Happening @ Michigan https://events.umich.edu/list/rss RSS Feed for Happening @ Michigan Events at the University of Michigan. Functional roles of phase separation at the plasma membrane (September 10, 2021 12:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/84683 84683-21626063@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Friday, September 10, 2021 12:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: LSA Biophysics

Research in the Veatch lab over the last decade has used conventional and super-resolution fluorescence localization microscopy to interrogate the structure and function of phase-related heterogeneity in plasma membranes. This presentation will highlight recent advances from the lab, including our work to demonstrate that membrane phase separation contributes to the organization, dynamics, and signaling activity of proteins at B cell receptor clusters. I will also discuss our recent theoretical work examining emergent properties of polymer rich droplets at heterogeneous membranes, making predictions for how liquid-liquid phase separation in the cytoplasm couples to the distinct phase transition at the plasma membrane.

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Workshop / Seminar Tue, 24 Aug 2021 13:14:20 -0400 2021-09-10T12:00:00-04:00 2021-09-10T13:00:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab LSA Biophysics Workshop / Seminar Sarah Veatch
Analyzing Anomalous Diffusion in Single-Molecule Tracks with Nonparametric Bayesian Inference and Deep Learning (September 17, 2021 12:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/86157 86157-21631748@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Friday, September 17, 2021 12:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: LSA Biophysics

Single-particle tracking (SPT) enables the investigation of biomolecular dynamics at a high temporal and spatial resolution in living cells, and the analysis of these SPT datasets can reveal biochemical interactions and mechanisms. We have developed a new SPT analysis framework, NOBIAS, which applies nonparametric Bayesian statistics and deep learning approaches to thoroughly analyze SPT datasets. We utilize a Hierarchical Dirichlet process Hidden Markov Model (HDP-HMM) to infer the number of diffusive states and the associated dynamics, populations and step labels for each diffusive state, then we apply a Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) to classify the diffusion type of each diffusive state. We further validate the performance of NOBIAS with simulated tracks and the quantify diffusion of single outer-membrane proteins in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron.

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Workshop / Seminar Wed, 01 Sep 2021 13:42:06 -0400 2021-09-17T12:00:00-04:00 2021-09-17T13:00:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab LSA Biophysics Workshop / Seminar Chemistry Dow Lab
Droplet Like It's Hot: How Chemistry Changes in Tiny Volumes (September 20, 2021 10:00am) https://events.umich.edu/event/86736 86736-21635921@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Monday, September 20, 2021 10:00am
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

Analytical
Jeffrey Dick (University of North Carolina)

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Other Mon, 20 Sep 2021 18:15:25 -0400 2021-09-20T10:00:00-04:00 2021-09-20T17:00:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
Balancing spatial heterogeneity and migration to slow the evolution of resistance in a bacterial pathogen (September 24, 2021 12:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/86117 86117-21631587@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Friday, September 24, 2021 12:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: LSA Biophysics

Spatial heterogeneity can dramatically impact evolution in bacterial communities, raising the question of whether spatial profiles of drug concentration can be tuned to slow the emergence of antibiotic resistance. In this work, we combine lab evolution experiments in spatially connected, computer-controlled chemostats with mathematical models to investigate resistance evolution in E. faecalis, an opportunistic bacterial pathogen. We find that both the rate of adaptation to doxycycline, a protein-synthesis inhibiting antibiotic, and the associated cost of resistance in the associated mutants depends strongly on drug concentration in spatially uniform populations. Interestingly, when spatially separated subpopulations are exposed to different concentrations of drug, adaptation can be dramatically slowed by tuning the rate of migration between habitats, leading to selection for phenotypically distinct resistant mutants. Our results highlight the rich evolutionary dynamics of adaptation in spatially connected habitats and indicate that resistance evolution can be slowed by balancing evolutionary trade-offs of migration and heterogeneity.

