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SUMMARY:Designing Therapeutic Proteins From Natural Effectors
DTSTART:20240328T100000
DTEND:20240328T110000
DTSTAMP:20260610T121805Z
UID:0b283af7899710ad0f8a3990872c0583641bf4feb7a93e1fe91dd4b0
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Julia Shifman\, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sc
 iences\, Hebrew University of Jerusalem (IL)\nBIOENGINEERING SEMINAR\n \n
 Abstract:\nProtein-protein interactions (PPIs) are critical for all cell
 ular functions. Abnormal PPIs are often the underlying cause of various d
 iseases\, making the inhibition of these interactions an appealing approac
 h for therapeutic intervention. We develop PPI inhibitors from natural 
 protein effectors\, which already bind to their targets and are non-toxi
 c and non-immunogenic\, making them ideal for drug design. However\, natur
 al effectors often lack specificity\, interacting with multiple proteins.
  We enhance effector binding specificity for a particular target by intro
 ducing affinity-enhancing mutations and supplying them with extended loops
  that interact with non-conserved regions on their target proteins.
  Using a combination of computational and experimental approaches\, we su
 ccessfully developed inhibitors for two established cancer targets\, mat
 rix metalloproteinases and Ras\, showing high affinity and specificity in 
 vitro and in cellular assays. This strategy is universal and can be applie
 d to target any disease-associated PPI.\n\nBio:\nJulia Shifman is a Profes
 sor of Biophysics and Biochemistry and the Chair of the Department of Biol
 ogical Chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  Dr. Shifman has 
 been working in the field of protein design from its inception\, and she w
 as among the first to apply computational design to protein-protein intera
 ctions. Her group is focused on developing computational and experimental 
 methods for studying of protein evolution and designing therapeutic protei
 ns that disrupt protein-protein interactions. Dr. Shifman obtained her PhD
  in Biophysics from the University of Pennsylvania and performed her postd
 octoral training at Caltech.\n\nZoom link for attending remotely: https://
 epfl.zoom.us/j/68647279829\n 
LOCATION:SV 1717 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==SV%201717 https://epfl.zoom.u
 s/j/68647279829
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