Events Calendar

Cole Cadaram, Felix Lion, and Eway Cai will present on their individual comps projects

Eway Cai
Targeted Protein Degradation and Genome Editing as Novel Chemical Inducers of Proximity

The regulation of physical distance between biomolecules inside a cell can serve a wide variety of purposes for its survival through providing specific and discrete cellular responses. A group of small molecules, known as chemical inducers of proximity, are equipped with the ability to modulate biological processes such as cell signaling and microtubule stabilization through its interactions with multiple targets. More recently, this notion of inducing proximity between molecules has inspired new ways to approach therapeutic development. My comps will focus on Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras (PROTACs)/molecular glues and base/prime editing, two modalities that focus on achieving therapeutic outcomes through inducing proximity on the protein-protein level and protein-DNA level, respectively. By recruiting a E3 ligase to a disease-causing protein, PROTACs and molecular glues can remove the target protein through inducing the cell’s internal protein degradation machinery. Alternatively, base and prime editing uses an engineered Cas9 fusion protein to facilitate interactions between nucleotides and the enzyme attached to the Cas9 protein to directly edit DNA. Through their unique mechanisms of action, we have expanded our capabilities in treating diseases such as cancer, sickle cell anemia and Alzheimer's disease.

Felix Lion
Understanding (a little bit of) Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Every undergraduate chemist performs NMR for structural characterization, but we tend to overlook the phenomena from which NMR spectra arise. Working within the framework of quantum mechanics and incorporating ideas from classical electromagnetism, I discuss a few of the key physical concepts underpinning NMR spectroscopy.

Cole Cadaram
Reactivity Beyond Redox Potentials In Electrochemical Organic Synthesis

Electrochemistry is a sustainable and powerful approach for organic synthesis because of the use of electrical current as a reagent and the tunability of the current. The novel reactivity of electrochemical methods is mostly associated with the technique’s ability to control the electrode potential, or the thermodynamic driving force of electron transfer–but there are in fact many more facets of electrochemistry which can enable fascinating and unique reactivity. In this talk we will explore these features, and inventive ways in which electrochemistry has been used to tackle synthetic challenges. These stories illustrate how this sustainable approach can enable reactivity that is not possible with traditional reagent-based approaches.

*This seminar counts towards the chemistry major seminar attendance requirement for all majors not doing comps this year.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://carleton.zoom.us/j/91972693602?pwd=T3FvMU8ydTBQYkNzN3hVU0ExbGJaZz09

Meeting ID: 919 7269 3602
Passcode: chemcomps

from Chemistry