The "National and International" Seminar Series, spring 2012

Jürg Müller, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany

"Molecular mechanisms of the Polycom/trithorax system"

Place: Lecture hall Betula, bldg. 6M, NUS

Host: Yuri Schwartz, Molecular Biology

Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics Seminar Series, spring 2012

Mark Petronczki, Cancer Research UK - London Research Institute, United Kingdom

"Closing the gap between the mitotic spindle and plasma membrane during cytokinesis"

Place: KB3A9, Lilla hörsalen, KBC

Host: Andrei Chabes

The "National and International" Seminar Series, spring 2012

Martin Welch, University of Cambridge, UK

"Metabolic regulation of type III secretion in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms and the role of type III secretion in cystic fibrosis pathology"

Place: Lecture hall "Betula", bldg. 6M, NUS area

Host: Madeleine Ramstedt, Department of Chemistry

Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics Seminar Series, spring 2012

Jacques Le Pendu, INSERM, Universite de Nantes, Nantes, France

"Adaptation of Caliciviruses to histo-blood group antigens diversity and potential involvement in host-pathogens co-evolution"

Place: KB3A9, Lilla hörsalen, KBC

Host: Thomas Borén

Extra Seminar - Department of Molecular Biology

Thomas Geissman, Bacterial pathogenesis and innate immunity Faculté de Médecine Laennec, Lyon, France

"RNAIII of Staphylococcus aureus and its role in cell wall homeostasis"

Place: room Thymine, Department of Molecular Biology, NUS Area, bldg 6L

Host: Jörgen Johansson

Thesis Defence

Jonas Gripenland, Department of Molecular Biology

"Regulatory roles of two small RNAs in the human pathogen Listeria monocytogenes and Evaluation of an alternative infection model"

Place: Major Groove, bldg. 6L, NUS

Opponent: Thomas Geissmann, Associate Professor, Université de Lyon, Frankrike.

Supervisor: Jörgen Johansson, Department of Molecular Biology

KBC-Seminar

Kazuya Kikuchi, Osaka University, Graduate School of Engineering, WPI-Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka, Japan

"Design, synthesis and biological application of in vivo imaging probes with tunable chemical switches"

Place: KB3B1, Stora hörsalen, KBC

Host: Gunnar Öquist, Department of Plant Physiology

Abstract:
One of the great challenges in the post-genome era is to clarify the biological significance of intracellular molecules directly in living cells. If we can image a molecule in action, it is possible to acquire biological information, which is unavailable if we deal with cell homogenates. One possible approach is to design and synthesize chemical probes that can convert biological information to chemical output. Protein fluorescent labeling provides an attractive approach to study the localization and function of proteins in living cells. Recently, a specific pair of a protein tag and its ligand has been utilized to visualize a protein of interest (POI). In this method, a POI is fused with a protein tag and the tag is labeled with the ligand connected to a fluorescent molecule. The advantage of this protein labeling system is that a variety of fluorescent molecules are potentially available as labeling reagents, and that the protein tag is conditionally labeled with its fluorescent ligand. I have designed a protein labeling system that allows fluorophores to be linked to POI. The protein tag (BL-tag) is a mutant class A ?-lactamase (TEM-1) modified to be covalently bound to the designed specific labeling probes and the labeling probes is consisted with a ?-lactam ring (ampicillin, cephalosporin) attached to various fluorophores. A fluorogenetic labeling system can be designed using the unique property of cephalosporin, which release leaving group by subsequent reaction after opening the lactam ring. For further sophisticated application, multicolor imaging was done by adopting the colorful fluorophores.

Umeå Plant Science Centre Seminar

Janne Lehtiö, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm

"Defining human proteome using high resolution peptide isoelectric focusing coupled to mass spectrometry (HiRIEF-LC-MS) and the application of this method to improve cancer treatment "

Place: Lilla hörsalen, KB3A9

Host: Anders Nordström, Department of Molecular Biology

UPSC, Department of Plant Physiology

Speaker: Anders Grönlund
new assoc. lector in biological modelling at the department

Title: Modeling intracellular regulation: Transcription factor kinetics

Abstract:
Basic physical constraints in how macromolecules are made and how fast they can find each other in the intracellular environment constrain the fidelity of cellular regulation. These two properties are recently studied experimentally as well as analytically. I will give a brief overview of how such processes can be characterized and modeled.

Place: KB3A9 Lilla hörsalen, KBC

Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics Seminar Series, spring 2012

Graham Mann, University of Sydney Cancer Research, Westmead Institute for Cancer Research, Westmead Millennium Institute and Melanoma Institute Australia

"Melanoma risk, outcome and targeted therapy - genomics changes the game"

Place: KB3A9, Lilla hörsalen, KBC

Host: Andrei Chabes