Illuminating the Biochemical Activity Architecture of the Cell

The complexity and specificity of many forms of signal transduction require spatial microcompartmentation and dynamic modulation of the activities of signaling molecules, such as protein kinases, phosphatases and second messengers. In this talk, I will focus on cAMP/PKA, PI3K/Akt/mTORC1 or Ras/ERK signaling pathways and present studies where we combined genetically encoded fluorescent biosensors, advanced imaging, targeted biochemical perturbations and mathematical modeling to probe the biochemical activity architecture of the cell.

Dr. Jin Zhang received her PhD in Chemistry from the U. Chicago.  After completing her postdoctoral work at University of California, San Diego (UCSD), she joined the faculty of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 2003. She was promoted to Professor in 2013. In 2015 she moved back to UCSD and is currently a Professor of Pharmacology, Bioengineering and Chemistry & Biochemistry. Research in her lab focuses on developing enabling technologies to probe the active molecules in their native environment and characterizing how these active molecules change in diseases including cancer. Professor Zhang is a recipient of the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award (2009), the John J. Abel Award in Pharmacology from ASPET (2012), the Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry from ACS (2012), and the Outstanding Investigator Award (2015) from NCI. She was elected as a Fellow of AAAS in 2014 and a Fellow of AIMBE in 2019.

3:30 PM | MEC 205
2020
Friday, September 11, 2020
Dr. Jin Zhang
University of California, San Diego
Professor Andreas Gahlmann