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Workshop / Seminar Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:40:56 -0400 2021-09-24T12:00:00-04:00 2021-09-24T13:00:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab LSA Biophysics Workshop / Seminar Chemistry Dow Lab
Investigation of structural switch that regulates pre-miR-92a processing by NMR (September 24, 2021 12:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/84767 84767-21624923@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Friday, September 24, 2021 12:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: LSA Biophysics

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression in a variety of biological pathways such as development and tumorigenesis. miRNAs are initially expressed as a long primary transcripts (pri-miRNA) which are processed to yield pre-miRNAs and ultimately mature miRNAs. The miR-17-92a cluster, also known as ‘oncomiR-1’ is a polycistronic pri-miRNA that plays a pivotal regulatory role in cellular processes, including the cell cycle, proliferation and apoptosis. OncomiR-1 includes six constitute miRNAs, each processed with different efficiencies as a function of both developmental time and tissue type. However, the structural mechanism that regulate the differential processing still remain unclear.
NMR is a key technique that has significantly advanced our understanding of RNA structure and dynamics. In vitro processing assays indicate that pre-miR-92a processing is inhibited relative to other miRs within oncomiR-1. We are interested in uncovering the structural basis for the differential processing by NMR. NPSL2 has been identified as an inhibitor of pre-miR-92a processing. Therefore, in this work we determined the solution structure of NPSL2. Our data suggest that NPSL2 is dynamic, and we hypothesize that the dynamics are linked to regulation of processing. Our ongoing efforts will investigate the mechanism of the structural switch that promotes premiR-92a processing in the context of the full-length oncomiR-1 RNA.

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Workshop / Seminar Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:32:04 -0400 2021-09-24T12:00:00-04:00 2021-09-24T13:00:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab LSA Biophysics Workshop / Seminar Chemistry Dow Lab
Annual Flu Shot Clinic (October 1, 2021 9:00am) https://events.umich.edu/event/85994 85994-21630748@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Friday, October 1, 2021 9:00am
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry


University of Michigan Health Immunization Program

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Auditions Fri, 01 Oct 2021 18:15:28 -0400 2021-10-01T09:00:00-04:00 2021-10-01T16:00:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Auditions Chemistry Dow Lab
Structural origin of the mechanics and fracture properties of articular cartilage (October 1, 2021 12:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/84685 84685-21624425@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Friday, October 1, 2021 12:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: LSA Biophysics

Articular cartilage (AC) is a soft tissue that provides a smooth cushion and distributes the mechanical load in joints. As a material, AC is remarkable. It is only a few millimeters thick, can bear up to ten times our body weight over 100-200 million loading cycles despite minimal regenerative capacity, and still avoids fracturing. The simultaneous strength, fracture resistance, and longevity of native AC remain unmatched in synthetic materials. Such properties are desperately needed for tissue engineering, tissue repair, and even soft robotics applications. I will discuss the structural origins of and microscopic mechanisms leading to AC’s exceptional mechanical properties using the framework of rigidity percolation theory and compare our predictions with experiments. Our results provide an understanding of the tissue depth-dependent mechanical properties and how tissue mechanics changes in response to changes in tissue composition during diseases such as osteoarthritis. This framework also offers insights into how structure, composition, and constitutive mechanical properties can be tuned to resist and blunt cracks in AC and cartilage-inspired soft materials. The flexibility in resulting material properties and ease of implementation can be harnessed to fabricate artificial tissue constructs with tunable mechanics. I will discuss results that are an important step towards achieving this future.

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Workshop / Seminar Thu, 30 Sep 2021 10:33:41 -0400 2021-10-01T12:00:00-04:00 2021-10-01T13:00:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab LSA Biophysics Workshop / Seminar Chemistry Dow Lab
Paul Zimmerman Promotion Seminar (October 5, 2021 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/86998 86998-21638110@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, October 5, 2021 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

Physical

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Other Tue, 05 Oct 2021 18:15:31 -0400 2021-10-05T16:00:00-04:00 2021-10-05T17:00:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
From molecules to development: how biological clocks function and coordinate (October 8, 2021 12:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/84686 84686-21624426@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Friday, October 8, 2021 12:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: LSA Biophysics

Organisms from bacteria to humans employ complex biochemical or genetic oscillatory networks, termed biological clocks, to drive a wide variety of essential cellular and developmental processes for robust timing. Despite their complexity and diversity, these clocks seem to share some core architectures that are highly conserved from species to species, suggesting an essential role of network structures underlying clock functioning.

The Yang lab, bridging biophysics and systems & synthetic biology, has integrated modeling with experiments in minimal systems to elucidate universal physical mechanisms underlying the complex processes. In this talk, I will focus on our recent efforts in answering several fundamental questions regarding the design and behaviors of cell cycles and embryonic developmental patterns. Computationally, we have identified network motifs, notably incoherent inputs, that universally enhance systems' robust performance. Experimentally, we developed a unique synthetic-cell system to analyze circuits and functions of robustness and tunability in cell-sized microfluidic droplets. We also explore the role of energy and mechanical and biochemical signaling in spatiotemporal patterns.

