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VERSION:2.0
PRODID:icalendar-ruby
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
X-WR-CALNAME:Frank C. P. and Grace C. Yin Distinguished Lecture: Mikhail G.
  Shapiro
X-WR-TIMEZONE:Central Time (US & Canada)
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260907T101258Z
UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_51781951254741
DTSTART:20260427T180000Z
DTEND:20260427T190000Z
DESCRIPTION:Presenting on “Talking to cells: biomolecular ultrasound to i
 mage and control cells deep inside the body”.\n\nFrank C. P. and Grace C
 . Yin Distinguished Lecture: Mikhail G. Shapiro\, PhD\, Max Delbrück Prof
 essor of Chemical Engineering and Medical Engineering at California Instit
 ute of Technology\, will speak on Monday\, April 27\, 2026 at 1:00 pm cent
 ral time in Whitaker 100.\n\nAbstract: Studying biological function in int
 act organisms and developing targeted cellular therapies requires methods 
 to image and control the function of specific cells deep inside the body. 
 Fluorescent proteins and optogenetics serve this purpose in small\, transl
 ucent specimens\, but are limited by the poor penetration of light into de
 eper tissues. In contrast\, most non-invasive techniques such as ultrasoun
 d and magnetic resonance imaging – while based on energy forms that pene
 trate tissue – are not effectively coupled to cellular function. Our wor
 k attempts to bridge this gap by engineering biomolecules with the appropr
 iate physical properties to interact with sound waves and magnetic fields.
  In this talk\, I will describe our recent work on biomolecular reporters 
 and actuators for ultrasound. The reporters are based on gas vesicles – 
 a unique class of air-filled protein nanostructures derived from buoyant p
 hotosynthetic microbes. These proteins scatter sound waves\, enabling thei
 r detection with ultrasound. I will describe our progress in understanding
  the biophysical and acoustic properties of these biomolecules\, introduci
 ng them genetically into various cell types of interest for in vivo imagin
 g\, and turning them into dynamic sensors of intracellular molecular signa
 ls. In addition to their applications in imaging\, gas vesicles can be use
 d to control cellular location and function by serving as receivers of aco
 ustic radiation force or seeding localized bubble cavitation. Additional c
 ontrol is provided by thermal bioswitches – biomolecules that provide sw
 itch-like control of gene expression in response to small changes in tempe
 rature.  I will describe how these functionalities allow the development o
 f remote-controlled cell therapies and diagnostics.\n\nBio: Mikhail Shapir
 o is the Max Delbrück Professor of Chemical Engineering and Medical Engin
 eering\, an HHMI Investigator\, and Director of the Center for Molecular a
 nd Cellular Medicine at Caltech. The Shapiro laboratory develops biomolecu
 lar technologies allowing cells to be imaged and controlled inside the bod
 y using noninvasive methods such as ultrasound. These technologies enable 
 the study of biological function in vivo and the development of cell-based
  and gene-based diagnostic and therapeutic agents. Mikhail received his Ph
 D in Biological Engineering from MIT and his BSc in Neuroscience from Brow
 n. He conducted post-doctoral research at the University of Chicago and th
 e University of California\, Berkeley\, where he was a Miller Fellow. Mikh
 ail’s awards include the NIH Pioneer Award\, the Vilcek Prize for Creati
 ve Promise\, the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award\, the Carl Hellmuth
  Hertz Ultrasonics Award and the Fulbright-Tocqueville Distinguished Chair
 . Mikhail is an inducted Fellow of the World Molecular Imaging Society. Al
 ongside academic research\, Mikhail has been involved as a founder and adv
 iser to several biotechnology and medical device startups. More informatio
 n about the Shapiro Lab can be found online at shapirolab.caltech.edu.
GEO:38.649125;-90.303135
LOCATION:Uncas A. Whitaker Hall\, 100
SUMMARY:Frank C. P. and Grace C. Yin Distinguished Lecture: Mikhail G. Shap
 iro
URL;VALUE=URI:https://happenings.washu.edu/event/frank-c-p-and-grace-c-yin-
 distinguished-lecture-mikhail-g-shapiro
CATEGORIES:Seminar/Colloquia
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR