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SUMMARY:SynBio Forum: Prof Michael Jewett and Prof Andrew Ellington - Prof
  Michael Jewett (Northwestern University)\, Prof Andrew Ellington (Univers
 ity of Texas at Austin)
DTSTART:20190514T163000Z
DTEND:20190514T180000Z
UID:TALK123862@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:49557
DESCRIPTION:Reserve your spot now! More info\, abstracts and free registra
 tion: \nwww.eventbrite.co.uk/e/synbio-forum-with-professor-michael-jewett-
 professor-andrew-ellington-tickets-60748221566\n\nTalks that focus on cell
 -free technologies\, engineering and directed evolution of gene expression
  and frugal\, accessible science applications - from two of the most excit
 ing speakers in the field.\n\n*Talks will be followed by a dinner buffet a
 nd drinks reception* \n\n"Repurposing ribosomes for synthetic biology"\n\n
 Michael Jewett\, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering\, Northw
 estern University\n\n\nAbstract\nImagine a world in which we could adapt b
 iology to manufacture any therapeutic\, material\, or chemical from renewa
 ble resources\, both quickly and on demand. Industrial biotechnology is on
 e of the most attractive approaches for addressing this need\, particularl
 y when large-scale chemical synthesis is untenable. Unfortunately\, curren
 t approaches to engineering organisms remain costly and slow. This is beca
 use cells themselves impose limitations on biobased product synthesis. It 
 is difficult to balance intracellular fluxes to optimally satisfy a very a
 ctive synthetic pathway while the machinery of the cell is functioning to 
 maintain reproductive viability. Further\, chemical reactions take place b
 ehind a selective barrier\, the cell wall\, which limits sample acquisitio
 n\, monitoring\, and direct control. In addition\, cells are adapted to a 
 relatively simple chemical operating system (i.e.\, a few common sugars\, 
 20 amino acids)\, which presents researchers a limited set of accessible m
 olecules with which to work. \n\nIn this presentation\, I will discuss my 
 group's efforts to overcome these limitations and widen the aperture of th
 e traditional model of biotechnology. In one direction\, we seek to create
  a new paradigm for engineering biocatalytic systems using cell-free biolo
 gy. In another area\, we are catalyzing new directions to repurpose the tr
 anslation apparatus for syntheticbiology. Our new paradigms for biochemica
 l engineering are enabling a deeper understanding of why nature’s design
 s work the way they do\, as well as opening the way to novel biobased prod
 ucts that have been impractical\, if not impossible\, to produce by other 
 means.\n\n"Directed Evolution of Translation"\n\nAndrew Ellington\, Profes
 sor of Molecular Biosciences\, Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology\, 
 University of Texas at Austin\n\nAbstract\nIn contrast to in vitro transla
 tion where it is possible to compose\, adjust and engineer cell-free syste
 ms in a rational way\, cells tend to be a bit more messy. To that end\, we
  have employed directed evolution to coerce and cajole cells into acceptin
 g alterations to one of their most cherished possessions\, the genetic cod
 e.\n\nDr. Ellington’s lab works centers on the development of nucleic ac
 id circuitry for point-of-care diagnostics\, on accelerating the evolution
  of proteins and cells through the introduction of novel chemistries\, and
  using orthogonal control systems to engineer complex organisms. DNA circu
 its based on strand exchange reactions and capable of executing embedded a
 lgorithms have proven to be useful tools for creating diagnostic assays fo
 r a variety of purposes. Translation engineering centers on the introducti
 on of novel amino acids into proteins that have the capability to base-pai
 r\, and is being pursued using a variety of techniques\, including directe
 d evolution\, computational design\, and high-throughput synthesis. Finall
 y\, we have developed operating systems that can work between and across b
 acterial and eukaryotic domains\, including tools to directly synthesize o
 perons\, enable facile horizontal transfer\, and edit genomes\, and are in
 terested in how such tools can be used to engineer cellular consortiums\, 
 including biofilms and plants.
LOCATION:Old Divinity School\, St Johns Street\, Cambridge
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