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Workshop / Seminar Thu, 30 Sep 2021 10:32:09 -0400 2021-10-08T12:00:00-04:00 2021-10-08T13:00:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab LSA Biophysics Workshop / Seminar Chemistry Dow Lab
Integrative structural biology of telomerase (October 11, 2021 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/85450 85450-21626469@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Monday, October 11, 2021 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

Telomerase is a unique RNA-containing reverse transcriptase that synthesizes the 3’-end of
telomeres. It is a highly regulated determinant of tumorigenesis, cellular aging, and stem cell
renewal. All telomerases contain a catalytic core comprising telomerase reverse transcriptase
(TERT) and telomerase RNA (TER), along with other proteins involved in biogenesis, assembly,
and activation. TER has an integral template complementary to ~1.5 telomere repeats used by
TERT to repetitively synthesize the telomere repeat (TTGGGG in Tetrahymena and TTAGGG in
human), but this template alone is insufficient for activity with TERT. Our interest in telomeres
and telomerase began in the 1990’s when we studied the structure of telomeric repeat
sequences, using NMR to determine the first G-quadruplex structures. For the past decade, we
have been using an integrative structural biology approach combining NMR, X-ray
crystallography, and electron microscopy to study the structure and function of Tetrahymena
and human telomerase. I will discuss how our NMR studies of telomerase RNA structure and
dynamics, X-ray crystal structures of protein-TER complexes, and cryo electron microscopy of
the holoenzyme have together helped reveal the structure, function, and interactions of this
remarkable enzyme.
Juli Feigon (University of California)

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Other Mon, 11 Oct 2021 18:15:37 -0400 2021-10-11T16:00:00-04:00 2021-10-11T17:30:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
Pavel Nagorny Promotion Seminar (October 14, 2021 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/86999 86999-21638111@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Thursday, October 14, 2021 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

Organic

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Other Thu, 14 Oct 2021 18:15:26 -0400 2021-10-14T16:00:00-04:00 2021-10-14T17:00:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
Relating Structure and Function in Actin (October 15, 2021 12:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/84768 84768-21624924@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Friday, October 15, 2021 12:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: LSA Biophysics

Actin is one of the most abundant intracellular proteins and it is highly conserved across all eukaryotes. The primary functional form of actin is the filament, formed by the polymerization of actin monomers. This polymerization process is exquisitely controlled through a host of actin-binding proteins, but since actin is an ATPase, it is also a function of the bound nucleotide. Much of our understanding of actin comes from experiments using animal cells, but even though the protein sequence is strongly conserved, the function and dynamics of actin in yeast, or more primitive systems, show some interesting differences. In this talk I will present results from a combination of simulations and mathematical modeling that provide new insight into the sequence-structure-function relationship in this important protein.

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Workshop / Seminar Wed, 06 Oct 2021 13:19:22 -0400 2021-10-15T12:00:00-04:00 2021-10-15T13:00:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab LSA Biophysics Workshop / Seminar Chemistry Dow Lab
Understanding and Controlling Electrochemistry for Electrolyzers and Batteries (October 21, 2021 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/84375 84375-21623627@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Thursday, October 21, 2021 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

Analytical
Andrew Gewirth (University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign)

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Other Thu, 21 Oct 2021 18:15:26 -0400 2021-10-21T16:00:00-04:00 2021-10-21T17:30:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
Navy Cyber Policy Guest Speaker on campus Fri., Oct. 22 (October 22, 2021 3:45pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/88477 88477-21654564@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Friday, October 22, 2021 3:45pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Navy ROTC

Navy ROTC Fireside Chat with Rear Admiral Jeff Scheidt

Date: Friday, October 22, 2021
Time: 3:45-4:30pm
Location: Chemistry Bldg., Room 1210, 930 N University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Moderated by: Captain Scott Bunnay, Clinical Professor and Chair of Navy ROTC Department

Open to all faculty, students and staff

Presenter: Rear Admiral Jeff Scheidt, United States Navy
Deputy Principal Cyber Advisor to the Secretary of Defense and Senior Military Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy on Cyber Policy.

Topic: The topic of this Fireside Chat will be “The Department of Defense’s Strategic Approach to Cyber Policy.”

