Abstract:
How can we enable immune cells to “hear” sound waves, and how can we “see” their activities in real time? Dr. Longwei Liu’s research merges ultrasound-controllable genetic circuit engineering, cellular reprogramming, and multiplexed molecular imaging techniques to empower cells to detect and respond to ultrasound. Specifically, his research focuses on developing a clinically compatible, noninvasive, effective, focused ultrasound (FUS)-controllable Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-T cell-based immunotherapy for solid tumor treatment. Alongside this, he also develops genetically encoded fluorescent biosensors and multiplexed signaling activity imaging platform to capture the early activation molecular signaling landscapes in live immune cells to guide the design of genetic circuits. These biosensors can be further extended to study cell signaling in real time, providing insights into cellular mechanics, cell-cell and cell-material interactions. In this seminar, Dr. Liu will share recent progress on three topics: (1) engineering effective and clinically compatible ultrasound-controllable CAR-T cell immunotherapies for treating solid tumors, including glioblastoma (GBM) and prostate cancer; (2) developing a remote-controllable CRISPR toolbox to allow spatiotemporal control of genomic/epigenomic reprogramming, potentially for gene therapies; and (3) engineering “cell activity” biosensors and multiplexed signaling activity imaging platform to study T cell activation mechanisms and guide the design of genetic circuits. This combination of cell signaling observation and manipulation deepens our understanding of cellular networks, bridges the gap between observational biology and actionable therapeutics, and paves the way for innovative cell manipulation methodologies for therapy.
Zoom: https://umich.zoom.us/j/94337625486