate Professor
Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Specialty/Research Focus
Metalloenzymes; Microbial Pathogenesis; Protein Function and Structure; Structural Biology; X-ray Crystallography
Professional Summary:
My research expertise is in using structural and biophysical methods to probe biomolecular structure, function, and dynamics. Determining atomic-level architecture of biomolecules provides us with striking three-dimensional structural representations of biological machines with exquisite detail. High resolution, undamaged structure-level information is critical to understanding the roles these molecules play in disease processes and in biological mechanisms. In the Bowman Group, our research focus is two-fold.
First, we are developing new methods to crystallize biomolecules, as well as to detect and handle micro- and nanocrystals, for cutting-edge structural techniques, with an ultimate goal to probe how conformational changes mediate function. The techniques we use include electron diffraction methods using cryogenic electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) and X-ray diffraction methods using synchrotrons and X-ray Free Electron Lasers (XFELs).
Second, we are investigating metalloprotein structure, function, and dynamics, using structural and spectroscopic approaches to examine the ways metals impact and modulate function of these proteins. We are working to develop spectroscopic methods for single crystals (electron paramagnetic resonance, UV-visible microspectrophotometry, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy for elemental analysis) to be used in parallel with crystallography.
Our long-term research aims will couple these two areas: using these new structural approaches to interrogate dynamics and conformational changes in metalloproteins.
In addition to the research my group is engaged in, I am also the Director of the National Crystallization Center, a major resource for the structural biology community worldwide (www.getacrystal.org).
Education and Training:
- BA, English Literature and Women's Studies, Cornell College
- BS, Chemistry, Metropolitan State College of Denver
- PhD, Chemistry, University of Rochester
Employment:
- Associate Professor, Biochemistry, University at Buffalo, Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (2025-present)
- Director, National Crystallization Center at UB HWI (previously Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute) (2017-present)
- Research Associate Professor, Structural Biology, University at Buffalo, Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (2024–2025)
- Associate Investigator, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute (2022–2025)
- Research Associate Professor, Biochemistry, University at Buffalo, Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (2018–2025)
- Assistant Investigator, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute (2017–2022)
Awards and Honors:
- Invited Speaker International Conference on Biological Inorganic Chemistry (2025)
- Elected Vice-Chair of the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource Users Executive Committee (2025)
- Invited Keynote Speaker International Conference on Crystallization of Biological Macromolecules (2024)
- Invited Speaker Challenges in Structural Biology Summit (2024)
- Invited Speaker Pittsburgh Diffraction Society Meeting (2024)
- Named Fellow of the American Crystallographic Association (2024)
- Invited Speaker in the Hitchhiker's Guide to Peer Review Session ACA (2024)
- Elected to Membership US National Committee for Crystallography (2024)
- Elected to Membership of the American Crystallographic Association Meeting Committee (2024)
- Graduate Student Association Invited Speaker (2023)
- Outstanding Scientist Award (2023)
- Elected to Membership of the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource Users Executive Committee (2023)
- Invited Keynote Speaker (2019)
- Ruth L Kirschstein National Research Service Award Postdoctoral Fellowship (2011)
- United States Delegate to the 59th Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates and Young Researchers (2009)
- ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry Travel Award (2008)
Research Expertise:
- Crystallography; Crystallization; Diffraction-based Structural Biology; Metalloenzymes; Protein Function and Structure; Spectroscopy
Grants and Sponsored Research:
- September 2022–August 2026
New techniques for detecting and handling nanocrystals for cutting edge structural biology methods
NIH
Role: Principal Investigator
$1,570,000 - July 2021–June 2026
National HTX Center: Enabling Access to State-of-the-Art Crystallization Capabilities
National Institutes of Health