Rear Admiral Scheidt will also draw from his experiences as the deputy chief, Computer Network Operations, National Security Agency, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.

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Presentation Thu, 21 Oct 2021 08:34:23 -0400 2021-10-22T15:45:00-04:00 2021-10-22T16:30:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Navy ROTC Presentation Navy ROTC
Division of Labor and Mechanism of Translocation in a Ring ATPase (October 29, 2021 12:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/84687 84687-21624427@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Friday, October 29, 2021 12:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: LSA Biophysics

Many transport processes in the cell are performed by a diverse but structurally and functionally related family of proteins. These proteins, which belong to the ASCE (Additional Strand, Conserved E) superfamily of ATPases, often form mutimeric rings. Despite their importance, a number of fundamental questions remain as to the coordination of the various subunits in these rings. Bacteriophage phi29 packages its 6.6 mm long double-stranded DNA using a pentameric ring nano motor Using optical tweezers, we find that this motor can work against loads of up to ~55 picoNewtons on average, making it one of the strongest molecular motors ever reported. Interestingly, the packaging rate decreases as the prohead fills, indicating that an internal pressure builds up due to DNA compression attaining the value of ~3 MegaPascals at the end of packaging, a pressure that is used as part of the mechanism of DNA injection in the next infection cycle. We have used high-resolution optical tweezers to show that the motor packages the DNA in alternating phases of dwells and bursts. During the dwell the motor exchanges nucleotide, whereas during the burst, the motor packages 10 bps of DNA per cycle. We have also characterized the steps and intersubunit coordination of this ATPase. By using non-hydrolyzable ATP analogs and stabilizers of the ADP bound to the motor, we establish where DNA binding, hydrolysis, and phosphate and ADP release occur relative to translocation during the motor’s cycle. Surprisingly, a division of labor exists among the subunits: while only 4 of the subunits translocate DNA, all 5 bind and hydrolyze ATP, suggesting that the fifth subunit fulfills a regulatory function. Furthermore, we show that the motor not only can generate force but also torque. We characterize the role played by the special subunit in this process and identify the symmetry-breaking mechanism in the motor. Finally, we use dsRNA, and RNA/DNA hybrids to establish what factor determines the size of the motor burst, which together with recent structural data, allows us to propose a novel mechanism of translocation for this motor.

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Workshop / Seminar Mon, 18 Oct 2021 09:28:00 -0400 2021-10-29T12:00:00-04:00 2021-10-29T13:00:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab LSA Biophysics Workshop / Seminar Chemistry Dow Lab
Traversing charge dynamics landscapes: Reduced dimensionality-inspired design of organic-metal halide semiconductors for energy applications (November 2, 2021 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/84363 84363-21623582@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, November 2, 2021 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

Organic-inorganic interfaces while highly desirable for a host of applications, present several challenges that remain unresolved, including the ability to control the assembly of the organic and inorganic components and interfaces at the molecular level (orientation and mode of attachment), matching of phonon band structure in inorganics with discrete vibrations within the molecule, and tuning energetic offsets for effective charge and spin transfer. Each of these parameters ultimately govern charge transport, the preservation of coherence, and energy transfer.
In this talk, I will discuss fundamental guidelines for the design of well-defined organic-inorganic heterostructured materials with controlled morphology and interfaces that serve as conduits for deterministic and coherent spin and charge transfer. I will divide my talk into two different sub-topics, i.e., (1) how matching phonon structure across interfaces through control of mode and site of attachment of molecules to surfaces allow for efficient coherent charge transfer and (2) how topologically protected electronic states can be defined by 2D assembly of pi-conjugated molecules and layered organic-inorganic hybrid materials on surfaces for spin-coherent electronic transport. Here, I will emphasize the role that dimensionality plays in modulating the spin and charge properties of organic-inorganic hybrid structures. The common thread between these two sub-topics is the fundamental understanding of energy and charge transfer at the interfaces of organic-inorganic hybrid materials to control charge (spin) injection, transport, manipulation, and detection with implications for photovoltaics, energy storage, quantum electronics, and spintronics.
Luisa Whittaker-Brooks (University of Utah)

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Other Tue, 02 Nov 2021 18:15:31 -0400 2021-11-02T16:00:00-04:00 2021-11-02T17:30:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
RNA Diffusion Behavior Changes Under Hyperosmotic Phase Separation & Coupled Oscillators in Developmental Patterning and Growth (November 5, 2021 12:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/84770 84770-21624926@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Friday, November 5, 2021 12:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: LSA Biophysics

Proteins and RNAs can form functional biological condensates, also known as me braneless organelles, via liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS). The partitioning of different proteins and RNAs between the dilute phase and the condensed phase provides delicate regulation over their functions, from promoting biochemical reactions and specific intermolecular interactions, to sequestering key molecules from downstream processing or signaling. Hyperosmotic phase separation (HOPS) is a recently discovered LLPS triggered by the hyperosmotic compression of cell volume. A majority of homo-multimeric proteins are shown to undergo HOPS in several cell types, including kidney cells that experience osmolarity fluctuations daily. Moreover, HOPS is much faster than most cellular LLPS processes (within ~10 s versus over minutes to hours), and thus HOPS condensates could be first responders sensing cell volume change and priming other stress responses. However, it was unclear whether RNAs contribute to HOPS and how HOPS impacts the diffusion behaviors and functions of different RNAs. Here, I used both fixed-cell super-resolution imaging and live-cell single molecule RNA tracking to quantify the interaction of mRNAs, lncRNAs, and miRNAs with HOPS condensates, and measure the change in their diffusion behaviors in the presence of HOPS. The preliminary results suggest that different RNAs have distinctive partitioning behaviors among HOPS condensates, and long-range active transport of RNAs are diminished under hyperosmotic conditions, presumably due to the compartmentalization by HOPS condensates.
&
Coordinated regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation is fundamental to the growth and patterning of multicellular structures. To understand how growth and patterning are coupled during vertebrate development, we designed both in-vivo and in-vitro systems to study the interactions between the cell cycle and the segmentation clock across different scales. We use a 3D zebrafish embryonic tissue model to demonstrate that the phase dynamics of the cell cycle and segmentation clock are spatially dependent. To further study the spatiotemporal dynamics of the two clocks, we designed a microfluidic oscillator device to show that fine tuning kinetic parameters allows control of morphogen gradients, laying preliminary work towards constructing an artificial segmentation clock

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Workshop / Seminar Mon, 01 Nov 2021 13:44:12 -0400 2021-11-05T12:00:00-04:00 2021-11-05T13:00:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab LSA Biophysics Workshop / Seminar Chemistry Dow Lab
What 2DIR Can Tell Us About Complex and Heterogeneous Biophysical Systems (November 18, 2021 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/84163 84163-21620520@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Thursday, November 18, 2021 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

While two-dimensional infrared (2DIR) spectroscopy has been useful for studying properties of peptides and proteins, many of those results were made on “clean”, homogenous samples. My lab’s long-term goal is to turn the sensitive and ultrafast observables of 2DIR into useful image contrast agents for complex biophysical systems, where they can answer questions related to solvation dynamics and molecular structure that few other methods can address. To that end, I will present three projects from my lab that move us closer to this goal. 1: Proline-arginine (PR) dipeptide repeats are an example of a growing number of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) that can assemble into membraneless organelles by Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), and has also been implicated in the disease mechanism of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We show that formation of droplets by PR20 accompanies changes in the Amide-I spectra consistent with folding into poly-proline helical structures, providing, to our knowledge, the first piece of evidence that LLPS can drive folding of IDPs. 2: For cross-α fibrils, recently discovered structures derived from the biofilms of virulent strains of Staphylococcus Aureus bacteria, the absorptive spectra are virtually indistinguishable from monomeric α-helices. As such, we performed a detailed study of the nonlinear infrared response of this system under a variety of experimental conditions and detail how polarization sensitive 2DIR, in combination with both broad-band time domain and narrow-band frequency domain spectroscopy, together revealed. a coherent nonlinear signature unique to α-fibrils. In addition, spatial scanning of the sample revealed underlying polymorphism in the fibrils, demonstrating that this peptide is capable of adopting both cross-α and cross-β fibril structure in the same environment. 3: Wide-field imaging through dielectric microspheres has emerged in recent years as a simple and effective approach for generating super-resolution images at visible wavelengths. We demonstrate that polystyrene dielectric microspheres can be used in a wide-field infrared (IR) microscope to enhance far field resolution as well. We observe a clear improvement in resolution and magnification when images are collected through polystyrene microspheres and anticipate that super-resolution could be achieved with the addition of high-quality IR objectives.



