Session 146

A very wet lab: Translating optical technology to the marine environment for ecophysiology measurement of free-ranging marine mammals

Dr Chris McKnight
18:15, Tuesday 5 October 2021

We have a very exciting talk by Dr Chris McKnight, a research fellow at the Sea Mammal Research Unit at the University of St. Andrews. Check out the moodle page and facebook for event details and links!

Can we predict how organic molecules crystallise?

Professor Sally Price
18:15, Tuesday 12 October 2021

Join us on Tuesday for a talk by UCL's very own Professor Sally Price. Her research aims to model the intermolecular and intramolecular forces in organic molecules, such as pharmaceuticals, sufficiently realistically so that they can be used for predicting the crystallization and solid state properties of the molecules.

Superhero Science: The Next Time You Go to the Movies

Dr Sibrina Collins
13:00, Wednesday 13 October 2021

Dr Sibrina Collins will be talking about the uses of pop-culture as pedological resources in STEM education.

Sensors and Analytical Microsystems

Dr Ruchi Gupta
18:15, Tuesday 19 October 2021

Join us for a talk led by Dr Ruchi Gupta, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham.

Banking the World’s Seeds, and other stories…

Dr Christopher Cockel
13:00, Wednesday 20 October 2021

We have an exciting talk by Dr Christopher Cockel, the coordinator for the UK Native Seed Hub (UKNSH) at Kew Gardens.
The talk will look at the role of Millennium Seed Bank Partnership in safeguarding the world’s plant genetic resources at a time when plant populations globally are under unprecedented pressures from anthropogenic activities. I’ll explain why we do what we do and how we do it, and I’ll give some case study examples of recently concluded and active projects where seed banking is conserving these genetic resources for use in such activities as safeguarding future food security, for their medicinal properties, and in species conservation and habitat restoration more generally.

Bioinspired Processing of Soft Materials

Professor Esther Amstad
13:00, Wednesday 27 October 2021

This Wednesday lunchtime we have a super interesting talk by Professor Esther Amstad, a soft matter researcher at EPFL.
Nature produces materials possessing exceptional mechanical properties. These properties are to a large extent related to the well-defined structure and locally varying composition of natural materials. Key to the excellent control nature possesses over the structure and local composition of its materials is their fabrication: Many of these materials are formed from compartmentalized reagents that are transported to the desired locations where they are locally released. Inspired by nature, we use emulsion drops as compartments to build macroscopic granular load-bearing soft materials. In this talk, I will demonstrate how we use emulsion drops to produce self-healing capsules that controllably release reagents on demand and how we convert these capsules and microparticles into strong macroscopic hydrogels. These hydrogels can bear significant loads, a feature that is frequently seen in natural hydrogels, but very rarely obtained in synthetic counterparts.

Bioelectronics in Tissue Engineering and Disease Modeling

Dr Brian Timko
18:15, Thursday 28 October 2021

Join us for a talk led by Prof Brian Timko, an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University.
Hybrid bioelectronic systems offer a unique route toward achieving two-way electronic communication with living cells and tissues. Recent advances in bioelectronics and bioactive materials have enabled multiplexed, stable and seamless interfaces with surrounding cells and tissues, representing a distinct advantage over conventional systems such as patch clamp and optical dyes. We will first present an overview of our recent heart-on-a-chip platform which integrated both extra- and intracellular devices for monitoring cardiac electrophysiology during episodes of acute hypoxia. This system allowed us to monitor not only cell-cell communication (e.g., wavefront propagation) but also action potentials at several spatially-distinct regions simultaneously. Our platform provided a unique route toward understanding the role of hypoxia on ion channel dynamics. For example, we found that APs narrowed during hypoxia, consistent with proposed mechanisms by which oxygen deficits activate ATP-dependent K+ channels that promote membrane repolarization. We will next discuss routes toward extending our bioelectronic platform to 3D, enabling new classes of hybrid, devices-embedded tissues. We developed a Photo-crosslinkable Silk Fibroin (PSF) derivative which was compatible with conventional photolithography processes and enabled flexible scaffolds with well-defined geometries and cm-scale uniformity. Our freestanding PSF-based scaffolds supported bioelectronic devices, provided excellent electrical passivation, and adhered both cardiac and neuron model cells, opening new avenues toward engineered brain hybrids. We will also present recent work to develop electromagnetic stimulation elements for spatially-selective cellular activation. Taken together, these research directions open new avenues for engineered, bioelectronics-innervated cardiac and brain systems. We will discuss prospects for merging our bioelectronic devices with state-of-the-art tissue engineering techniques.

Fragments of Crystalline Silicon via Target-Oriented Synthesis

Professor Rebekka Klausen
18:15, Tuesday 2 November 2021

Join us for a talk led by Professor Rebekka Klausen, a associate professor at JHU Department of Chemistry.
Daily life depends on the ubiquitous semiconductor silicon: computers, solar cells, and many more. Yet silicon synthesis relies on top-down, high-temperature approaches that yield only the most thermodynamically stable forms of silicon. Uncovering new structure-function space demands a different synthetic vision. This talk will describe the synthesis of molecular and polymeric silanes inspired by the complexity, selectivity, and elegance of target-oriented organic synthesis. Topics include the chemoselective polymerization of novel bifunctional silane monomers, selective preparation of linear and cyclic polycyclosilanes, and the stereocontrolled synthesis of cis- and trans-siladecalin. Approaches to the structural characterization of novel silane architectures will also be discussed.

Molecular Organisation: A Journey Through Complex Structures

Professor Neil Champness
13:00, Wednesday 3 November 2021

Join us for a talk by Professor Neil Champness, his work at the University of Birmingham focuses on supramolecular chemistry!
Synopsis:
Non-covalent directional intermolecular interactions provide a pre-determined recognition pathway which has been widely exploited in supramolecular chemistry to form functional nanostructures in the solid-state, in solution and on surfaces. Our studies using intermolecular interactions to enable the directed assembly of extended nanostructures will be presented.
The talk will include studies of solid-state self-assembly to create metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), including examples that enable the crystallographic study of reaction processes; solution-phase self-assembly of interlocked structures, including new molecular handcuff structures that facilitate studies of the effect of intermolecular stacking on optical and redox properties; and surface-based self-assembly studies including highly unusual random self-assembly.

Using Dietary Tracers to Understand the Feeding Ecology of North Atlantic Killer Whales

Anaïs Remili
18:15, Tuesday 16 November 2021

Join us on Tuesday for a talk by Anaïs Remili, a PhD candidate at McGill University. On top of her research on killer whales, Anaïs is the founder of Whale Scientists, a science communication platform about marine mammals that features early-career marine mammalogists.
Synopsis:
Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are among the most contaminated animals on the planet. Their exposure to high levels of contaminants like persistent organic pollutants (POPs) has been thought to contribute to reduced reproductive success and population growth. As a generalist apex predator with a tendency to adopt prey specializations at the individual or population level, killer whales may provide critical insights into how feeding ecology may influence/drive contaminant accumulation. The use of chemical tracers has increased in the last decades due to their relative ease of sampling and ability to reflect integrated diet signals over time. This talk will dive into the North Atlantic Ocean and apply chemical tracers to different killer whale populations to understand their diets and contaminant exposures.

Solvation and Sorption: The old thermodynamic questions that still haunt us today

Dr Seishi Shimizu
13:00, Wednesday 17 November 2021

Join us for a talk by Dr Seishi Shimizu on the complexities of Thermodynamics!
Synopsis:
There are questions that trouble us when we apply chemistry. Why does this molecule dissolve so poorly? Why isn't this macromolecule stable in water? Why does this powder mixture suck up so much moisture? These questions are very difficult to answer because prediction schemes are still quite limited. The difficulty comes from the theoretical foundation: statistical thermodynamics. I will try my best to tell you why these questions are difficult and why statistical thermodynamics, despite its difficulty, is a fascinating and rewarding subject that reveals the fundamental principles beneath real-life and industrial questions.

Chemical Biology Studies of the Thalidomide Binding Domain of Cereblon

Professor Christina Woo
18:15, Tuesday 23 November 2021

Join us for a talk led by Professor Christina Woo, an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University, and an affiliate member of the Broad Institute. Christina’s research focuses on the design of small molecule and protein approaches to alter post-translational modifications and the signaling outcomes they produce.
Synopsis:
The E3 ligase adaptor cereblon is a target of thalidomide and lenalidomide, therapeutic agents that are used in the treatment of hematopoietic cancers despite teratogenic toxicity. These agents act in part by modulating substrate selection and degradation through the thalidomide binding domain of cereblon. However, despite the expanding use of cereblon in targeted protein degradation technologies, identification of a degron, the recognition domain that controls the endogenous substrate selection mechanisms of cereblon, has remained elusive. Here, I will describe chemoproteomics approaches to target identification in the study of molecular glues like lenalidomide, and how these chemical biology approaches can reveal new insights about the thalidomide binding domain of cereblon.

Two Centuries of the Rare Earths

Dr Simon Cotton
13:00, Wednesday 1 December 2021

We have an exciting talk by Dr Simon Cotton, a science communicator who has written over 7 books about transition metals, lanthanides and actinides!
Synopsis:
There are seventeen rare earths - scandium, yttrium and the lanthanides. At the time that Mendeleev published his first Periodic Table (1869), only five of these elements were known; their discovery and isolation extended from 1794 until 1947. In the last half century or so, many developments have taken place in their chemistry - extending the range of their coordination numbers, an increasing number of compounds in unusual oxidation states, and most recently lanthanide-containing enzymes, raising questions about their role in living systems. Applications bring rare earths into our lives – batteries, lighting, hard drives in PCs and wind turbines are among the examples. This talk will examine several aspects of these remarkable elements.

Plants of the São Paulo State Cerrado as Sources of Bioactive Compounds and Sustainability

Professor Patrícia Pauletti
18:15, Tuesday 7 December 2021

Join us for a talk led by Prof Patrícia Mendonca Pauletti, a professor and researcher at the University of Franca (UNIFRAN), state of São Paulo, Brazil.
Synopsis:
In the past, the São Paulo State Cerrado vegetation occupied 14% of the territory of the state of São Paulo. However, today this vegetation constitutes only 1% of the territory of this state due to growing loss of biodiversity and occupation of this biome by various economic activities. Consequently, the Cerrado areas have become cause for environmental concern and have been included among the most threatened natural ecosystems. In this scenario, protecting and promoting rational exploitation of plant biodiversity as a source of new products, such as medicines, has strategic importance for sustainable use. Plants have been selected for chemical studies and in vitro bioassays involving human cell cultures and parasites. The chemical studies have identified the presence of flavonoids, triterpenes, norneolignans, alkyl-phenols, and phenylethanoids glycosides mainly. Most of these compounds display moderate to weak activity in vitro; few present promising activity. Therefore, studies on crude extracts of new plant species should continue to contribute to chemical knowledge and chemosystematics, and some compounds deserve to be further investigated, so that their mechanism of action and activity in vivo can be established.

Robots and Automation for Chemical Reaction Optimization

Dr Nessa Carson
18:15, Tuesday 11 January 2022

Join us for a engaging talk by Dr Nessa Carson, a professional organic chemist working with laboratory automation (robots) to perform high-throughput experimentation in the private sector.

Synopsis:
High-throughput experimentation is a growing, enabling technology that allows running large, parallel sets of chemistry experiments. This type of automation is used increasingly in both research and development for pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, batteries, and materials chemistry. Often, robotics are used to dispense compounds on milligram to sub-milligram scale, to run many parallel reactions, and to analyse large datasets. The approaches to experimental design, implementation and analysis are distinct from traditional synthetic organic chemistry. The discipline also presents a profitable opportunity for individual scientists to learn about and explore fields adjacent to chemistry, including data science, robotics and equipment engineering, and computer programming.

Communicating With Our Universe

Prof. Claudia de Rham
13:00, Wednesday 12 January 2022

Abstract:

Throughout our history, we have gathered information from the Universe that surrounds us through the light it emits. We have seen the Universe through our own eyes and instruments. The direct detection of gravitational waves in 2015 has marked the beginning of a new era for science where we are now able to hear the Universe. In this event we will discuss how gravitational waves can be used as a privileged channel of communication with the Universe, potentially providing insight on the nature of gravity, the origin of the Universe and the dark components it carries. 

Peering Into the Exciton: Imaging its Electron and Hole Constituents

Prof. Keshav Dani
18:15, Tuesday 18 January 2022

Abstract:

In the 1930s, Frenkel, Wannier and others described the existence of a two-particle excitation – an exciton, that forms when an insulator or semiconductor absorbs light. The resulting photoexcited electron binds to the oppositely charged hole creating the exciton.

Since then, we have learned that excitons are critical to understanding the optical response of semiconductors and insulators. They impact a variety of interesting phenomena in condensed matter physics, materials systems and opto-electronic devices. However, they have largely been studied using only optical techniques. This leaves an important degree of freedom of the exciton inaccessible – its momentum. For decades, accessing the momentum coordinates of an exciton has been a grand challenge, promising rich knowledge of the exciton. But this is a non-trivial task for a variety of technical and conceptual reasons.

Over several years now, we’ve developed novel time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy tools in my lab at OIST that enable us to access the momentum coordinates of the exciton in two-dimensional semiconductors. In this talk, I will discuss what we have learned from such measurements – from making movies of the formation dynamics of dark excitons [1], to visualizing the real and momentum-space distributions of the electron [2] and hole [3] inside the exciton.

[1] Science 370, 1199 (2020).

[2] Science Advances 7, eabg0192 (2021).

[3] arXiv:2108.01933 (2021)

Revealing the Atomic-Level Structure of Biomolecules in Solution

Dr Natasha Rhys
18:15, Tuesday 25 January 2022

From Order to Disorder: NMR Insights into Ionic Conduction in Battery Solid Electrolytes

Prof. Raphaele Clément
18:15, Tuesday 1 February 2022

Sebum Based Metabolomics: A Quest for my Tricorder

Dr Drupad Trivedi
18:15, Thursday 3 February 2022

Yukawa coupling between the Higgs boson and tau leptons with the CMS experiment at CERN

Mohammad Hassanshahi
18:15, Tuesday 8 February 2022

Sensitive and Selective Bioanalysis using SERS and SESORS 

Prof Karen Faulds
13:00, Wednesday 9 February 2022

ABSTRACT:

Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is an analytical technique with several advantages over competitive techniques in terms of improved sensitivity and multiplexing. We have made great progress in the development of SERS as a quantitative analytical method. Many bioanalytical detection methods exist, with fluorescence spectroscopy tending to dominate, however SERS has the advantage that it is both sensitive and has the ability to multiplex which is limited when using techniques such as fluorescence. We have developed approaches to both identify and quantify the presence of multiple analytes within a mixture e.g. pathogenic DNA sequences, bacteria using SERS combined with data analysis techniques.   

Here we demonstrate the development of new bioanalytical assays based upon SERS which have been used successfully for the detection of bacterial pathogens using modified SERS active probes. Biomolecule functionalised nanoparticles have been designed to give a specific SERS response resulting in discernible differences in the SERS which can be correlated to the presence of specific pathogens. In this presentation the simultaneous detection and quantitation of 3 pathogens within a multiplex sample will be demonstrated. We also explore the use of functionalized nanoparticles for the phenotypic screening of breast cancer cells and to study the effect of drug treatment on receptor status. The uptake of targeted versus non-targeted nanoparticles in breast cancer spheroids using a microfluidics approach will also be discussed. We have also recently published the use of nanoparticles functionalised with resonant Raman reporter molecule for the visualization of a 3D breast cancer tumour models at depth using Spatially Offset Raman combined with SERRS (SESORRS).  

Unusual Chemistry from Cyanobacteria

Dr Pedro Leao
18:15, Tuesday 22 February 2022

Managing Your Mental Health: A Conversation I wish​ I could have with my younger self.

Dr Zoe Ayres
18:15, Thursday 24 February 2022

Bioelectronics in Tissue Engineering and Disease Modelling

Prof Brian Timko
18:15, Tuesday 1 March 2022

International Women’s Day

Jessica Wade
18:15, Tuesday 8 March 2022

Join us for a talk led by Jessica Wade for International Women's Day!

“Science and storytelling: how who we talk about matters.”

Despite women leading the development of the Moderna, Astra Zeneca and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, only half of UK adults can name a woman scientist. That’s not entirely surprising given the GCSE national curriculum for science doesn’t include a single woman’s name. Jess will talk about how who we talk about matters and how we can make our science classrooms more inclusive spaces. She’ll also discuss her efforts to increase visibility of scientists from historically marginalised groups on Wikipedia, her research in materials science and nanotechnology, the power of social media for early career researchers and her new picture book ‘Nano, the Spectacular Science of the Very (Very) Small,’.

How the Nose Knows – in You, a Maggot and a Neanderthal 

Prof. Matthew Cobb
18:15, Tuesday 15 March 2022

Smell is our most enigmatic sense. It plays a fundamental role in many aspects of animal life, underpins many ecological relationships and provides us with sensory pleasure, and yet we understand very little of how it works. This has become a growing issue in the current pandemic, with so many people suffering from various forms of smell and taste disorder. In this talk I will explain what we do and do not know about olfaction, and show how we can use genetics to find out more, in both model organisms and our extinct relatives. There will be a brief interactive session at the beginning, so please come along with something small to eat, like a jelly bean, or a grape! 

Presidential Talk: Stradivarius Crystal Clear

Dr Kreso Bucar
18:15, Tuesday 22 March 2022