News & EventsDepartment Events
Events
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Apr11
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The Chemical and Biological Engineering Department is pleased to present a seminar by Nathan Crook from North Carolina State University as part of our ChBE Seminar Series.
Dr. Nathan Crook will present a seminar titled "Combinatorial and evolutionary engineering of probiotic yeast for in situ biomanufacturing.”
ABSTRACT: The large intestine is the site of many human diseases yet is difficult to access with orally- or intravenously delivered drugs. At the same time, the gut provides a habitat for a numerous and diverse population of microbes (viral, prokaryotic, and eukaryotic) that perform important, health-relevant chemistries using host- and diet-derived carbohydrates as a feedstock. Therefore, there has been a rising interest in genetically engineering these gut microbes to produce therapeutic molecules in the gut, ultimately improving drug delivery and reducing drug costs. Saccharomyces boulardii (Sb) is a widely used yeast probiotic, demonstrating effectiveness against various gastrointestinal disorders. As a yeast, Sb exhibits high rates of protein secretion, is tolerant to low pH, can be freeze-dried, and low (if any) rates of horizontal gene transfer. Sb is therefore a promising chassis for development of personalized engineered probiotic medicines. In this talk, I will discuss our lab’s recent progress in tuning four key parameters of Sb’s efficacy as a drug delivery vehicle. First, I will present the development of a constitutive Sb promoter library, and how we applied this library to synthesize β-carotene in the mouse gut. Then, I will introduce how sensing of extracellular metabolites may be achieved through repair of Sb’s defective mating pathway and the expression of human adenosine and melatonin G protein-coupled receptors. I will next detail our efforts to enhance Sb’s in vivo residence time through both rational and screening-based approaches. Finally, I will discuss some new work from our lab focusing on the engineering and optimization of protein secretion titers in Sb, culminating in a quadruple knockout strain with a 10-fold increase to recombinant peptide production. Taken together, this work establishes Sb as a genetically tractable commensal fungus and demonstrates the tunable delivery of small-molecule and protein therapeutics during colonization.
Dr. Crook received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 2009, and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014, studying under Dr. Hal Alper. He pursued postdoctoral studies in Pathology and Immunology at Washington University in Saint Louis School Medicine from 2014-2017 in the lab of Dr. Gautam Dantas. Dr. Crook joined the department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NCSU in January 2018, and his lab focuses on how to engineer microbial communities. He received an NSF CAREER award and NIH New Innovator Award in 2023, and mentors 10 amazing graduate students and 3 amazing postdocs.
Bagels and coffee will be provided at 9:30am, and the seminar will start at 9:40am. Please plan to arrive on time to grab a bagel and mingle!
*Please note that there will be no Zoom option for seminars this year.
TIME Thursday, April 11, 2024 at 9:30 AM - 10:45 AM
LOCATION LR4, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Olivia Wise olivia.wise@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Chemical and Biological Engineering (ChBE)
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Aug14
EVENT DETAILSmore info
lessInnovation 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.
TIME Wednesday, August 14, 2024
LOCATION Ford Motor Company Engineering Design Center map it
CONTACT Dongyang Li lidongyang@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science
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Aug15
EVENT DETAILSmore info
lessInnovation 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.
TIME Thursday, August 15, 2024
LOCATION Ford Motor Company Engineering Design Center map it
CONTACT Dongyang Li lidongyang@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science
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Sep24
EVENT DETAILS
lessFall 2024 Classes Begin (No Northwestern Monday in Fall)
TIME Tuesday, September 24, 2024
CONTACT Office of the Registrar nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR University Academic Calendar
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Sep30
EVENT DETAILS
lessLast day to add a class or change a section for Fall (Last day for tuition adjustment related to enrollment changes (to or from full-time). No reductions are made to bills for dropped or swapped classes after this date)
TIME Monday, September 30, 2024
CONTACT Office of the Registrar nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR University Academic Calendar
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Dec7
EVENT DETAILS
lessFall classes end
TIME Saturday, December 7, 2024
CONTACT Office of the Registrar nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR University Academic Calendar