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SUMMARY:Developing Artificial Membranes for Bottom up Synthetic Biology
DTSTART:20180507T161500
DTSTAMP:20260507T033506Z
UID:257c97aebf164186eff4d16461c5dd366b44f97892626e62a658b213
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Neal Devaraj\, University of California\, San Diego\, CA
  (USA).\nBIOENGINEERING SEMINAR\n\nAbstract:\nOur lab has been developing 
 methods for the in situ synthesis of lipid membranes to mimic cellular pro
 cesses.  A general approach has been to stitch together lipid fragments f
 rom non-membrane forming precursors to form membrane forming phospholipids
 . Using chemoselective reactions\, we have been able to non-enzymatically 
 form membranes in situ that mimic the properties and function of native ce
 ll membranes. For instance\, our synthetic membranes can act as hosts for 
 integral membrane proteins such as GPCRs\, and offer a straightforward and
  rapid means of reconstitution. We have also begun developing methods to a
 ssemble bioactive lipids in cells\, enabling us to test the effect of spec
 ific lipid structures on cell signaling. Finally\, recent work from our la
 b is expanding beyond lipids\, and creating polymeric membranes capable of
  housing artificial organelles such as nuclei. These synthetic cells are c
 apable of coordinated gene expression and forming 2-dimensional “tissues
 ”.\n\nBio:\nNeal Devaraj is an Associate Professor of Chemistry and Bioc
 hemistry at the University of California\, San Diego (UCSD). A native of S
 outhern California\, he attended college at the Massachusetts Institute of
  Technology where he performed research in the lab of Prof. Moungi Bawendi
 . He earned his PhD in Chemistry at Stanford University in the labs of Pro
 fs. James Collman and Christopher Chidsey. After a postdoctoral fellowship
  at the Harvard Medical School in the lab of Prof. Ralph Weissleder\, he j
 oined UCSD. His research interests are in bioconjugation\, chemical biolog
 y\, and bottom-up synthetic biology. Website: https://www.devarajgroup.com
 /
LOCATION:SV 1717 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==SV%201717
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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