Chemical Biology Colloquium seminars feature invited speakers from outside the University of Minnesota.

2021-2022

-September 13-

Dr. Laura Sanchez, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Cruz

"Mass Spectrometry Applications for Studying Ovarian Cancer"


-September 27-

Dr. Kate Adamala, Professor
Dept. Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota
“Fake Life, Real Biology: Investigating the Chemistry of Life with Synthetic Cells”


-October 11-

Dr. Raymond Moellering, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago

"Chemical Platforms to Map & Manipulate Transcription Factor Signaling in Disease"


-October 25-

Chemical Biology Interface Training Grant (CBITG) Event

Hunter Wilson, Graduate Student (Advisor: Dr. Ambika Bhagi-Damodaran)
Dept. Chemistry, University of Minnesota
“A secondary coordination sphere residue prevents unproductive oxidation in an iron halogenase”
Shelby Auger, Graduate Student (Advisor: Dr. Mark Distefano)
Dept. Chemistry, University of Minnesota
“The Next Frontier: Prenylomic analysis of Alzheimer’s disease in mice”


-November 8-

Dr. Benjamin Miller, Professor, Department of Dermatology, University of Rochester Medical Center

"The 'Evolve, Sculpt, Deliver' Approach to RNA-Targeted Compound Discovery"


-November 22-

Chemical Biology Interface Training Grant (CBITG) Event

Dr. Tom Kono & Dr. Christy Henzler
MSI Research Informatics Solutions
“Preventing headaches with good experimental design and data management”


-December 6-

Chemical Biology Interface Training Grant (CBITG) Event

Dr. Gunda Georg & Dr. Will Pomerantz
University of Minnesota “Scientific Publications and Grant Writing”


-January 24-

Chemical Biology Interface Training Grant (CBITG) Event

Dr. Romas Kazlauskas (BMBB) & Dr. Erin Carlson (Chemistry)
University of Minnesota
“Career Tracks in Chemical Biology: Biotech, Research Tools, Patents.”


-February 21-

Chemical Biology Interface Training Grant (CBITG) Event

Brandi McKnight, Graduate Student
Dept. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
“Utilizing CSANs for Specific Delivery of Microglial Progenitors to Brain Endothelium”

Parker Flanders, Graduate Student
Dept. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
“Probing β-Lactone Interactions with Penicillin-Binding Proteins (PBPs) via Structural Biology and Molecular Dynamics”


-March 7- VIRTUAL

**Student-Invited Speaker**

Dr. Cigall Kadoch, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School

"Structure and Function of Mammalian SWI/SNF Chromatin Remodeling Complexes in Human Cancer"


-March 21-

Chemical Biology Interface Training Grant (CBITG) Event

TBA


-April 18- VIRTUAL

Dr. Keriann Backus, Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles

“Expanding the Activity-based Chemoproteomic Toolbox”


-May 2-

Dr. Andrew C. Kruse, Professor, Department of Biological Chemistry & Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School

“Molecular Mechanisms of G Protein-coupled Receptor Activation”

2020-2021

September 14, 2020
Chemical Biology Initiative Training Grant (CBITG)
CBITG Flash Talks
 
September 28, 2020
Chemical Biology Initiative Training Grant (CBITG)
CBITG Session on Rigor and Reproductivity
 
October 12, 2020
Dr. Anthony Rullo
Assistant Professor
Dept. Pathology and Molecular Medicine
McMaster University
"Covalent "Proximity Inducing" Immune Recruiting Strategies to Modulate Immune Recognition"
 
October 26, 2020
Dr. Sheel Dodani
Assistant Professor
Dept. Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of Texas, Dallas
"Discovery and Evolution of Biological Supramolecular Hosts for Chloride"
 
November 23, 2020
Chemical Biology Initiative Training Grant (CBITG)
CBITG Session on Searching, Applying and Interviewing
 
December 7, 2020
Chemical Biology Initiative Training Grant (CBITG)
Alex Hurben
Graduate Student
Dept. Medicinal Chemistry
University of Minnesota
"Shining a Light on Reactive Metabolites: Progress Towards the Development of Chemical Tools Capable of Releasing Endogenous Electrophiles under Spatiotemporal Control in Biological Systems"
 
Damien Rasmussen
Graduate Student
Dept. Pharmacology
University of Minnesota
"Thermodynamic and allosteric basis of paradoxical activation in V600E BRAF driven cancers"
 
January 25, 2021
Chemical Biology Initiative Training Grant (CBITG)