Role: Principal Investigator
$4,910,000 - July 2023–December 2024
Supporting successful researchers at HWI - expanding capabilities for new discoveries
James H Cummings Foundation
Role: Principal Investigator
$100,000 - July 2023–June 2024
Acquisition of a Rock Imager 1000 with SONICC Administrative Supplement
NIH
Role: Principal Investigator
$200,000 - July 2023–June 2024
Acquisition of a Rock Imager 1000 with SONICC Empire State Matching Funds
Empire State Development Matching Grant Leverage Program
Role: Principal Investigator
$100,000 - June 2023–May 2024
Integrated Crystallisation Facility (Australia)
Australian Research Council Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment, and Facilities
Role: Consultant - April 2023–May 2024
New Tools to Develop New Drugs: An Application to Antibiotics
Dr. Louis Skarlow Memorial Fund
Role: Principal Investigator
$25,000 - May 2020–April 2022
RAPID Enhanced SARS-CoV-2 High-throughput Crystallization for Structural Studies
NSF
Role: Principal Investigator
$200,000 - September 2019–August 2021
Community Crystallization Resource for Biological Macromolecules COVID Administrative Supplement
NIH
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
$246,000 - September 2017–August 2021
Community Crystallization Resource for Biological Macromolecules
NIH
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
$1,276,000 - January 2018–December 2019
The Structure of the EML4-ALK Fusion Protein: Shaping a Solution in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer
Dr Louis Skarlow Memorial Fund
Role: Principal Investigator
$20,000 - November 2017–October 2019
Enhancing the Impact of Buffalo's High-throughput Crystallization Screening Center and Accelerating Pharmaceutical Development Nationwide
Seymour Knox Foundation
Role: Principal Investigator - September 2018–August 2019
Acquisition of a Rock Imager 54 Administrative Supplement
NIH
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
$149,000 - August 2011–August 2012
Structural investigation of Helicobacter pylori Transcription Regulator NikR
NIH NRSA
Role: Principal Investigator
Journal Articles:
- Acehan, D, Spoth, KA, Budziszewski, GR, Snell, ME, Campomizzi, CS, Lynch, ML, Bowman, SEJ. (2024) Reaching the potential of electron diffraction. Cell Reports Physical Science (Jun), 6(5): 102007. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrp.2024.102007
- Miller RD, Iinishi A, Modaresi SM, Yoo BK, Curtis TD, Lariviere PJ, Liang L, Son S, Nicolau S, Bargabos R, Morrissette M, Gates MF, Pitt N, Jakob RP, Rath P, Maier T, Malyutin AG, Kaiser JT, Niles S, Karavas B, Ghiglieri M, Bowman SEJ, Rees DC, Hiller S, Lewis K. (2022) Computational identification of a systemic antibiotic for gram-negative bacteria. Nature microbiology (Oct), 7(10): 1661-1672. doi:10.1038/s41564-022-01227-4
- Bowman SEJ, Byrnes J, Russi S, Zimanyi CM. (2024) Preparing research samples for safe arrival at centers and facilities: recipes for successful experiments. Acta crystallographica. Section F, Structural biology communications (Aug), 80(Pt 8): 165-172. doi:10.1107/S2053230X24006174
- Aragon M, Bowman SEJ, Chen CH, Cruz MJ, Decato DA, Eng ET, Flatt KM, Gulati S, Li Y, Lomba CJ, Mercado B, Miller J, Palatinus L, Rice WJ, Waterman D, Zimanyi CM. (2024) Applying 3D ED/MicroED workflows toward the next frontiers. Acta crystallographica. Section C, Structural chemistry (Jun), 6(80): 179.
- Budziszewski GR, Snell ME, Wright TR, Lynch ML, Bowman SEJ. (2023) High-Throughput Screening to Obtain Crystal Hits for Protein Crystallography. Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE (Mar)(193) doi:10.3791/65211
- Lynch ML, Snell ME, Potter SA, Snell EH, Bowman SEJ. (2023) 20 years of crystal hits: progress and promise in ultrahigh-throughput crystallization screening. Acta crystallographica. Section D, Structural biology (Mar), 79(Pt 3): 198-205. doi:10.1107/S2059798323001274
- Chattopadhyay S, Mukherjee M, Kandemir B, Bowman SEJ, Bren KL, Dey A. (2021) Contributions to cytochrome c inner- and outer-sphere reorganization energy. Chemical science (Sep), 12(35): 11894-11913. doi:10.1039/d1sc02865k
- Lynch ML, Snell EH, Bowman SEJ. (2021) Structural biology in the time of COVID-19: perspectives on methods and milestones. IUCrJ (May), 8(Pt 3): 335-341. doi:10.1107/S2052252521003948
- Holleman ET, Duguid E, Keefe LJ, Bowman SEJ. (2021) Polo: an open-source graphical user interface for crystallization screening. Journal of applied crystallography (Apr), 54(Pt 2): 673-679. doi:10.1107/S1600576721000108
- Westerman EL, Bowman SEJ, Davidson B, Davis MC, Larson ER, Sanford CPJ. (2020) Deploying Big Data to Crack the Genotype to Phenotype Code. Integrative and comparative biology (Aug), 60(2): 385-396.
