BioE COLLOQUIA SERIES: "Synthetic Gene Regulatory Networks for Spatiotemporal Pattern Formation"

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Event details

Date 09.03.2020
Hour 12:1513:15
Speaker Prof. Yolanda Schaerli, University of Lausanne (CH)
Location
Category Conferences - Seminars
WEEKLY BIOENGINEERING COLLOQUIA SERIES
(sandwiches served)

Abstract:
Synthetic biology has emerged as a multidisciplinary field that provides new tools and approaches to address longstanding problems in biology. It integrates knowledge from biology, engineering and mathematics to build – rather than to simply observe and perturb – biological systems that emulate natural counterparts or that explore alternative solutions beyond nature’s repertoire.

In my group we use this bottom-up synthetic biology approach to understand the mechanisms, properties and evolution of gene regulatory networks, with a focus on networks involved in spatiotemporal pattern formation.

In my talk, I will present our latest research on pattern-forming synthetic networks in populations of E. coli cells, including our work on the toggle switch and on multistable and dynamic synthetic circuits using CRISPR interference for precise temporal and spatial control of gene expression.

Bio:
Yolanda studied Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at the ETH Zurich, Switzerland. She did her PhD at the University of Cambridge, UK, where she was developing microfluidic high-throughput methods for directed evolution of proteins. During her post-doc at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), in Barcelona, Spain, she engineered synthetic gene regulatory network for pattern formation. As junior group leader at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, she started using synthetic circuits to address questions of molecular evolution. Her main research interests at UNIL are studying gene regulatory networks for pattern formation and their evolution using a bottom-up synthetic biology approach. When not busy with research, Yolanda likes spending time with her family and hiking.

Zoom link for attending remotely: https://epfl.zoom.us/j/474771816

Practical information

  • Informed public
  • Free

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