A new research initiative by the University of Maryland’s Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) and the University of Pittsburgh could finally uncover how T-cells—the “killer cells” that defend the body from microbes—are alerted to hazardous invaders in the body. Funded by a $3.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the research will be the first to combine X-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy for a unique view of the cell’s alert system, which could lead to innovative therapeutics to fight viruses and tumors.