X3DNA-DSSR is funded and DSSR Basic is free for academic users

[xiangjun]

Dear 3DNA/DSSR users,

It gives me great pleasure to announce that the 3DNA/DSSR project is now funded by the NIH R24GM153869 grant, "X3DNA-DSSR: a resource for structural bioinformatics of nucleic acids". I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to continue working on a project that has basically defined who I am. It was a tough time during the funding gap over the past few years. Nevertheless, I have experienced and learned a lot, and witnessed miracles enabled by enthusiastic users.

Since late 2020 when I lost my R01 grant, DSSR has been licensed by the Columbia Technology Ventures (CTV). I appreciate the numerous users (including big pharma) who purchased a DSSR Pro License or a DSSR Basic paid License. Thanks to the NIH R24GM153869 grant, we are pleased to provide DSSR Basic free of charge to the academic community. Academic Users may submit a license request for DSSR Basic or DSSR Pro by clicking "Express Licensing" on the CTV landing page. Commercial users may inquire about pricing and licensing terms by emailing techtransfer@columbia.edu, copying xiangjun@x3dna.org.

The current version of DSSR is v2.4.5-2024sep24 which contains miscellaneous bug fixes (e.g., chain id with > 4 chars) and minor improvements. This release synchronizes with the new R24 funding, which will bring the project to the next stage. All existing users are encouraged to upgrade their installation.

Lots of exciting things will happen for the project. The first important thing is to make DSSR freely accessible to the academic community. I'm now starting to monitor the Forum closely and answer users questions promptly.

I am committed to making DSSR a brand that stands for quality and value. By virtue of its unmatched functionality, usability, and support, DSSR saves users a substantial amount of time and effort when compared to other options. My track record throughout the years has unambiguously demonstrated my dedication to this solid software product.

Xiang-Jun

DSSR Basic contains all features described in the three DSSR-related papers, and include the originally separate SNAP program (still unpublished) for analyzing DNA/RNA-protein complexes. The Pro version integrates the classic 3DNA functionality, plus advanced modeling routines, with email/Zoom/phone support.