Guest: Kalina Hristova, Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Institute for NanoBioTechnology, Johns Hopkins University
Title: Mechanisms of signal transduction across the plasma membrane in health and disease
Date: December 20, 2023, 17.40-18.30
Zoom: https://sabanciuniv.zoom.us/j/6938110217?pwd=Q2hhYXgrYXJtMFBBaTgyVEJpVGVUUT09&omn=95220977857
Meeting ID: 693 811 0217
Passcode: gradsem
Abstract: Receptor Tyrosine Kinases (RTKs) are membrane receptors that regulate cell growth, differentiation, and motility. Improper function of RTKs can lead to disease, including a variety of cancers. We develop biophysical tools to study RTK activation in the plasma membrane in quantitative terms. I will discuss novel fluorescence detection methodologies to identify and quantify bias in RTK signal transduction. The knowledge gained through these measurements challenges the current understanding of RTK signaling in health and disease and opens new avenues for the exploration of biased inhibitors as anti-cancer therapies.
Bio: Kalina Hristova received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Physics from the University of Sofia, Bulgaria, and her Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science from Duke University, USA. She did post-doctoral work at the University of California, Irvine. She is now a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Hristova is the recipient of the 2007 Margaret Oakley Dayhoff award from the Biophysical Society. She was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2016, and Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in 2018. The main focus of the research in her laboratory is the physical principles that underlie membrane protein folding and signal transduction across biological membranes.