URAC Presenter: Senior biochemistry major looks at alpha-synuclein structure Share on: Posted on Thursday, April 15, 2021 Brandon Williams, one of the eight select podium presenters to be featured at this year’s Undergraduate Research and Arts Celebration (URAC) on Wednesday, April 21, will discuss his senior honors capstone project, “Distinguishing Differing Conformations of Membrane-Bound Alpha-Synuclein through Distance Measurements.” The biochemistry major from Sandy Lake, Pa., studied alpha-synuclein—a protein that is involved in the transport of lipid vesicles, the molecules that carry neurotransmitters through the body’s neurons—and how it binds to membranes. Williams researched the structure of alpha-synuclein, which can take on two different shapes when bound to lipid vesicles: a horseshoe-like structure or a straight line.