Sarah Smaga

New paper: Expanding the substrate scope of pyrrolysyl-transfer RNA synthetase enzymes to include non-α-amino acids in vitro and in vivo

by Sarah Smaga

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) catalyze the condensation of α-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, a major C-GEM goal, demands aaRS enzymes for monomers that are… Read More »New paper: Expanding the substrate scope of pyrrolysyl-transfer RNA synthetase enzymes to include non-α-amino acids in vitro and in vivo

New paper: Aminobenzoic acid derivatives obstruct induced fit in the catalytic center of the ribosome

by Sarah Smaga

Although the E. coli ribosome can incorporate a variety of non-L-α-amino acid monomers into polypeptide chains in vitro, there exists no high-resolution structural information regarding their positioning within the catalytic center of the ribosome, the peptidyl transferase center (PTC). Thus, details regarding the mechanism of… Read More »New paper: Aminobenzoic acid derivatives obstruct induced fit in the catalytic center of the ribosome

C-GEM celebrates Cal Day at the Science Bonanza

by Sarah Smaga

Last Saturday, C-GEM students, postdocs, and Eterna players spent a day in the sun at the Science Bonanza at Cal Day, a day-long celebration for admitted undergraduates and their families. Science Bonanza was organized by Science at Cal and brought together outreach from across disciplines… Read More »C-GEM celebrates Cal Day at the Science Bonanza

Recap: C-GEM chats careers with industry chemists

by Sarah Smaga

On Monday, C-GEM hosted two chemists from industry to chat about their career paths: Dr. Julia Lazzari-Dean and Dr. Ara Abramyan. Dr. Lazzari-Dean is a microscopist working at Calico Life Sciences and Dr. Abramyan is a computational chemist at Schrödinger and a C-GEM Seed Investigator.… Read More »Recap: C-GEM chats careers with industry chemists

C-GEM gathers in Berkeley to talk science and more

by Sarah Smaga

For the first time since 2019, the C-GEM team met in-person for two days of research, collaboration, and team-building. The core team was joined by collaborators at Berkeley, Schrodinger, and Eterna as well as representatives from the National Science Foundation.

New paper: Rare ribosomal RNA sequences from archaea stabilize the bacterial ribosome

by Sarah Smaga

Led by C-GEM graduate student Amos Nissley in the Cate Lab, this paper describes chimeric ribosomes that incorporate sequences from certain hyperthermophilic Archaea into the E. coli ribosome. These chimeric ribosomes showed higher thermotolerance than the E. coli ribosome with no change in structure. Additionally,… Read More »New paper: Rare ribosomal RNA sequences from archaea stabilize the bacterial ribosome

Demystifying the GRFP: Letters of Recommendation

by Sarah Smaga

This is the third post in our Demystifying the GRFP series. See also: Introduction, General Information and Tips, Research Proposal, Personal Statement Reference letters are an important part of your GRFP application package. Alongside your personal statement and research proposal, the letter gives reviewers a… Read More »Demystifying the GRFP: Letters of Recommendation

Introduction to “Demystifying the GRFP”

by Sarah Smaga

This is the first post in our Demystifying the GRFP series. See also: General Information and Tips, Letters of Recommendation, Research Proposal, Personal Statement Welcome to a new blog post series from C-GEM focused on the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP).… Read More »Introduction to “Demystifying the GRFP”

Recap: C-GEM Chats Careers with PUI Profs

by Sarah Smaga

Yesterday, C-GEM hosted a “career chat” discussion with two faculty members at primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs): Lou Charkoudian (Haverford College) and Leah Witus (Macalester College). There is great diversity among PUIs – Dr. Charkoudian and Dr. Witus both work at institutions with a strong focus… Read More »Recap: C-GEM Chats Careers with PUI Profs

Graduate student Héctor Torres Vera named 2022 HHMI Gilliam Fellow

by Sarah Smaga

We’re excited to announce that Héctor Torres Vera has been named one of 51 2022 HHMI Gilliam Fellows! Héctor is a rising third year graduate student in the Schepartz Lab at Berkeley. In addition to their research, they are an Editor and contributor to the… Read More »Graduate student Héctor Torres Vera named 2022 HHMI Gilliam Fellow