Speaker: Yury Polikanov
Title: From the structure of the ribosome to the antibiotics that cure disease
Date/Time: 12 June 2023 / 11:40 - 12:30
Place: FENS G035 (Physical Only)
Abstract: Protein biosynthesis, also known as translation, is a complex multi-step process essential to every cell and is catalyzed by the ribosome. Building on our solid expertise and previous experience in studying the structure and functions of the bacterial ribosome, the modes of action of ribosome-targeting antibiotics, and mechanisms of drug resistance, the research in my laboratory proceeds in three main directions: (i) elucidating mechanisms of ribosome stalling; (ii) uncovering molecular mechanisms of context-specific action of ribosomal antibiotics; (iii) providing structural bases of antibiotic resistance. The newly gained knowledge expands our understanding of fundamental aspects of protein synthesis and uncovers the molecular mechanism of action of the most basic as well as the newest antibiotics that, in turn, aid the future development of antibiotics that inhibit growth and possibly kill pathogenic bacteria more potently than the currently available drugs.
Bio: Yury Polikanov is an associate professor and a faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago with a joint appointment in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the same university. After obtaining his Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology from Rutgers University in 2008, Dr. Polikanov joined the group of Prof. Thomas Steitz (who received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry) at Yale University , where he received advanced training in biophysics and macromolecular X-ray crystallography. In 2015, Yury started his own laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he became one of the youngest professors and principal investigators. His lab studies the mechanisms of action and structural models of novel antibiotics with ribosomes in the presence of natural ligands such as mRNA and tRNA. Using ribosomal complexes containing natural tRNAs with different translation factors allowed obtaining significantly higher resolutions of electron density maps, which not only expanded the fundamental knowledge of the real mechanisms of antibiotic action but also enabled the pharmaceutical industry to develop new and improve the old antibiotics. The Polikanov laboratory is one of the most successful and funded in its field and includes all available grants from NIH, NSF, and start-up funds. Among other merits, Yury has collected almost every award available, including the young investigator award from Rutgers University-UMDNJ, N. Ronald Morris Award for Excellence in Research for the States of New Jersey, the Achievement Award for Outstanding Thesis Research of the Year, the Rising Star Award - Researcher of the Year and many others. Yury has an impressive list of publications in top journals, including Nature, Cell, and Science.