CCB Brown Bag Seminar

1st speaker:  Adam Lamson, Ph.D. , Flatiron Research Fellow, BpM & Genomics

Topic: Characterizing a new polymer model for condensed flexible biofilament

Cells form DNA-protein condensates inside the nucleus to regulate gene expression. Certain condensates, such as heterochromatin, suppress the genes in the condensed region, while others, like transcription hubs, up-regulate genes. Traditional polymer physics models predict filament condensation but lack microscopic features that limit binding valency and introduce new interaction length- and timescales. Such attributes are important to the dynamics and viscoelastic properties of biomolecular condensates. Here, I propose and characterize a new transiently crosslinked polymer model that incorporates these features and show how the kinetic and physical parameters can tune the collapsing rate and viscoelasticity of long flexible biofilaments

2nd speaker: Rachel Sealfon, Ph.D., Research Scientist, Genomics

Topic: Molecular landscape of BK polyomavirus infection at a single-cell resolution

Although most adults are harmlessly infected with BK polyomavirus, in patients with kidney transplants this infection can lead to graft rejection. The in vivo molecular mechanisms underlying cellular injury and disease progression are poorly understood. Single cell transcriptional profiles from kidney biopsies of uninfected or of BK viremic first-year transplanted patients were analyzed. Viral transcripts were detected in multiple cell types, allowing comparison with a cell-line model and elucidating cell tropism as well as pathways activated across infection phases.