Workshop on Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship
Moderators: Professors Laurie Parker and Todd Doran

February 8, 2021
Dr. Lalit Deshmukh

Assistant Professor
Dept. Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of California San Diego
 "ALIX in Wonderland: Multivalency, Phosphorylation-mediated Amyloids, Autoinhibition, and Endosomal Membrane Interactions"
 
February 22, 2021
Chemical Biology Initiative Training Grant (CBITG)

Workshop on Ethics
Moderators: Professors Reuben Harris and Burckhard Seelig
 
March 8, 2021
Dr. Matthew Bogyo

Professor
Dept. Microbiology & Immunology
Stanford University
 "New Strategies for the Design of Imaging Contrast Agents that Target Hydrolyses Involved in Cancer and Infectious Disease"

March 22, 2021
Chemical Biology Initiative Training Grant (CBITG)

Zoë Maxwell, Graduate Student (Arriaga Lab)
Dept. Chemistry, University of Minnesota
“Novel Mass Cytometry Method to Quantify Cellular Changes in Prenylation”

Andrew Northwick, Graduate Student (Carlson Lab)
Dept. Chemistry, University of Minnesota
“Synthesis of a Photo-Crosslinking Probe to Capture Biomolecular Coronas”
 
April 5, 2021
Dr. Peter S. Kim
Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor
Dept. Biochemistry
Stanford University
"Preventing Infectious Disease with Vaccines"
 
April 19, 2021 - **Student Invited**
Dr. Jennifer M. Heemstra
Professor
Dept. Chemistry
Emory University
 "A Chemical Biology Toolbox for RNA Post-transcriptional Modification and Capture"

May 3, 2021 - CANCELLED
Chemical Biology Initiative Training Grant (CBITG)

May 17, 2021
Dr. Yong (Tiger) Zhang
Assistant Professor
Dept. Pharmacology & Pharmaceutical Sciences
University of Southern California, Los Angeles
"NAD+ Mimics for Biomedical Research"
 

2019-2020

-SEPTEMBER 9-
CBITG Flash Talks
 
-SEPTEMBER 23-
Joseph Heili, Graduate Student, Engelhart Lab, Dept. Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota
"Activation of Caged Functional RNAs by Oxidative Desulfurization of 2-thiouridine"

Nathaniel Gaut, Graduate Student, Engelhart Lab, Dept. Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota
"Expanding the Boundaries of Ribozymes-Regulation via Proteins and Activity in Perchlorate"
 
-OCTOBER 7-
Dr. Amanda C. Bryant-Friedrich, Interim Dean, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, The University of Toledo, Director, Shimadzu Laboratory for Pharmaceutical Research Excellence
"DNA Damage and Ionizing Radiation: Reactivity and Fate of 2’-Deoxyribose Radicals"
 
-OCTOBER 21-
Alex Strom, Graduate Student, Wagner Lab, Dept. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
"Novel Insights into Water Channel Dynamics that Help Define HINT1 and HINT2 Catalytic Differences"
 
Huarui Cui, Graduate Student, Pomerantz Lab, Dept. Chemistry, University of Minnesota
"Development of Small Molecule Chemical Probes for BRD4"

 
-NOVEMBER 4-
Dr. Emily Day, Assistant Professor, Dept. Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware
"Controlling Nanoparticle Architecture to Enable High Precision Therapy"
 
-NOVEMBER 18-
Erik Faber, Graduate Student, Georg Lab, Dept. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
"Development of Allosteric Inhibitors Against Cyclin-dependent Kinase 2 (Cdk2)"

Ellie Mews, Graduate Student, Wagner Lab, Dept. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
"Antigenic Analysis of Medullospheres from Daoy and ONS76 Cells: 3D Methods of In Vitro Culturing"
 
-DECEMBER 2-
Dr. Jeffrey Gildersleeve, Head, Chemical Glycobiology Section, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute
"Understanding and Exploiting Immune Recognition of Carbohydrates"
 
-DECEMBER 16-
Dr. Nate Brown, Postdoctoral Associate, Carlson Lab, Dept. Chemistry, University of Minnesota
"Bioorthogonal Activity-based Probes"
 
Dr. Anil Pandey, Postdoctoral Associate, Pomerantz Lab, Dept. Chemistry, University of Minnesota
"Synthesis and Development of 1,4-thiazepanones and Thiazepanes for 3D-screening Library and Selective Bromodomain Inhibitors"
 
