The 2024 Symposium on Physical Genomics: Engineering Living Systems at the Convergence of Biological, Physical and Computational Sciences

9:00am to 5:00pm, Friday, April 26, 2024

Simpson-Querrey Auditorium, 303 E. Superior, Chicago, IL

Featuring talks by:

Keynote Lecture: Masashi Narita, Cancer Research UK

Gene Regulation in Cellular Senescence

Karmella Haynes, Emory University

Investigating Gene Activation Dynamics Within Human Polycomb Chromatin with Synthetic Reader-Effectors

Fang Huang, Purdue University

Ultra-High Resolution Imaging Through Deep Tissues and a New Information-Based Theoretical Resolution Limit

Melike Lakadamyali, University of Pennsylvania

Super-Resolution Imaging of Chromatin Structure and Dynamics in Health and Disease

Andrew Spakowitz, Stanford University

Physical Modeling of Nucleosome Clustering in Euchromatin Resulting From Interactions Between Epigenetic Reader Proteins

Allison Squires, University of Chicago

Capturing biomolecular interactions at the single-molecule level with ABEL trap fluorescence spectroscopy

Coffee/tea beginning at 9:00am

There will be a lunchtime open submission poster session; to participate, email abstracts to b-keane@northwestern.edu

Click Here to Register

Related Info

Register Now

“Merging Humans and Machines: Innovation and Translation”

ABSTRACT:
Whereas human tissues and organs are mostly soft, wet, and bioactive, machines are commonly hard, dry, and abiotic. Merging humans and machines is of imminent importance in addressing grand societal challenges in health, sustainability, security, education, and happiness of living. However, merging humans and machines is extremely challenging due to their fundamentally contradictory properties. At MIT Zhao Lab, we invent, understand, and facilitate the translation of soft materials to form long - term, robust, non - fibrotic, and high - efficacy interfaces between humans and machines. In this talk, I will discuss two examples of merging humans and machines, including tough and fast bioadhesives that can replace sutures and wearable devices that can continuously image diverse deep organs. I will propose two challenges in science and technology:

• Can we develop tissue - implant interfaces that fully eliminate fibro tic encapsulation?

• Can we image the full human body continuously over days to months?

I will conclude the talk with a vision for future human - machine convergence – aided by and synergized with modern technologies such as artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, and precision medicine.

BIOGRAPHY:
Xuanhe Zhao is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. The mission of Zhao Lab is to advance science and technology between humans and machines to address grand societal challenges in health and sustainability. A major current focus is the study and development of soft materials and systems. Dr. Zhao has won early career awards from NSF, ONR, ASME, SES, AVS, Adhesion Society, JAM, EML, and Materials Today. He has been a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher since 2018. Bioadhesive ultrasound, based on Zhao Lab’s work published in Science, was named one of TIME Magazine's Best Inventions of the year in 2022. SanaHeal Inc., based on Zhao Lab’s work published in Nature, was awarded the 2023 Nature Spinoff Prize. Over ten patents from Z hao Lab have been licensed by companies and have contributed to FDA - approved and widely - used medical devices.

Related Info

The Center for Scientific Studies in the Arts is a collaboration between the Art Institute of Chicago and materials science-related departments at Northwestern University to pursue objects-based and objects-inspired scientific research. Materials research benefits ongoing work in conservation, archaeology, art history, and curatorial scholarship.

Learn how the Center uses materials research to care for art objects in sustainable, innovative ways with Maria Kokkori, Senior Scientist in the Center for Scientific Studies in the Arts. She will be in conversation with Corey Byrnes, Northwestern Associate Professor of Chinese Culture and co-founder/co-director of the Environmental Humanities Workshop in Kaplan Humanities Center.

This event is presented by the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science in conjunction with exhibition Actions for the Earth: Art, Care & Ecology.

Related Info

Register Now

"Aptamer-Based Nanotechnologies for Chemical Biosensing"

ABSTRACT:

Advancing our understanding of brain (dys)function necessitates novel nanotools that can monitor chemical signaling in complex biological systems. While advanced methods to record electrical signaling in the brain are prevalent, tools to monitor chemical signaling have been limited. Biosensing of small molecules is particularly challenging in the brain microenvironment due to the need to detect trace concentrations of molecules with limited mass and charge in the presence of nonspecific binding of interfering molecules. Further, neurotransmitters co-exist in different brain regions with structurally similar metabolites. At the Laboratory of Chemical Nanotechnology (CHEMINA), we tackle this challenge by integrating DNA-based recognition elements termed aptamers into nanoscale biosensing platforms. Aptamers are systematically designed oligonucleotide receptors that exhibit highly specific and selective recognition of targets. We employ aptamers designed to recognize small- molecule neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine with high affinity and selectivity. We have developed aptamer-modified nanopipettes with ~10 nm openings that approach the spatial resolution of synapses where neurons communicate (~50 nm). Upon reversible target binding, aptamers undergo a rearrangement of the negatively charged backbone, and these dynamic structural changes can be transduced as measurable changes in current through the nanopore. Nanoscale confinement of the sensor surface results in high sensitivity while simultaneously reducing biofouling for long-term recordings, overcoming a critical bottleneck for clinical biosensors. Extensive experimental and theoretical characterizations of the target-specific aptamer conformational dynamics have led to a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of our biosensing technologies. Such findings enable generalization of our strategy to monitor hypothetically, any small-molecule analyte of interest.

