Events

James T. Seuch - PhD Candidate

Analysis of the RNA backbone conformations in tertiary and quaternary RNA-containing structures can characterize structural features present and evaluate results of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. To analyze the conformations in a multi-residue molecule the RNA backbone can be organized by the dihedral bond angles in an overlapping sugar-to-sugar structure, termed a ‘suite’, defined by the nine dihedrals bonds δ(i), χ(i), ε(i), ζ(i), α(i+1), β(i+1), γ(i+1), δ(i+1), χ(i+1) of a dinucleotide pair. Given that a far greater collection of representative RNA-containing crystal structures is currently available, the evaluation of an updated dataset will reveal previously uncharacterized RNA conformations. In this work a filtered dataset was generated from crystal structures listed in the ‘Representative Sets of RNA 3D Structures’ database. Dihedral angle statistical potential and MD potential energy profiles organize RNA suites into distinct groups representing specific conformations. These groups are identified using a nine-character barcode that represents the dihedral bonds used. The resulting suite-barcodes can be used to characterize structural elements of interest in RNA molecules, provide a fast search for well characterized structural motifs and evaluate the backbone conformation space utilized in predicted RNA structures. This study will update our understanding of RNA backbone conformations using quality crystal structures of RNA-containing molecules and develop useful tools to critique and characterize tertiary RNA structures based on the backbone conformations.

 Sep 22, 2026 @ 1:00 p.m.
 Medical Center | Lower Adolph Aud. (1-7619)

Lucas Farnung, PhD - HHMI Freeman Hrabowski Scholar; Assistant Professor, Department of Cell Biology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

 Sep 23, 2026 @ 2:00 p.m.
 Medical Center | K307 (3-6408)

Joel McManus, PhD - Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Melon University, Pittsburgh, PA

 Sep 30, 2026 @ 2:00 p.m.
 Medical Center | K307 (3-6408)

Hua Lou, PhD - Associate Professor, Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH

 Oct 07, 2026 @ 2:00 p.m.
 Medical Center | K307 (3-6408)

 Oct 12, 2026 @ 8:30 a.m.
 WoodCliff Hotel & Spa | 

Kaavya Krishna Kumar, PhD - Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY

 Oct 14, 2026 @ 2:00 p.m.
 Medical Center | K307 (3-6408)

Ute Kothe, PhD - Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

 Oct 21, 2026 @ 2:00 p.m.
 Medical Center | K307 (3-6408)

Sarah E. J. Bowman, PhD - Associate Professor and Director of the National Crystallization Center, Department of Biochemistry, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY

 Oct 28, 2026 @ 2:00 p.m.
 Medical Center | k307 (3-6408)

Paul Whitford, PhD - Professor, Department of Physics, Northeastern University, Boston, MA

 Nov 04, 2026 @ 2:00 p.m.
 Medical Center | K307 (3-6408)

Michael Neugent, PhD - Assistant Professor, Departments of Urology and of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY

 Nov 11, 2026 @ 2:00 p.m.
 Medical Center | K307 (3-6408)

Isaac Fianu, PhD - Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, Caltech, Pasadena, CA

 Nov 18, 2026 @ 2:00 p.m.
 Medical Center | k307 (3-6408)

Harmit Malik, Ph.D. - Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Professor and Associate Director, Basic Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

Dr. Harmit Malik studies genetic conflict, the competition between genes and proteins with opposing functions that drives evolutionary change. His research could have implications for a range of diseases, from HIV to cancer. As part of this work, his team developed an approach for identifying genes that divide one species from another, which could help solve the riddle of how new species evolve. Dr. Malik also studies the evolutionary processes that drive our body’s interactions with viruses, including contemporary scourges like HIV as well as ancient viruses whose fossils litter our genome. With Hutch colleagues, he has characterized the rapidly evolving interface between proteins on human cells and viruses that make us sick. This work has highlighted surprising deviations from “textbook” models of these interactions, and it is revealing gene variants that could influence our susceptibility to infection. — https://www.fredhutch.org/en/people/m/harmit-malik.html

 Apr 12, 2027 @ 9:00 a.m.
 Kornberg Medical Research Building | Class of '62 Aud. and Flaum Atrium