-JANUARY 27-
Dr. Neel Joshi, Associate Professor and Core Faculty Member, Department of Biological Engineering School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Wyss Institute for Biology Inspired Engineering Harvard University
"Biologically Fabricated Materials from Engineered Microbes"
 
-FEBRUARY 10-
Kassidy Tompkins, Graduate Student, Gordon Lab, Dept. Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota
“Uncovering and Exploiting HUH-endonuclease ssDNA Recognition for Protein-DNA Bioconjugation”
 
Dr. Rick Wagner, Professor and Endowed Chair, Dept. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
“So You Want to Publish a Paper? Do’s and Don’ts”
 
-FEBRUARY 24-
Joshua Shirley, Graduate Student, Dept. Chemistry, University of Minnesota
"Developing Methods to Study Penicillin-Binding Proteins"

Dr. Neeraj Mishra, Postdoctoral Associate, Aldrich Lab, Dept. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
“Can Homoserine TransAcetylase (HTA) be Achilles’s heel of M. tuberculosis?”
 
-MARCH 2-
Dr. Frances Lawrenz, Associate Vice President for Research, Associate Department Chair, Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota
“Understanding Research Misconduct”

2018-2019 Colloquium Series

-SEPTEMBER 17-
CBITG Flash Talks
 
-OCTOBER 1-
Dr. Bo Li, Assistant Professor, Dept. Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
"Mighty Chemistry of Bacterial Small Molecules"
 
-OCTOBER 15-
Dr. Sudipta Shaw, Post-Doctoral Associate in Elias Lab, BioTechnology Institute, University of Minnesota
"Bacterial Phosphate Uptake System: Molecular Mechanism and Engineering"
 
-OCTOBER 29-
Chemical Biology Training Grant (CBITG) Panel Discussion
 
-NOVEMBER 12-
Dr. Yimon Aye, Howard Milstein Faculty Fellow and Assistant Professor, Dept. Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Cornell University
"Illuminating Singling Crosstalk Regulated by Native Reactive Electrophiles"
 
-NOVEMBER 19- **Special Seminar**
Dr. Donald R. Ronning, Professor, Dept. Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Toledo
"Hits and Misses in Targeting Tuberculosis with Covalent Inhibitors"
 
-DECEMBER 3-
Dr. Bradley L. Pentelute, Associate Professor, Dept. Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
"Cysteine Arylation to Engineer, Deliver, and Discover Proteins"
 
-JANUARY 28-  CBITG Event
Stephanie Mitchell, PhD Candidate Research Assistant
"Chronic Exposure to Complex Metal Oxide Nanoparticles Elicits Rapid Resistance in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1"
 
Amani Lee, PhD Candidate Teaching Assistant
"The Development of Multimodal & Multifunctional Nanosensors for 19F-MRI"
 
-FEBRUARY 11-
Dr. Michelle Farkas, Assistant Professor, Dept. Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
"Chemical Biology Approaches for Interrogating the Contributions of Altered Circadian Rhythms and Macrophages to Cancer Aggression"
 
-FEBRUARY 25-
Chemical Biology Initiative Training Grant Student Talks – Malcolm Cole & Nick Livezey
 
Malcolm Cole, PhD Candidate Research Assistant, Dept. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
“β-Lactams and β-Lactamases: New Strategies for Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis”
 
Nick Livezey, PhD Candidate Teaching Assistant, Dept. Chemistry, University of Minnesota
“Gallium Mediated Stabilization of Epinephrine”
 
-MARCH 11-
Dr. Amanda Garner, Assistant Professor, Dept. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Michigan
"Chemical Probing of Translational Control and microRNA Biology"
 
-MARCH 18-
Dr. Emily Balskus, Morris Kahn Associate Professor, Dept. Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University
"Deciphering the Human Microbiota using Chemistry"
 
-APRIL 22-
Dr. Nicole Steinmetz, Professor, Dept. NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego
"NanoEngineering Gone Viral: Plant Virus-based Therapeutics"

2017-2018 Colloquium Series

Sept. 25
Chemical Biology Training Grant Student Flash Talks
 
Oct. 9
Kevin G. Rice
, Professor, Dept. Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics, University of Iowa
“Bioconjugate Packaging of Oligonucleotides For Systemic Gene Delivery”
 
Oct. 23  -  NO SEMINAR
 
Nov. 6
Wenshe Liu
, Professor, Dept. Chemistry, Texas A&M University
“Use an expanded genetic code to study epigenetic erasers”
 
Nov. 20
Bryan Dickinson
, Assistant Professor, Dept. Chemistry, University of Chicago
"Chemical Approaches to Probe Signaling by Dynamic Proteome Lipidation"
 
