EPFL BioE Talks SERIES "Nano-Enabled ImmunoBiophysics: From Receptor Signaling to Pathogen Degradation"
Event details
| Date | 07.03.2022 |
| Hour | 16:00 › 17:00 |
| Speaker | Prof. Yan Yu, Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN (USA) |
| Location | Online |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
| Event Language | English |
WEEKLY EPFL BIOE TALKS SERIES
Abstract:
Understanding and controlling the response of immune cells holds great promise for the development of precision medicine. Functions of immune cells depend on the intricately organized chemical reactions and physical forces. Examples range from the engulfment of invading bacteria that relies on a fine balance of competing mechanical forces, to the activation of T-lymphocytes that requires collective interactions between thousands of receptors at the junction between cells. Owing to the complexity of these processes, understanding immune functions using traditional biological tools is challenging. In this talk, I will present my group’s recent research progress toward the development of nanotechnology-based biophysical tools for the quantitative imaging and manipulation of immune cells. Our research so far has capitalized on Janus particles, which, like the two-faced Roman god Janus, are made chemically, biologically, optically or magnetically asymmetric. Employing a suite of Janus particle-based toolsets, we uncovered new mechanisms in immune regulation and achieved spatiotemporal control of immune processes, from phagocytosis to intracellular trafficking, which would otherwise be difficult to access with traditional means.
Bio:
Prof. Yan Yu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Indiana University Bloomington. She received her B.S. in Chemistry from Peking University (Beijing, China) in 2004, and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign in 2009 under the direction of Prof. Steve Granick. She completed her postdoctoral training with Prof. Jay T. Groves at the University of California at Berkeley from 2009 to 2012. She joined the Department of Chemistry at Indiana University as an Assistant Professor in 2012 and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2019. Prof. Yan Yu has received the NSF CAREER award in 2016, Cottrell Scholar Award from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement in 2016, Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award from the National Institutes of Health in 2017, Trustees Teaching Award from Indiana University in 2017, Sloan Research Fellowship in 2017, Invitational Fellowships for Research in Japan in 2020, and a Scialog Award from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement in 2021.
Zoom link (with one-time registration for the whole series) for attending remotely: https://go.epfl.ch/EPFLBioETalks
Instructions for 1st-year Ph.D. students who are under EDBB’s mandatory seminar attendance rule:
Please make sure to
Abstract:
Understanding and controlling the response of immune cells holds great promise for the development of precision medicine. Functions of immune cells depend on the intricately organized chemical reactions and physical forces. Examples range from the engulfment of invading bacteria that relies on a fine balance of competing mechanical forces, to the activation of T-lymphocytes that requires collective interactions between thousands of receptors at the junction between cells. Owing to the complexity of these processes, understanding immune functions using traditional biological tools is challenging. In this talk, I will present my group’s recent research progress toward the development of nanotechnology-based biophysical tools for the quantitative imaging and manipulation of immune cells. Our research so far has capitalized on Janus particles, which, like the two-faced Roman god Janus, are made chemically, biologically, optically or magnetically asymmetric. Employing a suite of Janus particle-based toolsets, we uncovered new mechanisms in immune regulation and achieved spatiotemporal control of immune processes, from phagocytosis to intracellular trafficking, which would otherwise be difficult to access with traditional means.
Bio:
Prof. Yan Yu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Indiana University Bloomington. She received her B.S. in Chemistry from Peking University (Beijing, China) in 2004, and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign in 2009 under the direction of Prof. Steve Granick. She completed her postdoctoral training with Prof. Jay T. Groves at the University of California at Berkeley from 2009 to 2012. She joined the Department of Chemistry at Indiana University as an Assistant Professor in 2012 and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2019. Prof. Yan Yu has received the NSF CAREER award in 2016, Cottrell Scholar Award from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement in 2016, Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award from the National Institutes of Health in 2017, Trustees Teaching Award from Indiana University in 2017, Sloan Research Fellowship in 2017, Invitational Fellowships for Research in Japan in 2020, and a Scialog Award from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement in 2021.
Zoom link (with one-time registration for the whole series) for attending remotely: https://go.epfl.ch/EPFLBioETalks
Instructions for 1st-year Ph.D. students who are under EDBB’s mandatory seminar attendance rule:
Please make sure to
- send D. Reinhard a note before noon on seminar day, informing that you plan to attend the talk online, and
- be signed in on Zoom with a recognizable user name (not a pseudonym making it difficult or impossible to be identified).
Practical information
- Informed public
- Registration required
Organizer
- Prof. Li Tang, EPFL
Contact
- Institute of Bioengineering (IBI), Dietrich REINHARD