Biochemistry Seminar

Lab Website: https://www.laublab.mit.edu/
Synopsis: The Laub lab works to understand toxin-antitoxin systems and other immunity mechanisms in bacteria as well as  gaining insight to the molecular basis of protein evolution/coevolution of interacting proteins. The lab uses computational analyses, and genome-scale approaches like RNA-seq. 

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A115 Butcher Auditorium
Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology Building (JSCBB)
3415 Colorado Ave.
Boulder, CO 80303

Lab Website: https://lintianlab.org/
Synopsis: The Tian lab combines computational protein design, chemical biology, electrophysiology, optical imaging techniques, and inducible pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology to describe the logic of the neural circuitry. These tools are being created to record neural activity to better understand the brain mechanisms that lead to behaviors related to health and disease.

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Lab Website: https://www.greiderlab.org/
Synopsis: The Greider lab uses human and yeast cells to study the mechanisms that establish and regulate telomere length. The lab has covered a variety of research related to telomeres with recent publications focusing on  telomere terminal transferase activity and telomerase activity.

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JSCBB A115 Butcher Auditorium
Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology Building (JSCBB)
3415 Colorado Ave.
Boulder, CO 80303

Lab Website: https://krishnanlab.uchicago.edu
Synopsis: The Krishnan lab works on developing an imaging platform that uses short DNA duplexes of ~20-30KDa to chemically map lumens of organelles and build quantitative chemical maps. The lab has discovered the first example of a lysosomal Ca2+ importer in the animal kingdom.

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JSCBB A115 Butcher Auditorium
Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology Building (JSCBB)
3415 Colorado Ave.
Boulder, CO 80303

Lab Website: https://www.stjude.org/research/labs/mittag-lab.html 

Abstract: Recent advances in single-molecule imaging technologies have made it possible to study gene expression dynamics at unprecedented resolution. In this talk, I will describe two projects that use this technology to visualize, quantify, and model gene expression at different levels. The first project involves the study of RNAP2 phosphorylation at a single-copy gene. Here, I combined three-color fluorescent microscopy with antibody-based probes that bind the different phosphorylated forms of endogenous RNAP2.

Abstract: A distinguishing feature of the cell envelope of Gram-negative bacteria is the presence of an outer membrane, which is highly impermeable to antibiotics. Transmembrane -barrel proteins embedded in the outer membrane are responsible for establishing this permeability barrier. Folding and integration of -barrels into the outer membrane are facilitated by the conserved protein complex -barrel assembly machine (BAM).

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A115 Butcher Auditorium
Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology Building (JSCBB)
3415 Colorado Ave.
Boulder, CO 80303

Abstract: Pregnancy complications like preeclampsia and preterm birth pose huge risks to fetal and maternal long-term health and a large financial burden. Here, I will describe the development 3 liquid biopsy tests that measure cell-free RNA (cfRNA) to monitor prenatal health and predict risk of pregnancy complications long before symptoms manifest. This work paves the way for affordable, simple, and reliable tests for preeclampsia and preterm delivery – risks that no other test can presently diagnose early enough to allow for meaningful clinical intervention.

Abstract: The dynamical properties of proteins are critical for their function and are often perturbed in disease. Despite this knowledge, developing chemical probes that explicitly target protein dynamics is challenging, and therapeutic molecules that alter protein dynamics are often discovered serendipitously. However, all living organisms contain a dedicated class of proteins, termed molecular chaperones, that specifically regulate protein folding and dynamics to prevent pathological outcomes.