Dec. 4
Amanda Hargrove
, Assistant Professor, Dept. Chemistry, Duke University
“Deciphering Patterns in Selective Small Molecule:RNA Interactions”
 
Jan. 29
John Santini
, President and CEO, ApoGen BioTechnologies
"Translating Big Ideas into Novel Therapies… from Science to Entrepreneurial Startups"
 
Feb. 12
Dustin Maly
, Professor and Raymon E. and Rosellen M. Lawton Distinguished Scholar, Dept. Chemistry, University of Washington
"Allosteric Modulation of Protein Kinases with Small Molecule Inhibitors"
 
Feb. 26
Yimon Aye - CANCELLED (Details to come)
 
Mar. 26
Chemical Biology Initiative Training Grant Student Talks
Jenna Fernandez, Graduate Student, Tretyakova Lab, Dept. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
“Identification of Specific Readers of Epigenetic Modifications in Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells Using a Quantitative Proteomics Approach”
Kellan Passow, Graduate Student, Harki Lab, Dept. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
“Photochemically Responsive Nucleosides as Biological Tools”
 
Apr. 9
Steve Ekker, Professor and Consultant, Dept. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic
"How to Join the Genome Writers Guild"

2016-2017 Colloquium Series

Sept. 19
Martin Schnermann, Investigator, Chemical Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute
“Remodeling the Cyanine Scaffold for New Applications in Drug Delivery and Imaging”
(Note seminar will be in 5-125 Moos)
 
Oct. 10
Chemical Biology Training Grant Student Talks - Carter Eiden & Sara Coulup
Carter Eiden, Graduate Student, Aldrich Lab
"Kinetic Characterization and Rational Optimization of Mechanism-Based Inhibitors of BioA"
Sara Coulup, Graduate Student, Georg Lab
"Toward the Design and Synthesis of Stabilized Pironetin Analogs"
 
Oct. 24
Aaron Englehart, Assistant Professor, Dept. Genetics and Cell Development, University of Minnesota
"Bioorganic Nucleic Acids Chemistry in Primitive and Modern Biology"
 
Nov. 7
Keith Wood, Head of Research, Advanced Technologies, Promega Corporation
Senior Research Fellow
“Interrogating the Interface of Synthetic Chemistry and Cell Biology”
 
Nov. 21
Stephan Lutz, Professor, Dept. Chemistry,  Emory University
“Exploring and Exploiting Kinases for Nucleoside Analog Activation”
 
Dec. 12
Amit Choudhary, Assistant Professor, Dept. Medicine, Broad Institute, Harvard University
“Multidimensional Chemical Control of CRISPR-Cas9”
 
Feb. 13  -  CBITG Event  
Dr. Mark Distefano, Distinguished McKnight Professor & Merck Professor, Dept. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
“Choosing a Postdoctoral Position: A Panel Discussion with Postdocs and Research Advisors”
 
Feb. 27  -  CBITG Student Talks - Clifford Gee & Tory Schaaf
Clifford Gee, PhD Candidate, Pomerantz Lab
"Protein Tetris: Ligand Discovery, Characterizaiton, and Development for BrdT via Protein Observed Fluorine NMR"
 
Tory Schaaf, PhD Candidate, Thomas Lab
"Novel Fluorescence Tools for the Discovery of Cardiac Calcium Pump Therapeutics"
 
Mar. 13
Dr. Mary Kay Pflum, Associate Professor, Dept. Chemistry, Wayne State University
"Kinase-catalyzed Labeling: Chemical Approaches to Mapping Cell Signaling Pathways"
 
Mar. 27
Dr. David Vocadlo, Professor, Dept. Chemistry, Simon Fraser University
"Chemical biology of O-GlcNAc: Enzyme Mechanisms to Chemical Probes"
 
Apr. 10
Dr. Michael Smanski, Assistant Professor, Dept. Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, University of Minnesota
"Harnessing DNA Synthesis and Assembly Technology for Natural Product Discovery and Engineering"
 
Apr. 24
Dr. Katherine J. Franz, Professor & Associate Chair, Duke Chemistry, Duke University
"Designing Molecules to Mine for Copper along the Host-Pathogen Interface"

2015-2016 Colloquium Seminars

Matt Jensen, Chemical Biology Training Grant Trainee
Chemical Biology Coloquium
Addressing Unanswered Questions In Bacterial Hydrocarbon Biosynthesis

