Using SLAC’s synchrotron, Summers improves fundamental knowledge of the role of copper in the brain and investigates treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.

A better understanding of this phenomenon, which is crucial to many processes that occur in biological systems and materials, could enable researchers to develop light-sensitive proteins for areas such as biological imaging and optogenetics.

What they learned could lead to a better understanding of how antibiotics are broken down in the body, potentially leading to the development of more effective drugs.

A better understanding of ‘checkpoint proteins,’ which protect cancer cells against immune system strikes, could lead to the development of more effective drugs.