- Lynch ML, Dudek MF, Bowman SEJ. (2020) A Searchable Database of Crystallization Cocktails in the PDB: Analyzing the Chemical Condition Space. Patterns (New York, N.Y.) (Jul), 1(4) doi:10.1016/j.patter.2020.100024
- Bowman SEJ, Backman LRF, Bjork RE, Andorfer MC, Yori S, Caruso A, Stultz CM, Drennan CL. (2019) Solution structure and biochemical characterization of a spare part protein that restores activity to an oxygen-damaged glycyl radical enzyme. Journal of biological inorganic chemistry : JBIC : a publication of the Society of Biological Inorganic Chemistry (Sep), 24(6): 817-829. doi:10.1007/s00775-019-01681-2
- Nakashige TG, Bowman SEJ, Zygiel EM, Drennan CL, Nolan EM. (2018) Biophysical Examination of the Calcium-Modulated Nickel-Binding Properties of Human Calprotectin Reveals Conformational Change in the EF-Hand Domains and His3Asp Site. Biochemistry (Jul), 57(28): 4155-4164. doi:10.1021/acs.biochem.8b00415
- Bowman SE, Bridwell-Rabb J, Drennan CL. (2016) Metalloprotein Crystallography: More than a Structure. Accounts of chemical research (Apr), 49(4): 695-702. doi:10.1021/acs.accounts.5b00538
- Gagnon DM, Brophy MB, Bowman SE, Stich TA, Drennan CL, Britt RD, Nolan EM. (2015) Manganese binding properties of human calprotectin under conditions of high and low calcium: X-ray crystallographic and advanced electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopic analysis. Journal of the American Chemical Society (Mar), 137(8): 3004-16. doi:10.1021/ja512204s
- Galinato MG, Bowman SE, Kleingardner JG, Martin S, Zhao J, Sturhahn W, Alp EE, Bren KL, Lehnert N. (2015) Effects of protein structure on iron-polypeptide vibrational dynamic coupling in cytochrome c. Biochemistry (Feb), 54(4): 1064-76. doi:10.1021/bi501430z
- Kleingardner JG, Bowman SE, Bren KL. (2013) The influence of heme ruffling on spin densities in ferricytochromes c probed by heme core 13C NMR. Inorganic chemistry (Nov), 52(22): 12933-46. doi:10.1021/ic401250d
- Galinato MG, Kleingardner JG, Bowman SE, Alp EE, Zhao J, Bren KL, Lehnert N. (2012) Heme-protein vibrational couplings in cytochrome c provide a dynamic link that connects the heme-iron and the protein surface. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (Jun), 109(23): 8896-900. doi:10.1073/pnas.1200345109
- Levin BD, Can M, Bowman SE, Bren KL, Elliott SJ. (2011) Methionine ligand lability in bacterial monoheme cytochromes c: an electrochemical study. The journal of physical chemistry. B (Oct), 115(40): 11718-26. doi:10.1021/jp203292h
- Chung JK, Thielges MC, Bowman SE, Bren KL, Fayer MD. (2011) Temperature dependent equilibrium native to unfolded protein dynamics and properties observed with IR absorption and 2D IR vibrational echo experiments. Journal of the American Chemical Society (May), 133(17): 6681-91. doi:10.1021/ja111009s
- Bowman SE, Bren KL. (2010) Variation and analysis of second-sphere interactions and axial histidinate character in c-type cytochromes. Inorganic chemistry (Sep), 49(17): 7890-7. doi:10.1021/ic100899k
- Kim S, Chung JK, Kwak K, Bowman SE, Bren KL, Bagchi B, Fayer MD. (2008) Native and unfolded cytochrome c--comparison of dynamics using 2D-IR vibrational echo spectroscopy. The journal of physical chemistry. B (Aug), 112(32): 10054-63. doi:10.1021/jp802246h
- Michel LV, Ye T, Bowman SE, Levin BD, Hahn MA, Russell BS, Elliott SJ, Bren KL. (2007) Heme attachment motif mobility tunes cytochrome c redox potential. Biochemistry (Oct), 46(42): 11753-60. doi:10.1021/bi701177j
Books and Book Chapters:
- Lynch, ML, Bowman, SEJ. (2025) Contributions from Structural Biology to the Pandemic Response During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: Lessons Learned for the Future. In: The COVID Information Commons - Research Insights from the Coronavirus. Springer Nature
Professional Memberships:
- Society of Biological Inorganic Chemistry (2024–present)
- American Crystallographic Association (2017–present)
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (2017–present)
- American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2014–present)
- American Chemical Society (2005–present)
Presentations:
