Access to NMR

Initiating a first Contact

Access to the NMR-facility by users outside the CSB may be gained through the online CSB Outreach form. This format has the benefit of bringing all the resources of the CSB to bear on the initial phases of structural projects and can make a significant impact on the likelihood of success in the shortest possible time.

Markus Voehler is always available to discuss the applications of NMR to any research project.

Non-Vanderbilt users wishing to to access the 900 MHz instrument should contact the facility director, Dr. Markus Voehler at 615-322-1573 or m.voehler@vanderbilt.edu. You may also submit an outreach form to initiate a project.

New User Information

Researchers gain access to the Facility through the Center for Structural Biology, or by contacting the Chair of the Users Committee Prof. Chuck Sanders or one of the other biomolecular NMR faculty (Walter Chazin, Steve Fesik, Mike Stone). Setting up a project requires approval of your faculty member and a source of funding for the users fees. Approved researchers may obtain a user account on the spectrometers or access to NMR scheduling pages by following these steps:

1. Read Facility Policy
2. Apply for an iLab Account
   • Click on “sign-up” icon in top right corner
   • If you have a VUNet ID, click on “here” in that field
   • Login with your VUNet ID
   • Fill out the iLab Registration form (see links below for further instructions on this)
     – Full Guide to apply for new iLab Account
     – iLab User Guides and Forms (Only if you can’t find your PI listed)
   • Your iLab Account Request and access to Biomolecular NMR Facilityshould be granted within 24h.
     You should receive an E-mail confirmation.
3. Create a Project Name
   For more information click here
4. Fill out the Online Account Request Form for the Biomolecular NMR Facility
5. Your name will be added to the NMR mailing list by the moderator
6. Sign up for Training Courses

It is also important to communicate any special time request directly with Markus Voehler. Otherwise, schedule time on the instruments visit the scheduling page.

Since this is a multi-user system, it is necessary for everybody to adhere to the facility policy. Users are expected to follow these rules so that the facility operates at maximum efficiency.

All users undergo a training course before gaining access to the spectrometers. Please refer to the training course page for more information. Once the user has been accredited by the NMR staff he/she will be given access to the request queue web pages and passwords for the spectrometers.

NMR is a sophisticated technique and can be used at many levels. The most basic applications of NMR to biological macromolecules can be applied with basic training provided by our training courses. On the other hand, learning Biomolecular NMR can constitute an entire graduate student or postdoctoral period. The serious spectroscopist needs to be committed to spending several months learning the techniques.

Acknowledgments

It is imperative that we acknowledge the shared instrumentation grants from NSF and NIH that enabled the purchase of our 900 and the complete upgrade of the rest of our Facility. Each user of the Biomolecular NMR Facility is required to include the following citation in any publication that has data acquired at the Facility.

“Supported in part by grants for NMR instrumentation from the NSF-MRI (0922862), acquisition of a 900 MHz Ultra-High Field NMR spectrometer in 2009; NIH (S10 RR025677) for console upgrades on all biomolecular NMR spectrometers in 2009; NIH (R35GM118089-04S1), NIH supplement for the helium liquefier in 2019; NIH S10OD034276 to replace the 800 MHz spectrometer in 2024, accompanied by Vanderbilt University matching funds.”