Physical Chemistry Seminar: Professor Bin Zhang, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Physical Chemistry Seminar: Professor Bin Zhang, MIT (Host: Grant Rotskoff)
**This seminar is only available for virual attendance.**
"Genome Organization through Phase Separation: Random yet Precise"
About the Seminar
The three-dimensional genome organization plays an essential role in all DNA-templated processes, including gene transcription, gene regulation, DNA replication, etc. Coarse-grained models parameterized to reproduce experimental data via the maximum entropy optimization algorithm serve as effective means to study genome organization at various length scales. They have provided insight into the principles of whole-genome organization and enabled de novo predictions of chromosome structures from epigenetic modifications. In addition, they provided insight into the critical role of the chromatin network in stabilizing multiple liquid droplets. Applications of these models at a near-atomic resolution further revealed physicochemical interactions that drive the phase separation of disordered proteins and dictate chromatin stability in situ.
About the Speaker
Bin Zhang attended the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) as a chemical physics major. After graduating from USTC in 2007, Bin moved to the United States to pursue doctoral research at the California Institute of Technology in Thomas Miller’s group. Upon graduation, Bin accepted a position as a postdoctoral scholar with Peter G. Wolynes at the Center for Theoretical Biological Physics at Rice University. Bin joined MIT faculty as an assistant professor in 2016. His research focuses on studying three-dimensional genome organization with interdisciplinary approaches that combine bioinformatics analysis, computational modeling and statistical mechanical theory. While at MIT, Bin has received awards that include the Scialog Fellowship and the NSF CAREER Award.
Image Courtesy of MIT