Congratulations to Schepartz Lab postdoc Carly Schissel who was awarded a “Best Poster” award at the 2024 Genetic Code Expansion Conference last weekend in Corvallis, Oregon. Well-deserved! Featured image credit: Justin Smith, University Marketing, Oregon State University
The templated synthesis of proteins containing non-canonical and expanded backbone monomers (collectively called nnAAs) promises to vastly expand the chemical space available to biological therapeutics and materials, but existing technologies remain limiting. Addressing these limitations requires a deeper understanding of how the translational mechanism is… Read More »New paper: β-amino acids reduce ternary complex stability and alter the translation elongation mechanism
Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) catalyze the condensation of ɑ-amino acid monomers with tRNA. The resulting aminoacyl-tRNAs are used as substrates by the ribosome to generate natural sequence-defined bio-polymers. The ribosomal synthesis of non-natural sequence-defined bio-polymers demands aaRS enzymes for non-natural monomers. Current aaRS engineering platforms rely… Read More »New paper: A translation-independent directed evolution strategy to engineer aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases
Last weekend, C-GEM researchers from Berkeley attended the ChemBio in the Bay Area Day at UCSF. This annual conference brings together students from UCSF, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, and UC Santa Cruz for a day of scientific exchange and networking opportunities. Two C-GEM researchers presented:… Read More »Leah Roe wins poster prize at ChemBio in the Bay Area Day
Proteins with extended or alternative backbones represent the next frontier in protein and biomaterial evolution. One extended backbone of great interest includes β-esters found in natural products and bioplastics. In this paper, the authors report that β2-hydroxy acids possessing both (R) and (S) absolute configuration… Read More »New paper: Incorporation of multiple β2-hydroxy acids into a protein in vivo using an orthogonal aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase
This week we spoke with Dr. Nathanael Goldberg and Dr. Anthony Silvestri about careers at startups. Dr. Goldberg trained in synthetic chemistry and directed evolution before joining Aralez, a small startup in the Bay Area that makes noncanonical amino acids using biocatalysis. Dr. Silvestri trained… Read More »Recap: C-GEM chats careers at startups!
Last weekend, C-GEM exhibited at the Tri-Valley Innovation Expo at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, CA. Postdocs Alexandra Kent and Preeta Pratakshya, Graduate students Noah Hamlish and Cameron Swenson, and undergraduate Cathy Zhu joined Executive Director Sarah Smaga to share C-GEM research. Over 300… Read More »C-GEM talks biopolymers at the Tri-Valley Innovation Expo!
C-GEM is looking for our next Education, Outreach, and Diversity Manager! The position is based at UC Berkeley, where the ideal candidate will work closely with Director Schepartz and Managing Director Smaga. The Education, Outreach, and Diversity Manager manages education and outreach programs of the… Read More »Call for applications: Education, Outreach, and Diversity Manager
Three C-GEM graduate students were awarded poster prizes at the Chemistry and Biology of Peptides Gordon Research Conference last week. The theme of the conference was “Exploring Peptides as Natural and Unnatural Scaffolds for Discovery.” Leah Roe (Schepartz Lab) was awarded first place, Isaac Knudson… Read More »Three C-GEM students win poster prizes at Gordon Conference!
The ribosome is a ribonucleoprotein complex found in all domains of life. Its role is to catalyze protein synthesis, the messenger RNA (mRNA)-templated formation of amide bonds between α-amino acid monomers. Amide bond formation occurs within a highly conserved region of the large ribosomal subunit… Read More »New paper: Minimization of the E. coli ribosome, aided and optimized by community science