> ![[requested_image (11).png]] > **Insulin in its storage form** <input type="checkbox" id="egg" style="display:none;"><label for="egg" class="easter-label"></label> [[DJL_Chaperone.png]] Between school and work you can find me getting lost in a journal paper, sharing an evening fire with friends, creating data-driven art, or riding my bike through the city. I combine art with data to translate unseeable systems into accurate, accessible visual narratives. By bridging data from researchers worldwide I make the field of structural biology intelligible without compromising scientific fidelity. > ![[subunit.png]] > **Viral proteins for coat formation** Casting shadows of life's nanometer toolkit with an electron beam, a technique known as **cryo-electron microscopy ([cryo-EM](https://youtu.be/qc2PbmI5qMw?si=HOvVoLZL2QZKv-PD))**, allows the reconstruction of the internal machinery of entire cells as they appear in real life. Ultimately, cryo-EM helps link a cell's nanoscale architecture to its macroscopic function across three core pillars > **Rehumanizing Illness**<br>Eliminating highly incident and prevalent disease without stigma<br> > **Boosting World Ecology**<br>Developing long-term strategies for environmental disasters<br> > **Realizing Human Welfare**<br>Cultivating a reverent life with emphasis on its intricacies ![[DJL Cell Landscape.png]] [Over 250 proteins are discovered weekly.](https://www.rcsb.org/search?request=%7B%22query%22%3A%7B%22type%22%3A%22group%22%2C%22nodes%22%3A%5B%7B%22type%22%3A%22group%22%2C%22nodes%22%3A%5B%7B%22type%22%3A%22group%22%2C%22nodes%22%3A%5B%7B%22type%22%3A%22terminal%22%2C%22service%22%3A%22text%22%2C%22parameters%22%3A%7B%22attribute%22%3A%22rcsb_entity_source_organism.taxonomy_lineage.name%22%2C%22operator%22%3A%22exact_match%22%2C%22value%22%3A%22Homo%20sapiens%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22type%22%3A%22terminal%22%2C%22service%22%3A%22text%22%2C%22parameters%22%3A%7B%22attribute%22%3A%22rcsb_accession_info.initial_release_date%22%2C%22operator%22%3A%22range%22%2C%22value%22%3A%7B%22from%22%3A%22now-1M%22%2C%22to%22%3A%22now%22%7D%7D%7D%5D%2C%22logical_operator%22%3A%22and%22%7D%5D%2C%22logical_operator%22%3A%22and%22%7D%5D%7D%2C%22return_type%22%3A%22entry%22%7D) By creating visualizations that get to the point without rolling up your sleeves I create results that anyone can reproduce in the natural sciences.^[Wilkinson MD, Dumontier M, Aalbersberg IJ, Appleton G, Axton M, Baak A, Blomberg N, Boiten JW, da Silva Santos LB, Bourne PE, Bouwman J. The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship. Scientific data. 2016 Mar 15;3(1):1-9. doi: 10.1038/sdata.2016.18] Learning new ways to spot patterns in data should be accessible to anyone, regardless of who they are. > ![[requested_image (9).png]] > **CaMKII** Much of my work focuses on how proteins form incredible shapes and scaffolds by banding together to sustain processes that underlie all life.^[Bustamante C. Molecular machines one molecule at a time. Protein science: a publication of the Protein Society. 2017 Jun 20;26(7):1245. doi: 10.1002/pro.3205] ![[Page Title (1).png]] # Insulin and Insulin Hexagons Insulin's a great example. ![[lemasterdj_insulin_storage_figure.png]] **Insulin**, a vital substance of two chains binded as one regulates our blood sugar. Light passes through it. Pancreatic beta-cells do the assembling. **Insulin A-chain** unites with **B-chain.** This is possible from a **sulfur bridge**. This is the insulin we're familiar with. But what about leftover insulin? Our bodies turn to symmetry. First it's two insulins back to back. Called a insulin **dimer**. Then with help from Calcium and Zinc Band three such dimers in a circle. Because a hexagon is an efficient packing pattern like honeycombs in a beehive, they can be rapidly disassembled by splitting into 3 dimers and further into 6 separate active insulin molecules on-the-spot. Obtaining data from the RCSB Protein Data Bank^[Berman HM, Burley SK. Protein Data Bank (PDB): Fifty-three years young and having a transformative impact on science and society. Quarterly reviews of biophysics. 2025 Jan;58:e9. doi: 10.1017/S0033583525000034] I shared this example to visualize how cells organize what's on the inside to derive roles for parts smaller than itself. Sharing a deeper context to data by eye that's valuable for both basic and translatioal science has singlehandedly been the source of my vocation in this field.^[Ayan E, Engilberge S, Yokoi S, Orlans J, de Sanctis D, Basu S, Rive‐Mathieu E, Kepceoglu A, Mitsutake A, Demirci H. Triple Calcium Binding Stoichiometry in the Monoclinic Crystal Form of Protracted Insulin. Small Structures. 2025 Dec;6(12):e202500398. doi: 10.1002/sstr.202500398] # Contact Got a burning question? Think we'd work well together? Reach out. - **[email protected]** - [**(614) 604-2565**](tel:6146042565) - [**LinkedIn**](https://linkedin.com/in/lemasterdj) - [**ORCID**](https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3548-3303) - [**Google Scholar**](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=NX8d1_EAAAAJ) - [**Zotero Library**](https://www.zotero.org/lemasterdj/item-list) - [**Instagram**](https://instagram.com/lemasterdj) **David LeMaster** Visualizing life's nano-toolkit.