Northwestern Events Calendar

Nov
2
2017

Rising Stars of SQI Lectures

When: Thursday, November 2, 2017
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM CT

Where: Robert H Lurie Medical Research Center, Baldwin Auditorium, 303 E. Superior, Chicago, IL 60611 map it

Audience: Faculty/Staff - Student

Contact: Jillian Helding   (312) 503-5507

Group: Feinberg School of Medicine Events

Category: Academic

Description:

Dr. Ronit Freeman of the Stupp Lab
and
Dr. Kaylin McMahon of the Thaxton Lab

November 2, 2017 at 2-5 pm
Baldwin Auditorium
Lurie Medical Research Building
Northwestern University, Chicago Campus

Speaker: Dr. Ronit Freeman

Title: Instructing Cells with Dynamic Peptide-DNA Supramolecular Materials

Bio: Dr. Ronit Freeman performed her graduate studies with Prof. Itamar Willner at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, followed by a postdoctoral stay at the Simpson Querrey Institute supported by the European Molecular Biology Organization. At Northwestern, Ronit worked in the laboratory of Prof. Samuel Stupp and studied new functions emerging from dynamics in supramolecular biomolecular materials based on peptides and DNA. As of January, she will pursue her research as an Associate Professor at the Department of Applied Physical Sciences and the Department of Chemistry at UNC.

Abstract: Peptides and DNA represent two of the most attractive categories of molecules for the construction of nanomaterials for biology and medicine. Peptides provide a rich palette of biological functionality and self-assembly behavior and DNA can be used to construct complex nanostructures with programmable, dynamic properties. We sought to merge the advantages of these two molecular platforms through the use of peptide-DNA (P-DNA) hybrid biomaterials and utilize them to mimic the extracellular environment. The reversibility and tunability enabled by the DNA will be new handles for us to study dynamic properties of soft materials.

This talk will describe a molecular platform based on peptide-DNA conjugates that recapitulate these characteristics and can be programmed to control the dynamics, spatial positioning, and combinatorial synergies of signals in extracellular matrices. In this approach, a peptide-DNA molecule is immobilized on a surface through complementary DNA tethers. By engineering a series of tethers responsive to different stimuli, we show that cells adhered and spread on the surface reversibly. The use of P-DNA in cell signaling allowed multiple cycles of reversibility by simply adding soluble biologically compatible molecules such as DNA. This enabled us to discover that neural stem cells organized as neurospheres derived from murine spinal cord can be triggered to migrate out in response to an exogenous signal, and then driven to regroup into a neurosphere as the signal is removed. We expect this approach will uncover mechanistic information for crafting specialized environments that guide processes such as stem cell proliferation and differentiation.

This talk will also demonstrate the formation of one-dimensional assemblies of DNA-peptide amphiphiles with filamentous architecture. The oligonucleotides on the peptide-amphiphiles are used as a reversible “glue” to link neighboring peptide-amphiphiles together to control their self-assembly into hierarchical structures. We have dissected the key effects that control the assembly and rationally designed fibrous peptide materials by mimicking the DNA interactions. Finally, we have demonstrated the ability of reconfigurable supramolecular materials to induce reversible changes in the phenotype of cells. ​

Speaker: Dr. Kaylin McMahon

Title: Bio-Inspired siRNA Delivery -- Progress Toward Nucleic Acid Therapies for Cancer

Bio: Dr. Kaylin McMahon received her B.S. in Biology from Bradley University, and obtained her Ph.D. in Biology through Northwestern University’s Driskill Graduate Program in the Life Sciences. Kaylin performed her dissertation studies in the laboratory of Professor C. Shad Thaxton, M.D., Ph.D. Kaylin’s graduate research focused on the synthesis and characterization of bio-inspired nanoparticle delivery vehicles, and their use as targeted, systemic nucleic acid therapy for cancer. As a graduate student, Kaylin was recognized for her outstanding achievement and focus on nanotechnology as a recipient of the prestigious Ryan Fellowship and by receiving the Chicago Baseball Charities Cancer Fellowship. Most recently, Kaylin was awarded the Outstanding Alumni Award from the Driskill Graduate Program. Kaylin is presently a Northwestern Medicine Developmental Therapeutics Postdoctoral Fellow and is developing next generation combination therapies for cancer.

Abstract: An individualized, multisystem treatment approach is required to eradicate cancer. Therapies tailored to a specific patient that corresponds to tumor sequencing data in combination with immunotherapy may revolutionize clinical medicine. My current research is focused on the targeted delivery of therapeutic siRNAs to regulate target gene expression in cancer cells and immune cells where appropriate siRNAs can regulate the expression of critical genes in each system to drastically enhance tumor eradication.​

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