Functional Interactions between Lipid Compartments

and Nucleic Acid Catalysts

Aaron Engelhart, Ph.D.

Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development

University of Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA 55455

Biography：

Professor Engelhart received his B.S. degree from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, USA in 2005. He then earned his PhD in Biochemistry in 2010 at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, under the supervision of Professor Nicholas Hud. After he was awarded his Ph.D., he joined the laboratory of Professor Jack Szostak at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, USA as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in 2011. He was awarded a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Astrobiology Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2011, and the Tosteson Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Massachusetts General Hospital Executive Committee on Research in 2014. In 2016, he established his laboratory as Assistant Professor of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development at the University of Minnesota.

Abstract：

Dr Engelhart’s research interests include the use of functional DNA and RNAs - aptamers and (deoxy) ribozymes - as tools for studying and manipulating diverse biological systems. In particular, his group studies 1) the use of functional nucleic acids as biosensors and tools for imaging nucleic acids, 2) the development of aptamer-targeted therapeutics for precision medicine, 3) elucidating potential roles for functional nucleic acids in the emergence of early life.

Time: 15:00-16:00 pm, June 9th, 2017 (Friday)

Venue: New Biology Building, Room 143

Host: Prof. Ting Zhu