Recent advances in imaging have created new opportunities for investigating the molecular basis of diseases with remarkable detail. The central obstacle that has limited progress in this area is the scarcity of methods for labeling proteins and macromolecules for multi-scale microscopy. Only a small number of genetically-encoded tags are compatible with both fluorescence microscopy and electron microscopy (EM) and very few can be used for both. As a result, most cell studies have relied on immunolabeling, which has many known drawbacks. VIP tags are a new technology that removes this obstacle. These tags consist of a heterodimeric coiled-coil between a genetically-encoded peptide tag and a reporter-conjugated “probe peptide”. Binding is driven by a hydrophobic interface and inter-strand salt bridges between the two coils. The focus of this talk with be on the development and application of VIP tags. Recent applications include multi-color imaging in cells and protein translocation.
Bio:
Prof. Beatty earned her PhD in Chemistry from Caltech (Pasadena, CA) before completing her postdoctoral training at UC Berkeley. She established her research program at Oregon Health & Science University (Portland, OR) in 2012. The focus of her program is to create innovative chemical tools that can be used to elucidate the molecular basis of human diseases.
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