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SUMMARY:Step by Step: Engineering Protein Cages for RNA Delivery
DTSTART:20231123T113000
DTEND:20231123T133000
DTSTAMP:20260510T105936Z
UID:89ff7e65f8472402c28a5c1154cc8cd8168fc7cd8cc738a5f9ca4d5b
CATEGORIES:Inaugural lectures - Honorary Lecture
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Angela Steinauer\nAbstract\nRecent advances in RNA thera
 pies\, notably the mRNA vaccines for COVID-19\, have underscored the criti
 cal role of efficient gene delivery methods. While lipid nanoparticles and
  viral vectors have proven their efficacy\, engineered virus-like protein 
 cages stand out as a potential alternative. Engineered protein cages have 
 distinct advantages: they are constructed from the ground up\, allowing co
 mplete flexibility for functional engineering. Given their protein-based n
 ature\, they are amenable to optimization via directed evolution technique
 s. In line with Feynman's axiom\, 'What I cannot create\, I do not underst
 and\,' our research is  following a bottom-up approach to engineer virus-
 like properties\, step by step\, with the ultimate goal to deliver mRNA in
 to cells. This approach may not only introduce alternative methodologies f
 or gene delivery but also provide a new lens through which to understand v
 iral evolution.\n\nIn this lecture\, the evolved nucleocapsid NC4 will ser
 ve as a model to showcase the power of protein engineering and directed ev
 olution in the bottom-up construction of virus-like properties. Finally\, 
 I will offer a brief vision of upcoming research endeavors from the Labora
 tory of Biomolecular Engineering and Nanomedicine (LIBN).\n\n\nBio\nAngela
  was born and raised in the small town of Gross\, near Einsiedeln (SZ) in 
 Switzerland. She pursued her bachelor's and master's studies in chemistry 
 at the University of Zurich\, graduating in 2012. She then relocated to th
 e United States to complete her Ph.D. in Chemical Biology at Yale Universi
 ty\, supervised by Prof. Alanna Schepartz. During her Ph.D.\, she was hono
 red with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute International Student Researc
 h Fellowship. After receiving her doctorate in 2018\, Angela returned to S
 witzerland to join ETH Zurich. Her first postdoctoral work in the Hilvert 
 Lab at ETH Zurich focused on the characterization of protein cages for RNA
  delivery applications and was supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Ac
 tions Postdoctoral Fellowship. She then undertook a one-year postdoctoral 
 position in the Leroux group at ETH\, with a focus on the engineering of m
 ucolytic enzymes. Angela now leads the Laboratory of Biomolecular Engineer
 ing and Nanomedicine (LIBN) at EPFL\, where she aims to develop protein-ba
 sed gene carriers by combining the tools of protein engineering and direct
 ed evolution.\n\nZoom link: https://epfl.zoom.us/j/65266055614
LOCATION:CE 1 5 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==CE%201%205
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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