BATS

Date/Time:

Apr 8, 2016 - 12:00 PM

Location:

Hosts:

Bevin P. Engelward

Speaker:

Title:

Controlling Electrocatalytic Properties via Tuneable Virus Mediated Synthesis

Abstract:

Electrocatalytic processes such as carbon dioxide reduction and glycerol oxidation have the potential to directly reduce unwanted byproducts of energy production while generating alternative fuel sources. This study demonstrates the ability of M13 phage templating to improve electrocatalytic activity several fold via utilization of the M13 virus as a synthetic functional handle to simultaneously tune variables of the electrocatalyst structure and composition.

Speaker:

Title:

Next-Generation Cas9 Activators

Abstract:

The RNA-guided nuclease Cas9 can be reengineered as a programmable transcription factor. However, modest levels of gene activation have limited potential applications. We describe an improved transcriptional regulator obtained through the rational design of a tripartite activator, VP64-p65-Rta (VPR), fused to nuclease-null Cas9. We demonstrate its utility in activating endogenous coding and noncoding genes, targeting several genes simultaneously and stimulating neuronal differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).