Events Calendar

Alfred E.Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering - Seminar series

Speaker: Dr. Jin Zheng, Ph.D., Professor and Chair - Department of Pharmacology- UC San Diego

Talk Title: Illuminating the Biochemical Activity Architecture of the Cell

Abstract: The complexity and specificity of cellular processes require spatial microcompartmentation and dynamic modulation of the underlying biochemical activities, such as dynamic phosphorylation and dephosphorylation catalyzed by specific protein kinases and phosphatases, respectively. We hypothesize that cellular biochemical activities are spatially organized into an activity architecture and reorganization and restructuring of this activity architecture lead to disease. In this talk, I will introduce a series of genetically encoded fluorescent biosensors that we have developed to monitor biochemical events in living cells, and then present a couple of studies where we combine quantitative fluorescence imaging with targeted perturbations as well as biochemical and functional assays to probe the subcellular regulation of cAMP/PKA and ERK signaling pathways.

Biography: Dr. Jin Zhang received her PhD in Chemistry from University of Chicago in 2000.  After completing her postdoctoral work in the laboratory of Roger Tsien at UC San Diego, she joined the faculty of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 2003. She was promoted to Professor of Pharmacology in 2013. In 2015 she moved back to UC San Diego and is currently Professor and vice Chair in Department of Pharmacology. Research in her lab focuses on developing enabling technologies to probe the active molecules in their native environment and characterizing how these active molecules change in diseases including cancer. Dr Zhang is a recipient of the Biophysical Society Margaret Oakley Dayhoff Award (2009), NIH Director’s Pioneer Award (2009), John J. Abel Award in Pharmacology (2012), Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry (2012), NCI Outstanding Investigator Award (2015 and 2022), Robert R. Ruffolo Career Achievement Award in Pharmacology (2022), Protein Society Christian B. Anfinsen Award (2022) and Biophysical Society Carolyn Cohen Innovation Award from (2023). She was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2014, a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in 2019 and a Fellow of American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics in 2021. Dr. Zhang also received UC San Diego Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Postdoctoral Scholar Mentoring in 2019 and UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering Outstanding Graduate Student Mentoring Award in 2022.
 

Host: Peter Yingxiao Wang- Chair of Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering

More Info: zoom link available upon request

Location: Olin Hall of Engineering (OHE) - 136

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Carla Stanard

Event Link: zoom link available upon request