BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Memento EPFL// BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Tubulin as a smart material and a flexible drug target DTSTART:20260511T121500 DTEND:20260511T131500 DTSTAMP:20260526T090932Z UID:92d33c933cca48d4a5358b6aef1b0a43201504c2b6d979a5b63f945b CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars DESCRIPTION:Prof. Nikita Gudimchuk\, Faculty of Physics\, Lomonosov Mosc ow State University\nWEEKLY EPFL BIOE TALKS SERIES (sandwiches provided)\ n\nAbstract:\nMicrotubules are dynamic protein filaments that play central roles in cell organization\, transport\, and division. Their ability to r apidly assemble\, disassemble\, and generate forces allows cells to contin uously adapt their internal architecture to changing conditions\, enabling processes such as migration\, polarization\, and mitosis.\nIn the first p art of my talk\, I will discuss the mechanisms governing the emergence of these complex behaviors from the physical properties of tubulin\, the mole cular building block of microtubules. At least two key features make tubul in a non-trivial material with ‘smart’ mechanical properties. First\, tubulin dimers are highly allosteric\, and their conformation depends on t heir biochemical state: the GTP-bound state promotes microtubule assembly\ , whereas transition to the GDP-bound state through GTP hydrolysis destabi lizes the lattice and triggers microtubule depolymerization. Second\, even in the assembly-competent GTP-bound state\, tubulin dimers are incorporat ed into the microtubule lattice in a deformed\, strained conformation. As a result\, microtubule assembly stores elastic energy and creates a metast able\, pre-stressed polymer capable of releasing this energy to generate m echanical force. De novo assembly (nucleation) of microtubules proceeds th rough a series of metastable intermediates that progressively straighten w hile accumulating more and more mechanical strain. The energetic cost of t ubulin deformation introduces kinetic barriers along both nucleation and e longation pathways\, providing opportunities for regulatory proteins to mo dulate microtubule assembly by tuning these energy barriers. In this way\, cells gain a versatile toolkit to regulate and adapt the microtubule cyto skeleton to a wide range of functions.\nIn the second part of the talk\, I will discuss tubulin as a long-standing and still highly relevant drug ta rget. While classical microtubule-targeting agents are widely used in canc er therapy as cytostatics\, emerging tools now enable systematic explorati on of tubulin–ligand interactions in new ways. In our laboratory\, we ha ve developed a versatile fluorescent probe that enables the identification of unconventional tubulin-binding compounds. This approach may facilitate the development of modulators of the microtubule cytoskeleton that more s electively adjust cellular processes by blocking or enhancing interactions between microtubules and associated proteins\, rather than interfering wi th assembly/disassembly dynamics.\n\nBio:\nNikita Gudimchuk graduated from the Faculty of Physics at Lomonosov Moscow State University in 2009. He c arried out research at the University of Colorado Boulder (2008–2010) wi th J.R. McIntosh\, studying kinetochore–microtubule interactions using o ptical trapping and fluorescence microscopy. He then worked as a visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania (2010–2013) with E.L. Grishchu k and Fazly Ataullakhanov\, focusing on single-molecule studies of kinetoc hore motor proteins and microtubule dynamics\, and contributing to the dev elopment of advanced optical tweezers instrumentation. He received his PhD in Biophysics in 2013.\nIn 2013\, he returned to Moscow State University\ , where he continued his research with Fazly Ataullakhanov. Since 2019\, h e has led the Laboratory of Cytoskeleton Biophysics at the Center for Theo retical Problems of Physicochemical Pharmacology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He is also a group leader and Deputy Chair of the Biophysics De partment at the Faculty of Physics\, Lomonosov Moscow State University.\nN ikita Gudimchuk obtained his Doctor of Science (Habilitation) degree in 20 22\, with a thesis focused on the mechanisms of microtubule dynamics and c hromosome transport during mitosis. His research combines quantitative exp eriments and computational modeling to study cytoskeletal systems and cell division. He has received several national awards for young scientists an d has been supported by grants from the Russian Science Foundation and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research. He currently teaches courses in ce ll biophysics and computational modeling in biology at the Faculty of Phys ics\, Lomonosov Moscow State University.\n\nZoom link (with one-time regi stration for the whole series) for attending remotely: https://go.epfl.ch /EPFLBioETalks\n\n\nInstructions for 1st-year Ph.D. students planning to a ttend this talk\, who are under EDBB’s mandatory seminar attendance rul e:\nIN CASE you cannot attend in-person in the room\, please make sure to \n\n send Fiorella Ghisays a note well ahead of time (ideally before s eminar day)\, informing that you plan to attend the talk online\, and\, d uring seminar:\n be signed in on Zoom with a recognizable user name (not any alias making it difficult or impossible to identify you).\n\nStudents attending the seminar in-person should collect a confirmation signature a fter the talk - please print your own signature sheet beforehand (69 kB pd f available for download here). IMPORTANTLY: hang on to this sheet as no signature record is being kept by anyone else!\n  LOCATION:SV 1717 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==SV%201717 https://go.epfl.ch/ EPFLBioETalks STATUS:CONFIRMED END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR