Abstract: The Shah Lab develops and applies quantitative systems biology tools to study biological processes at the network and pathway level. This musically-inspired seminar highlights two quantitative systems biology stories from the Shah Lab. In the first story, we travel from large-scale global proteomics to amino acid resolution to unravel molecular mechanisms of viral microcephaly. In the second story, we develop a theoretical framework and live-cell microscopy workflow to reveal how a disease-associated pathway can be pharmacologically fine-tuned and used to predict drug mechanism of action.
Bio: Dr. Priya Shah is an assistant professor of Chemical Engineering and Microbiology & Molecular Genetics at UC Davis. Her group works at the intersection of these two disciplines, applying quantitative systems biology tools to study biological processes with a focus on virus-host interactions. Dr. Shah grew up in Toledo, Ohio, and had her first research experience in a biochemistry lab at University of Toledo. She received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from MIT, and her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from UC Berkeley with David Schaffer. Dr. Shah did her postdoc in systems virology at UCSF with Nevan Krogan and Raul Andino. When not doing science, she enjoys improvising 90s music into songs about family members (usually the dog).