Please join us Tuesday, February 14, in person, 3:30 pm, BPB 131 for an MCB Faculty Search Seminar hosted by Dr. James Cole
Chen Zhao, Ph.D., Postdoc Associate, The Rockefeller University, New York
“Structural and functional analysis of ion channel TRPM3 and its regulation by G protein-coupled receptors”
Summary: In this work, Zhao determined the first structures of ion channel TRPM3 by itself and in complex with lipid regulator PIP2 and G-protein regulator Gβγ. Zhao also discovered a surprisingly high affinity between TRPM3 and Gβγ, raising the possibility that some unknown factors in the plasma membrane enhance their interactions..
Bio: Dr. Zhao did her Ph.D. training with Dr. Anna Pyle at Yale University to study the structures and functions of group II intron RNA and associated proteins. Upon learning more about the roles of long non-coding RNAs in epigenetic regulations, she became interested in how environmental signals are transduced across the cell membrane to modulate cellular epigenetic state. Zhao pursued her postdoc training with Dr. Rod MacKinnon to study how signaling pathways regulate ion channels on the cell membrane.
Link to publication
In order to make our speaker feel welcome, please plan to attend In-person. In the case that a livestream is needed, click here: Livestream Link If you must join remotely, you can ask questions via email (rather than chat); please send questions to Jim Cole (james.cole@uconn.edu).
For more information, contact: Ashley Landon at ashley.landon@uconn.edu