Physical Chemistry Seminar: Dr. Harald Janovjak, ARMI, Monash University and EMBL-A
Physical Chemistry Seminar: Dr. Harald Janovjak, Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI), Monash University and European Molecular Biology Laboratory Australia (EMBL-A), Melbourne, Australia., Sapp Center Lecture Hall, 4:30pm (Host: Bianxiao Cui)
"Optical control of protein complexes and cellular processes"
About the Seminar
Inspired by "What I cannot create, I do not understand" (R. Feynman, 1988), our research lies at the interface of biophysics, protein engineering and cell biology with the end goal of understanding and manipulating the behavior of cells in health and disease. In the past years, we developed molecular methods to remotely control the formation of protein complexes in living cells with high spatio-temporal precision. These methods are based on flavin-, tetrapyrrole- and cobalamin (vitamin B12)-binding proteins that we repurposed from microorganisms because of their light sensing capability. Using this strategy, we were able to activate key cellular processes by light in the absence of natural chemical ligands. In this presentation, I will first focus on receptor-linked enzymes as a showcase for how light can be harnessed to control cellular signaling cascades. Next, I will discuss how retinal-dependent light switches can be employed to decode the function of orphan receptors whose ligands and downstream functions have remained enigmatic. Finally, I will share some recent data on our use of protein engineering for the ultrasound-activated control of protein function as well as in mouse and Drosophila models of degenerative disorders.
About the Speaker
Harald received his undergraduate degree in biology in his hometown from the Biocenter of the University of Basel and his doctorate in biophysics from Daniel J. Müller at the University of Technology Dresden. After post-doctoral training with Ehud Y. Isacoff at the University of California Berkeley and Dirk Trauner at the Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Harald started his own laboratory at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria. In 2018, Harald joined the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute and Monash University as an EMBL Australia group leader. His principle research interest lies in understanding and manipulating animal physiology with synthetic biology.