- "Taking the High(-throughput) Road: Empowering Crystallization on the Path to Structure Determination" 18th International Conference on Crystallization of Biological Macromolecules, Arizona State University (2024)
- "Challenges and Opportunities in Crystal-Based Structural Biology" 2024 Challenges in Structural Biology Summit (2024)
- "Structural and spectroscopic investigations of metal-binding protein rubrerythrin from B. pseudomallei" Pittsburgh Diffraction Society Annual Meeting (2024)
- "Don't Panic! Navigating Scientific Peer Review" Annual Meeting American Crystallographic Association (2024)
- "Sleuthing Protein Mysteries with Spectroscopy and Structure" Department of Biochemistry Seminar, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo (2024)
- "Macromolecular Crystallization and Optimization" Applied Crystallization Workshop, Virtual, National Crystallization Center (2024)
- "High-throughput nano-crystallization" Expression, Purification & Analysis of Proteins & Protein Complexes Course, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (2024)
- "Structural and spectroscopic investigations of the ferritin-like superfamily protein rubrerythrin" Metals in Biology Gordon Research Conference (2024)
Service Activities:
- Elected Vice-Chair of the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource Users Executive Committee; Vice-Chair (2025)
- United States Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Science; Reviewer (2025)
- ORNL Science Review Committee; Proposal Reviewer (2025)
- United States Crystal Growing Competition; Judge (2025)
- American Crystallographic Association Outreach Event at the Buffalo Museum of Science; Organizer (2024)
- Buffalo Museum of Science SciNight: Snowflake Studies, Science Expert Volunteer for the American Crystallographic Association; Science Expert (2024)
- National Institutes of Health Working Group of NIGMS Council; Member (2024–present)
- Phenix R24 National Resource Scientific Advisory Committee; Member (2024–present)
- ORNL Science Review Committee; Proposal Reviewer (2024)
- Metallobiomolecules Session, Pittsburgh Diffraction Conference; Session Chair (2024)
- Structural Biology of Metallobiomolecules, American Crystallographic Association; Session Chair (2024)
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Advancing Drug Discover Webinar. Protein Data Bank: From two epidemics and the global pandemic to mRNA vaccines and Paxlovid, presented by Stephen Burley; Moderator (2024)
- Structural Biology Eco-System, Workshop on Neutrons in Structural Biology, Challenges and Opportunities; Session Chair (2024)
- EWALD Advisory Team for Neutrons in Structural Biology; Member (2024–present)
- American Crystallographic Association Meeting Committee; Member (2024–2027)
- United States National Committee for Crystallography (NAS); Member (2024–2026)
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Advancing Drug Discover Webinar Series; Organizer (2024)
- NIH MSFB Study Section Standing Member; Grant Reviewer (2023–2027)
- Elected to the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource Users Executive Committee; Member (2023–2025)
- Scientific Governance Council, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute (now UB HWI); Chair (2023–2025)
- Board of Directors, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute (now UB HWI); Member (2023–2025)
- Scientific Governance Council, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute (now UB HWI); Vice-Chair (2021–2022)
- Science Safety Committee, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute (now UB HWI); Member (2021–2022)
- Marketing Committee, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute (now UB HWI); Member (2020–2024)
- Science Seminar Committee, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute (now UB HWI); Member (2020–2024)
- IMCA-CAT New Technologies Working Group; Member (2019–2024)
- Metals in Structural Biology Workshop (Annual) at the SSRL/LCLS Users Meeting; Organizer (2018–2025)
- Development Committee, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute (now UB HWI); Member (2018–2024)