Macromolecular organizational principles for their physiological functions

Date: 2022/04/27 - 2022/04/27

Academic Seminar: Macromolecular organizational principles for their physiological functions

Speaker: Dr. Qiu-Xing Jiang, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute

Time: 9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m., April 27th, 2022 ( Beijing Time)

Location: via feishu

Abstract

We are interested in understanding how macromolecular complexes, especially voltage-gated ion channels and dimorphic proteins that can be membrane-inserted, are organized in near-native or native environments to perform their physiological functions, and how their dysfunction may lead to human diseases. Our ultimate goals are to apply the learned principles to construct membrane-enclosed systems that can replicate a natural function, such as that of an organelle, or be endowed with a novel, bio-orthogonal function under various conditions. We utilized an integrated set of techniques to study the lipid-dependent gating of voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels, the bifurcated functions of the dimorphic chromogranin B in membranes and aqueous phase, and the ON-OFF switch of human telomerase in a controlled fashion. We developed new technologies for our studies with a focus on nanoscale chemical functionalization and on using cryo-EM for structural investigations. In this talk, I will highlight some key aspects of our studies and their potential connections to the health program.

Biography

Dr. Jiang is a molecular physiologist and membrane biophysicist. His research programs are focused on structures and functions of different macromolecules and human diseases related to their dysfunctions. He obtained a B.S. degree at University of Science and Technology of China and a M.S. at the Institute of Biophysics, CAS, before attending Yale graduate school in the USA. He obtained  PhD in cellular and molecular physiology under the direction of Dr. Fred Sigworth at Yale. His PhD dissertation was on the principles and early development of a new cryo-EM method to image membrane proteins in small spherical vesicles for effective orientational determination and 3D reconstruction of the proteins in continuous membranes. After a short postdoctoral stint with Dr. Sigworth, he worked with Dr. Roderick MacKinnon at the Rockefeller University with the focus on the functional effects of lipid-Kv channel interactions. He started his own research group as an assistant professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center and was in charge of starting the new cryo-EM facility there. In 2015, he relocated  his group to the University of Florida as an associate professor and a faculty director of cryo-EM. In 2020, he moved to the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute to build a new cryo-EM Center and serve as its first Director.