Arnaldo Serrano (University of Notre Dame)

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Other Thu, 18 Nov 2021 18:15:27 -0500 2021-11-18T16:00:00-05:00 2021-11-18T17:30:00-05:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
Tuning Active Sites in Catalytic Nanomaterials through Colloidal Synthesis (November 30, 2021 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/84369 84369-21623615@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, November 30, 2021 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

Supported metal atoms and nanoparticles are found ubiquitously as heterogeneous catalysts for a wide variety of industrial, organic, and energy catalytic processes. The electronic and steric environment at the nanomaterial surface has a huge impact on the reactivity and selectivity of catalytic transformations occurring at surface active sites, but these properties are difficult to independently control through conventional materials synthetic methods. In this work, we develop molecularly-precise surface functionalization strategies in order to precisely tune both the ensemble geometry and redox properties of active site metal atoms. These strategies include 1) the adsorption of inorganic ligands on colloidal nanoparticle surfaces in order to synthesize monolayer and sub-monolayer core-shell catalysts, 2) control of bimetallic surface ensemble geometry to catalyze diastereoselective organic reactions, and 3) tuning the metal–sulfur coordination environment of single atoms supported on metal chalcogenide nanosheets for electrochemical catalysis. All of these strategies develop new structural frameworks for modulating the surface active site environment in order to access more reactive and selective nanomaterial catalysts.

Christina Li (Purdue University)

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Other Tue, 30 Nov 2021 18:15:37 -0500 2021-11-30T16:00:00-05:00 2021-11-30T17:30:00-05:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
3rd Year Analytical Student Seminars (December 2, 2021 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/89241 89241-21661209@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Thursday, December 2, 2021 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

Analytical
Analytical Seminar Speaker

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Other Thu, 02 Dec 2021 18:15:31 -0500 2021-12-02T16:00:00-05:00 2021-12-02T17:30:00-05:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
Hybrid self-assembled nanomaterials from proteins, peptides, and DNA (January 7, 2022 12:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/84772 84772-21624927@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Friday, January 7, 2022 12:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: LSA Biophysics

The ability to design materials that mimic the complexity and functionality of biological systems is a long standing goal of nanotechnology, with applications in medicine, energy, and fundamental science. Biological molecules such as proteins, peptides, and DNA possess a rich palette of self-assembly motifs and chemical functional diversity, and are attractive building blocks for the synthesis of such nanomaterials. In this talk, we will describe research in creating hybrid materials that incorporate proteins and peptides with DNA nanotechnology to create cages, nanofibers, and 3D crystals with a high degree of programmability and nanoscale resolution. Key to these endeavors will be (bio)molecular design, organic chemistry for linking components in a site-specific fashion, and the tuning of multiple self-assembly "modes" to create hybrid structures. Although the talk will focus on the fundamental chemistry and self-assembly of these systems, we will also discuss potential applications in areas such as targeted cargo delivery, biomaterials for regenerative medicine, biophysical devices, and synthesis of virus- and antibody-mimetic nanostructures.

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Workshop / Seminar Mon, 03 Jan 2022 09:09:21 -0500 2022-01-07T12:00:00-05:00 2022-01-07T13:00:00-05:00 Chemistry Dow Lab LSA Biophysics Workshop / Seminar Chemistry Dow Lab
Mechanisms of CRISPR-mediated immunity and applications beyond editing (January 11, 2022 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/88986 88986-21659471@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, January 11, 2022 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

Bacteria and archaea have evolved sophisticated adaptive immune systems that rely on CRISPR RNA (crRNA)-guided detection and nuclease-mediated elimination of invading nucleic acids. In this presentation, I will summarize recent bioinformatic, biochemical, and structural studies that explain how conserved DNA sequence motifs that flank CRISPR loci recruit a collection of Cas and non-Cas proteins. Collectively, these proteins kink and twist the host DNA into two consecutive U-shaped structures that specify the location for integration of foreign DNA. Like so many other research projects, the progress of this work has been delayed by the global pandemic. Unexpectedly, our fundamental research on CRISPRs led to the development of a creative new CRISPR-based diagnostic for RNA viruses. I will share recent results and ongoing challenges for rapid and sensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2 using a CRISPR-based detection method.
Blake Wiedenheft (Montana State University)

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Other Tue, 11 Jan 2022 18:15:43 -0500 2022-01-11T16:00:00-05:00 2022-01-11T17:15:00-05:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
MCDB Faculty Candidate > A multi-genomic approach for untangling interspecies RNA warfare (January 18, 2022 11:45am) https://events.umich.edu/event/90350 90350-21670446@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, January 18, 2022 11:45am
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Host: Erik Nielsen

