The Stetefeld lab is Team Member of the Canadian Biomedical Research Fund (CBRF). Within this consortium, we are a platform for End-to-End production and 3D structure determination of target systems with the following goals:

• Development of flexible, high-quality expression systems
  Optimized NP production across insect, mammalian, and bacterial platforms, including LPS-free workflows yielding exceptional protein quality. Recombinant protein target expression, purification is combined with advanced biophysical characterization.

• Immuno-engineering via CPP fusion design
  Development of cell-penetrating peptide (CPP)–NP constructs to support MHC-mediated T-cell activation; lead variants (TAT, ANTP, Arg8) in production.

• State-of-the-art biophysical validation
  Comprehensive NP characterization using DLS, mass photometry, nano-DSF, and cell-penetration assays by flow cytometry.

• Gain Structural insights across scales
  X-ray crystallography complemented by cryo-EM revealing higher-order Target–RNA superassemblies.

• Collaborative protein supply & platform integration
  High-quality NP variants produced and distributed to Alberta partners, enabling downstream immunological and translational studies.

The final goal is to perform AI-driven Structure-based drug design approaches for small molecule fragment design.