Courtney Aldrich, Associate Professor
Dep. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota,
Getting a Grip on Electronic Notebooks

Casim Sarkar, Associate Professor
Dept. Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota
Guiding biomolecular and cellular engineering with mathematical modeling

Todd Geders, Ph.D., Scientist 
Bio-Techne, Inc. Minneapolis, MN
Industrial Biotech in the Twin Cities – challenges and rewards

Dr. Jay Schneekloth, Head, Chemical Genetics Section
National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD
Targeting Structurally and Functionally Diverse RNAs with Druglike Small Molecules

Keith B. Gorden PhD and Michael E. Danielson PhD
Biothera, Inc.
Activation of Innate Immune Cells with a Fungal Derived Pathogen Associated Molecular Pattern Molecule, Improve PGG

Troy Kopischke, co-CEO    
Invenshure, LLC, Minneapolis, MN
The Challenges and Rewards of Biomedical Start-ups

Craig Crews, Lewis B. Cullman Professor 
Dept. Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Chemistry and Pharmacology, Yale University
PROTACS:  Induced Protein Degradation as a Therapeutic Strategy

Thomas Spratt, Associate Professor
Dept. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Penn State University,  Hershey 
DNA Damage and Mutagenesis

Rachit Shah, PhD Graduate Student - Wagner Group
Dept. Medicinal Chemistry
A New Target for Pain: Developing Tools to Probe the Function and Behavior of HINT Enzymes 

Trevor Douglas, Earl Blough Professor of Chemistry
Dept. Chemistry, Indiana University
Virus-like Particles: Directed Immune Response and Diagnostic Imaging

Jason Sello, Associate Professor
Dept. Chemistry, Brown University
Progress Towards Novel Chemical Entities for the Treatment of Infectious Diseases and Cancer

2014-2015 Colloquium Seminars

Ronald Breaker, Chair & Henry Ford II Professor
Dept of Molecular Cellular & Developmental Biology, Yale University
Prospects for Riboswitch & Ribozyme Discovery

Charles Carter, Professor
Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of North Carolina
A Primordial Transducer: Discovery & Characterization of the D1 Switch in B. stearothermophilus

Jay T. Groves, Professor
Department of Chemistry, UC Berkeley
Signal Transduction on Membrane Surfaces: The Roles of Space, Force & Time

Student Invited Speaker: Angela Koehler, Assistant Professor
Department of Biological Engineering, MIT
Chemical Probes of Transcription

Raquel Lieberman, Associate Professor
Chemistry & Biochemistry, Georgia Tech
Structure & Misfolding of the Glaucoma-associated Olfactomedin Domain of Myocilin

Brian McNaughton, Assistant Professor
Departments of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University 
Expanding the Functional Utility of Proteins as Research Tools & Therapeutic Leads

2013-2014 Colloquium Seminars

Nathanael S. Gray, Principal Investigator
Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School
Targeting Oncogenic Kinase Signaling with Covalent Inhibitors

Patricia Jennings, Professor
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UC San Diego
The Role of NEET Proteins in Maintaining Mitochondrial Integrity & Iron Homeostasis in Breast Cancer

Frank M. LaFerla, Director
Institute for Memory Impairments & Neurological Disorders, UC Irvine
Stem Cell Therapy for Alzheimer's Disease: Overcoming Translational Issues & New Models

Douglas Mitchell, Assistant Professor
Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Unconventional Strategies to Suppress the Rise of Antibiotic Resistance

E. James Petersson, Assistant Professor
Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania
Thioamides: Minimalist Chromophores for Monitoring Protein Folding & Stability

Dionicio R. Siegel, Assistant Professor
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Texas, Austin
Natural Product Synthesis – an Enabling Tool in the Discovery of New Approaches to Small Molecule-Mediated Neuronal Regeneration

2012-2013 Colloquium Seminars

Erin E. Carlson, Assistant Professor
Department of Chemistry, Indiana University
Chemical Probes to Explore & Inhibit Bacterial Growth & Pathogenesis

Kate Carroll, Associate Professor
Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, Florida Campus
Painting the Cysteine Chapel: New Tools to Probe Oxidation Biology

Omid Farokhzad, Associate Professor
Laboratory of Nanomedicine & Biomaterials, Brigham & Women's Hospital
Functionalized Polymeric Nanoparticles for Medical Applications: From Discovery to Clinical Trials

Patrick A. Limbach, Professor
Department of Chemistry, University of Cincinnati
Studying RNA Editing & Modification Using Mass Spectrometry