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Workshop / Seminar Mon, 03 Jan 2022 14:52:08 -0500 2022-01-18T11:45:00-05:00 2022-01-18T12:45:00-05:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Workshop / Seminar Yellow MCDB initials and microscope cartoon on blue background
Structure-Function Relationships of Single Fluorescent Macromolecules (January 20, 2022 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/88613 88613-21656201@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Thursday, January 20, 2022 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

When chemical reactivity is measured for a series of systematically related molecules, a structure-function relationship can be derived that summarizes the effect of the perturbation. This seminar will develop the idea of studying chemistry with single molecule structure-function relationships. In our implementation, optical tweezers are used to isolate a tethered single molecule and apply a force bias to create sub-ensembles of well-defined extension. For fluorescent molecules, the intrinsic optical emission can provide a probe of function. Ongoing research will be discussed, including an investigation into the green fluorescent family of proteins. These proteins share a common chromophore capable of a diverse range of photochemistries (electron transfer, proton transfer, isomerization, oxidative addition) whose reactivity is determined by subtle environmental changes.



Ziad Ganim (Yale University)

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Other Thu, 20 Jan 2022 18:15:29 -0500 2022-01-20T16:00:00-05:00 2022-01-20T17:30:00-05:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
TBA (January 21, 2022 12:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/90314 90314-21670331@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Friday, January 21, 2022 12:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: LSA Biophysics

TBA

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Workshop / Seminar Mon, 03 Jan 2022 09:18:32 -0500 2022-01-21T12:00:00-05:00 2022-01-21T13:00:00-05:00 Chemistry Dow Lab LSA Biophysics Workshop / Seminar Chemistry Dow Lab
MCDB Faculty Candidate > Light as a Trigger of Chromatin Dynamics (January 25, 2022 11:45am) https://events.umich.edu/event/90358 90358-21670453@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, January 25, 2022 11:45am
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Host: Ming Li

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Workshop / Seminar Fri, 21 Jan 2022 09:16:51 -0500 2022-01-25T11:45:00-05:00 2022-01-25T12:45:00-05:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Workshop / Seminar Yellow MCDB initials and microscope cartoon on blue background
MCDB Faculty Candidate > An exploration of cis-regulatory diversity in plant single cells (January 27, 2022 11:45am) https://events.umich.edu/event/90359 90359-21670454@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Thursday, January 27, 2022 11:45am
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Host: Andrzej Wierzbicki

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Workshop / Seminar Mon, 03 Jan 2022 17:10:19 -0500 2022-01-27T11:45:00-05:00 2022-01-27T12:45:00-05:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Workshop / Seminar Yellow MCDB initials and microscope cartoon on blue background
Bright chiral light from small molecules (February 1, 2022 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/91340 91340-21678329@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, February 1, 2022 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

Inorganic
Gael Ung (University of Connecticut)

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Other Tue, 01 Feb 2022 18:15:33 -0500 2022-02-01T16:00:00-05:00 2022-02-01T17:30:00-05:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
MCDB Faculty Candidate > Phase Separation Control of Plant Immunity (February 8, 2022 11:45am) https://events.umich.edu/event/90361 90361-21670456@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, February 8, 2022 11:45am
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Host: Anthony Vecchiarelli

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Workshop / Seminar Tue, 01 Feb 2022 11:29:58 -0500 2022-02-08T11:45:00-05:00 2022-02-08T12:45:00-05:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Workshop / Seminar Yellow MCDB initials and microscope cartoon on blue background
Modeling Enzymatic Reactivity with Copper Coordination Complexes (February 8, 2022 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/84411 84411-21623897@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, February 8, 2022 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

Synthetic models of enzyme intermediates play an important role in evaluating mechanistic hypotheses for critical biochemical reactions. In the first part of my talk, I will present the synthesis of dicopper coordination complexes as models to understand the reactivity of NO and NO2- at copper enzymes. We discovered that dicopper complex could activate NO or nitrite to generate a unique dicopper (II,III) oxo nitrosyl species [Cu2(μ-O)(μ-NO)]2+, which exhibits oxidative and nitrosative reactivity. This new mode of reactivity has important implications in how Nature employs NO and nitrite as electron acceptors for hydrocarbon oxidation. In the second part of my talk, I will discuss how synthetic models of monocopper oxygenases can be applied in the synthesis of pharmaceutically relevant organic molecules. Inspired by lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases, we develop a general Cu(II)/Cu(III) platform to activate simple nucleophiles (Nu) toward C-H functionalization. Oxidation of Cu(II)-Nu to Cu(III)-Nu endows the Nu moiety with hydrogen atom transfer and radical capture reactivity. Building on this platform, we have established a catalytic C-H fluorination method that selectively produces monofluorinated products in an undivided electrochemical cell at room temperature.