BIOGRAPHY:

Prof. Nako Nakatsuka heads the Laboratory of Chemical Nanotechnology (CHEMINA) at the Neuro-X Institute at EPFL since January 2024. She was raised in Tokyo, Japan and moved to the U.S.A. for her bachelor’s in chemistry at Fordham University (Bronx, NY) and pursued her Ph.D. at UCLA (Los Angeles, CA). Upon receiving the ETH Zürich postdoctoral fellowship, she moved to Switzerland and remained a senior scientist at the Laboratory of Biosensors and Bioelectronics. For her work, she was named an MIT Under 35 Pioneer (2021), received the iCanX Young Scientist award (2022), the ACS Nano Lectureship Award and Prix Zonta (2023), as well as the ACS Measurement Science Rising Star Award (2024). Prof. Nakatsuka has also illustrated a children’s chemistry book: “A is for Atom: ABCs for Aspiring Chemists” to inpire the next generation of chemists.

Related Info

"Functional Bond-Selective Microscopy for Subcellular Biology: From Quantitative Imaging and Sensing to Single-Molecule Analysis"

ABSTRACT:

Advances in optical spectroscopy and microscopy have revolutionized our understanding in live biological functions at the sub-cellular levels. In this seminar, I will present our recent efforts in developing and applying next-generation bond-selective spectro-microscopy for retrieving functional chemical information in live cells and neurons. I will first discuss the coupling of the stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) imaging, a nonlinear Raman imaging modality, with newly developed biorthogonal chemical strategies for quantitative subcellular analysis of protein aggregates in neurodegenerative diseases and for intracellular local environmental sensing through alkyne- hydrogen–deuterium exchange (Alkyne-HDX). I will then present a new mid-infrared near-infrared double-resonance imaging technique, BonFIRE, for bond-selective fluorescence imaging with single-molecule sensitivity. This microscopy platform should allow new capabilities for wide-field super-multiplex imaging and vibrational life-time imaging for sensing heterogeneous cellular interactions and environment.

BIO:

Lu obtained her Ph.D. from Columbia University in 2015 and joined the faculty at Caltech as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry in 2018. Her group works on developing and applying next-generation vibrational imaging techniques to quantitatively investigate the intracellular biophysical and biochemical processes with an emphasis on neuronal metabolism; multiplex live-cell imaging; functional vibrational imaging and sensing with down to single molecule sensitivity. Lu has been recently recognized by the 2020 NIH Director's New Innovator Award, the 2022 Sloan Research Fellowship, the 2022 Vallee Scholar Award, the 2023 NSF CAREER award, and the 2024 BPS Margaret Oakley Dayhoff Award. Lu is also a Heritage Medical Research Institute (HMRI) Investigator at Caltech.

Related Info

Please join us for the 2024 Michael Jaharis Symposium, as well as for refreshments in the Hive Annex after the lecture.

"A Molecular Approach to Additive Manufacturing Medical Devices for Use in The Clinic"

ABSTRACT:

The emergence of additive manufacturing has afforded the ability to fabricate intricate, high resolution, and patient-specific polymeric implants. However, the availability of biocompatible resins with tunable resorption profiles remains a significant hurdle to clinical translation. In this presentation, I will outline our strategies for synthesizing highly functional oligomeric resins that can be photochemically printed into a variety of structures possessing unique mechanical, chemical and degradation properties. I will also describe their use in a number of pre-clinical applications.

BIO:

Matthew L. Becker is the Hugo L. Blomquist Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering & Material Science, Biomedical Engineering and Orthopaedic Surgery at Duke University. His multidisciplinary research team is focused on developing bioactive polymers which address unmet medical needs at the interface of chemistry, materials and medicine. He is a Kavli Fellow and a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the American Institute of Medical and Biomedical Engineering and the American Chemical Society. From 2009-2019 he was the W. Gerald Austen Endowed Chair of Polymer Science and Engineering at The University of Akron. He earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis (2003) as an NIH Chemistry Biology Interface Training Fellow. From 2003-2005, he was a NRC Postdoctoral Fellow in the Polymers Division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and remained on the permanent staff until 2009 as a project leader for bioimaging and tissue engineering.

Related Info

McCormick School of Engineering PhD Hooding and Master’s Degree Recognition Ceremony

Related Info

McCormick School of Engineering Undergraduate Convocation

Related Info

Innovation in Quantum Pedagogy, Application, and its Relation to Culture (IQ-PARC), funded by the Department of Defense — National Defense Education Program, is extending an invitation to underrepresented students nationwide (including military-connected students) to participate in a summer school focused on quantum technologies, to be held at Northwestern University. Join us for presentations by faculty and industry partners introducing quantum technologies, cutting-edge research areas, and related job opportunities particularly in the areas of national security.

This effort aims to foster an inclusive environment that encourages participation from all corners of the academic community. Successful applicants will receive up to $1,000 USD to cover travel and lodging expenses in Evanston, IL.

Priority application deadline: May 15, 2024.

Decisions will be sent by June 15, 2024.

Related Info

Register Now

Innovation in Quantum Pedagogy, Application, and its Relation to Culture (IQ-PARC), funded by the Department of Defense — National Defense Education Program, is extending an invitation to underrepresented students nationwide (including military-connected students) to participate in a summer school focused on quantum technologies, to be held at Northwestern University. Join us for presentations by faculty and industry partners introducing quantum technologies, cutting-edge research areas, and related job opportunities particularly in the areas of national security.

This effort aims to foster an inclusive environment that encourages participation from all corners of the academic community. Successful applicants will receive up to $1,000 USD to cover travel and lodging expenses in Evanston, IL.

Priority application deadline: May 15, 2024.

Decisions will be sent by June 15, 2024.

Related Info

Register Now