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SUMMARY:A chemical biology toolbox for probing A-to-I RNA editing - CH636
DTSTART:20240416T161500
DTEND:20240416T171500
DTSTAMP:20260609T143740Z
UID:9ebba668c03f8e98affebed558cc5e2fe5daf55d201def727279d563
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof Jennifer Heemstra\nAbstract: \nRNA undergoes extensive m
 odification through enzymatic post-transcriptional editing events. Adenosi
 ne-to-inosine (A-to-I) editing is one of the most widespread and impactful
  of these modifications and is catalyzed by adenosine deaminases acting on
  RNA (ADARs). Resulting inosines base pair with cytosine\, essentially re-
 coding adenosine sites to guanine. Editing is essential for a number of pr
 ocesses including embryogenesis\, neurological function\, and innate cellu
 lar immunity. Dysfunctional editing is also linked to auto-immune diseases
 \, neurological disorders\, and several types of cancer. Despite this impo
 rtance\, numerous challenges remain for studying A-to-I editing\, and our 
 overall understanding of the locations and frequency of inosine sites rema
 ins limited. To address this challenge\, we have repurposed EndoV from an 
 RNA-cleaving enzyme into an RNA-binding protein and demonstrated its use f
 or mapping of A-to-I editing sites and global profiling of RNA inosine con
 tent in cells and tissue samples.\n\nBiography:\nJen Heemstra received her
  B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California\, Irvine\, in 2000. A
 t Irvine\, she performed undergraduate research investigating the folding 
 of synthetic beta-sheet mimics\, which instilled in her a love of supramol
 ecular chemistry. She then moved to the University of Illinois\, Urbana-Ch
 ampaign\, where she completed her Ph.D. in 2005 studying the reactivity of
  pyridine-functionalized phenylene ethynylene cavitands. After a brief tim
 e in industry as a medicinal chemist\, she moved to Harvard University to 
 pursue postdoctoral research exploring mechanisms for templated nucleic ac
 id synthesis. Jen began her independent career in 2010 and she is currentl
 y the Charles Allen Thomas Professor and Chair in the Department of Chemis
 try at Washington University in St Louis. Research in the Heemstra lab is 
 focused on harnessing the molecular recognition and self-assembly properti
 es of nucleic acids and proteins for applications in biosensing and bioima
 ging. In addition to her research\, Jen is also actively engaged in scienc
 e communication\, outreach\, and advocacy via her social media presence\, 
 and professional development seminars and workshops. Outside of work\, Jen
  enjoys spending time with her spouse and two sons\, as well as rock climb
 ing\, cycling\, and running.\n\nLab Website:\nwww.heemstralab.com    
LOCATION:CE 1 105 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==CE%201%20105
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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