CBE Seminar: Lawrence A. Stern

CBE Seminar: Lawrence A. Stern

Friday, November 22, 2024 @ 11:00 AM
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Friday, November 22, 2024 @ 12:00 PM
Event Location
B221

"Protein Engineering Approaches to Study Cell Signaling"

This event is sponsored by FAMU-FSU Engineering Department of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering.

Abstract: Engineered proteins have had profound impacts in the clinical setting. This class of molecules is vast, including a wide variety of functionalities, such as 1) synthetic receptors that turn engineered inputs into augmented natural outputs, 2) inhibitory proteins that block cell-cell and cell-ligand interactions from affecting cell behavior, and 3) molecular imaging agents capable of detecting disease with drastically improved sensitivity and specificity compared to conventional means. Although these advances have been great, many challenges remain in the pipeline of engineering new proteins to meet clinical demands. In this seminar, I will discuss my lab’s efforts to address these challenges through the development and application of new high-throughput screening platforms using yeast surface display. First, I will describe our recent work in the characterization of kinase-substrate interaction resulting in substrate phosphorylation by adapting a previously described endoplasmic reticulum sequestration screening strategy. Second, I will discuss our efforts in developing a yeast surface display platform that uses inhibition rather than target binding as a selective pressure.

 

Dr. Lawrence A. Stern
Assistant Professor Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering
University of South Florida

Speaker Bio: Dr. Lawrence A. Stern earned Bachelor of Science degrees in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry at Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Minnesota under the mentorship of Dr. Ben Hackel. He completed postdoctoral study in the T Cell Therapeutics Research Laboratory at City of Hope under the mentorship of Dr. Christine Brown and Dr. Stephen Forman. After completing his studies, Dr. Stern began his independent research career in January 2020 at the University of South Florida as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering. His lab applies protein engineering and high-throughput screening techniques to answer questions in immune cell signaling, building toward the augmentation of cell-based immunotherapy. He has received several awards including a USF Faculty Outstanding Research Achievement Award, an NIGMS MIRA R35, an NSF CAREER Award and an ORAU Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award.

 

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