2025 ACA Keynote Speaker:
Stephen K. Burley, M.D., D.Phil.
University Professor and Henry Rutgers Chair
RCSB Protein Data Bank: A Research Resource for Mitigation of Climate Change & Food Insecurity
Friday, July 18, 2025 @ 6:30 PM CT
It is with great enthusiasm that we welcome Stephen K. Burley, M.D., D.Phil., as the distinguished keynote speaker for the 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Crystallographic Association. A longtime and highly esteemed ACA member, Dr. Burley is an internationally recognized structural biologist, physician-scientist, and a leading figure in macromolecular crystallography. As the Director of the RCSB Protein Data Bank (PDB) and a Professor at Rutgers University, his pioneering work has profoundly advanced our understanding of protein structure, function, and its critical role in drug discovery.
Affiliations
RCSB Protein Data Bank
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey: Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (RAD) Collaboratory, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers Cancer Institute
University of California San Diego: San Diego Supercomputer Center
Biographical Summary
Stephen Kevin Burley, M.D., D.Phil. is an expert in data science and bioinformatics, structural biology, and structure-guided drug discovery. He is Director of the RCSB Protein Data Bank (RCSB.org). Within Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey he serves as University Professor and Henry Rutgers Chair; Interim Director of the Rutgers Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (RAD) Collaboratory; Founding Director of the Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine; Tenured Member of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology; and Cancer Pharmacology Research Program Co-Leader within the Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Burley’s previous roles were Distinguished Lilly Research Scholar, Eli Lilly and Co.; Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice President for Research, SGX Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Furlaud Chaired Professor, The Rockefeller University; and Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His degrees include M.D. - Harvard Medical School; D.Phil. - Oxford University; and B.Sc. (Physics) and Doctor of Science (Honoris causa) - Western University. As an ACA Member since 1989 and ACA Fellow (elected 2020), Burley has published extensively in structural biology; structure-guided drug discovery; data science, bioinformatics, and artificial intelligence/machine learning; and clinical oncology.
RCSB Protein Data Bank (RCSB PDB)
The RCSB Protein Data Bank (RCSB PDB) is a U.S.-based organization that manages and provides access to the Protein Data Bank (PDB), a global repository of 3D macromolecular structures. It is part of the Worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB) and is responsible for curating, archiving, and disseminating structural data obtained from experimental techniques like X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The RCSB PDB website (rcsb.org) offers advanced tools for searching, visualizing, and analyzing structural data, making it an essential resource for researchers in structural biology, bioinformatics, and drug discovery. Additionally, the RCSB PDB plays a key role in educational outreach, providing tutorials, molecular animations, and training resources to support scientific learning and innovation.