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Date: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 |
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 | Date: | Tuesday, May 25, 2010 | | Time: | 7:30pm - 9:00pm | | Location: | Harvard University Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department Building, Room: M217 | | Street: | 12 Oxford street | | City/Town: | Cambridge, MA |
International Nepali Biomedical Society (Boston Chapter) Presents:
Dr. Uddhav Kumar Shigdel on Gluing Enzymes to DNA
Moderated by: Bisundev Mahato
Date: May 25, 2010, Tuesday
Time: 7:30 PM - 9:00PM
Venue:
Harvard University Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department Building, Room: M217
(behind Science Center)
12 Oxford street
Cambridge, MA
Synopsis:
Each cell in our body consists of identical DNA. Imagine these DNA as pages of a book. The whole book, which consists of different chapters, is considered as chromosome. Each chapter in the book is referred to as a gene and each alphabet of the book is called a DNA base. When we grow, every cell has to duplicate itself. Just like duplicating books, we have to make sure that each page numbers go to the right place. There is a machine, in other words an enzyme, which makes sure that each page goes to the right place. Each cell inside us has this machine and it is called TOP2. Sometimes the alphabet in the book can be modified. In order to preserve the correct information in the book there is an enzyme called hOGG1 that throws away the modified alphabet and incorporate the correct one. Most of the books that we read do not come in a single color. An enzyme called DNMTs is a major player that decides the color of the book.
It is always hard to accept that these tiny enzymes which cannot be seen through our naked eyes are the ones that dictate how long we live and how well we live. For me they are Brahma, Bishnu, Mahesh and all other 33 million gods. Only 50,000 molecules of hOGG1 inside each cell protect the entire 6 X 10^9 alphabet. How does hOGG1 find a rare modified alphabet amongst the vast expanse of normal alphabet? They must be efficient and specific to solve this needle in a hay stack problem and a slight error on its part can lead to cancer. We have always been fascinated by magicians’ trick of separating a chain into individual rings. In reality, the magician creates an illusion of inter-conversion by a sleight of hand, but TOP2 are the true magician inside
each cell in us. They can tear one page and pass though another page in such a sophisticated fashion that slight error in their function can lead to various
cancers. For majority of instances in life, we believe more is better. Cells
cannot be greedy. Over production of DNMTs is one of the hallmarks of various cancers including breast cancer.
It is hard to understand the nature of our creator. It is even harder to
understand how these enzymes protect us. I will be talking about developing
some chemical methods where we could glue these enzymes to DNA to aid us in better understanding.
Speaker Biography
Dr. Shigdel is a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University, working with Dr.
Gregory Verdine, who is a pioneer in chemical biology field . Recently Dr.
Shigdel was awarded the prestigious American Association for Cancer research Anna D. Barker fellowship in basic cancer research, given to only one postdoctoral fellow in the world. Uddhav K. Shigdel is a graduate of Budhanilkantha School (A-levels), Colorado College (BSc), and University of
Chicago (PhD). He was selected to receive one of only two annual full
scholarships offered to international students at Colardo Colleges.
Originally he wanted to study environmental science, but the idea of being able to make compounds with bare two hands that are biologically active lured him to be an organic chemist. After graduating from Colorado College with a degree in Chemistry and Asian Studies, he came to the University of Chicago to pursue a doctorate in Chemistry. In the lab of Dr. Chuan He, he came to savor the beauty of applying chemistry to understanding cancer. Dr. Shigdel subsequently went on to published two first author papers on prestigious Chemistry journals called Journal of American Chemical society and Angewandte Chemie. Dr. Shigdel utilizes chemistry to understand various biological problems. Particularly he has been working with three enzymes DNMT, TOP2 and hOGG1 that play major roles in various cancers.
Direction:
From Harvard Square, walk into the Harvard Quad. Walk towards the church, memorial Hall and the Science Center. Keeping the Science Center to your left, walk towards the Museum of Natural History. The building will be on the right before reaching the museum.
The event is co-sponsored by:
Boston Chhalphal
For More information, please contact:
Ashim Subedee, asubedee@gmail.com
Bibek Karki, itsbibek@gmail.com
Bigyan Raj Bista, brbista@mit.edu
Bisundev Mahato, Bisundev_Mahato@hms.harvard.edu
Elina Pradhan, elina.pradhan@gmail.com
Sabin Dhakal, Sabin_dhakal@dfci.harvard.edu
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Venue:
12 Oxford Street Cambridge MA 02138
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