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SUMMARY:Eukaryotic Lipid Membrane Asymmetry: What a New Technique Can Tell
  Us about an Old Problem
DTSTART:20140414T121500
DTSTAMP:20260504T065106Z
UID:5c2fe86b3da5c322d228a6820d25233b96542a355dc5059a769cb346
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. John C. Conboy\, University of Utah\, Salt Lake City\, U
 T (USA)\nDISTINGUISHED LECTURE IN BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERINGAbstract:\nA membr
 ane\, only two molecules thick\, surrounds all cells and is responsible fo
 r controlling the passage of materials in and out of the cell in a selecti
 ve manner.  Our current understanding of the structure and dynamics of ce
 llular membranes emerged in the early 1970 ’s.  However\, there is stil
 l much we do not know about this seemingly simple “shell” which makes 
 life as we know it possible.  A central issue in molecular biology is the
  movement of lipids across the cellular membrane.  The translocation of l
 ipids is involved in cell apoptosis\, the viral infection of living cells\
 , the functioning of antibiotics\, antiseptics and drugs\, and the regulat
 ion and growth of cells.  There have been a number of studies attempting 
 to find the putative proteins responsive for lipid transbilayer movement i
 n eukaryotic cells.  This has led to a large number of theories about the
  mechanism of transbilayer movement of lipids in cellular systems and the 
 physical process by which lipid compositional asymmetry in the plasma memb
 rane of eukaryotic cells is maintained.  Using methods of classical surfa
 ce chemistry coupled with nonlinear optical methods\, we have developed a 
 novel analytical approach\, using sum-frequency vibrational spectroscopy (
 SFVS\, illustrated to the right)\, to selectively probe lipid compositiona
 l asymmetry in a planar supported lipid bilayer.  This new method allows 
 for the detection of lipid flip-flop kinetics and compositional asymmetry 
 without the need for a fluorescent or spin-labeled lipid species by exploi
 ting the coherent nature of SFVS. We were the first to show that SFVS coul
 d be used to directly measurement the transbilayer movement of phospholipi
 ds in PSLBs.  These studies were followed by and investigation of the eff
 ect of lipid acyl chain length on lipid flip-flop.  Our investigations ha
 ve continued to delve deeper into the physical nature of lipid translocati
 on by providing the first detail analysis of the transition state thermody
 namics of lipid flip-flop and an investigation of the influence of cholest
 erol\, and integral membrane proteins on the dynamics of lipid translocati
 on. Various aspects of our research will be discussed.Bio:\nEducation:\n19
 89-1991       B.S.\, University of California\, Davis\, Davis\, CA (
 USA)\n1991-1996       Ph.D.\, University of Oregon\, Eugene\, OR (US
 A)\nProfessional Appointments:\n1996-1997       Postdoctoral Associa
 te (Dept. of Chem.\, Univ. of Minnesota)\n1998-2000       National I
 nstitutes of Health Post Doctoral Fellow (Dept. of Chem.\, Univ. of Arizon
 a)\n2000-2003       Assistant Prof.\, Dept. of Chem.\, Univ. of Utah
 \, Salt Lake City\, UT (USA)\n2003-2006       Henry Eyring Assistant
  Prof.\, Dept. of Chem.\, Univ. of Utah\, Salt Lake City\, UT (USA)\n2006-
 present   Associate Professor\, Dept. of Chem.\, Univ. of Utah\, Salt La
 ke City\, UT (USA)\nHonors and Awards:\n1999-2000      National Insti
 tutes of Health Post Doctoral Fellow\, National Research Service Award (NR
 SA)\n2003-2006      Henry Eyring Assistant Professor\n2006-present 
   Henry Eyring Scholar\n2008               Coblentz Society
  Craver Award in Applied Analytical Vibrational Spectroscopy\nLink to Spea
 ker's Lab website\nLink to Speaker's Eukaryotic Lipid Membrane Asymmetry: 
 What a New Technique Can Tell Us About an Old Problem
LOCATION:SV1717A http://map.epfl.ch/?room=sv1717a
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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