Shiyu Zhang (Ohio State University)

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Other Tue, 08 Feb 2022 18:15:39 -0500 2022-02-08T16:00:00-05:00 2022-02-08T17:30:00-05:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
MCDB Faculty Candidate > Molecular logic and evolution of bitter taste in flies (February 10, 2022 11:45am) https://events.umich.edu/event/90360 90360-21670455@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Thursday, February 10, 2022 11:45am
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Postponed due to weather. New date: February 10
Host: Mohammed Akaaboune

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Workshop / Seminar Tue, 01 Feb 2022 20:29:08 -0500 2022-02-10T11:45:00-05:00 2022-02-10T12:45:00-05:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Workshop / Seminar Yellow MCDB initials and microscope cartoon on blue background
MCDB Faculty Candidate > The neural basis of sickness and immune-driven behaviors (February 15, 2022 11:45am) https://events.umich.edu/event/90362 90362-21670457@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, February 15, 2022 11:45am
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Host: Kwoon Wong

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Workshop / Seminar Mon, 03 Jan 2022 17:27:45 -0500 2022-02-15T11:45:00-05:00 2022-02-15T12:45:00-05:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Workshop / Seminar Yellow MCDB initials and microscope cartoon on blue background
From Thermodynamics to Spin Trapping: Challenges across the Periodic Table (February 17, 2022 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/91341 91341-21678330@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Thursday, February 17, 2022 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

Physical
Angela Wilson (Michigan State University)

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Other Thu, 17 Feb 2022 18:15:29 -0500 2022-02-17T16:00:00-05:00 2022-02-17T17:30:00-05:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
MCDB Faculty Candidate > A genetically tractable jellyfish model for systems and evolutionary neuroscience (February 22, 2022 11:45am) https://events.umich.edu/event/90363 90363-21670458@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, February 22, 2022 11:45am
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Host: E. Josie Clowney

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Workshop / Seminar Tue, 01 Feb 2022 20:26:21 -0500 2022-02-22T11:45:00-05:00 2022-02-22T12:45:00-05:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Workshop / Seminar Yellow MCDB initials and microscope cartoon on blue background
Activity-based chemical probes for RNA modifying enzymes (February 22, 2022 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/88867 88867-21658706@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, February 22, 2022 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

Epitranscriptomic RNA modifications can regulate RNA activity, however there remains a major gap in our understanding of the scope of RNA chemistry present in biological systems, the enzymes responsible for regulating modification levels, and the ultimate function of these modifications in biological processes. To address this gap, our group has developed RNA-mediated activity-based protein profiling (RNABPP), a chemoproteomic strategy relying upon metabolic RNA labeling with modified nucleoside probes, RNA-protein enrichment, and quantitative proteomics. This lecture will discuss the application of RNABPP with fluoropyrimidine nucleosides in human cells in order to profile diverse families of RNA modifying enzymes including m5C and m5U methyltranferases, as well as dihydrouridine synthase (DUS) enzymes. Time allowing, I will also discuss new developments in RNA metabolic labeling technology.







Ralph Kleiner (Princeton University)

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Other Tue, 22 Feb 2022 18:15:39 -0500 2022-02-22T16:00:00-05:00 2022-02-22T17:15:00-05:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
Structural biology in-situ: Human nuclear pore complex (February 25, 2022 12:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/92630 92630-21693810@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Friday, February 25, 2022 12:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: LSA Biophysics

Nuclear pore complex (NPCs) is the largest non-polymeric protein complex in the cell. It mediates nucleocytoplasmic transport. The intricate 120 MDa architecture remains incompletely understood. We combine AI-based structure prediction with in situ and in cellulo cryo-electron tomography and integrative modeling to report near complete model of human NPC scaffold. We show that linker Nups spatially organize the scaffold within and across subcomplexes to establish the higher-order structure. This work exemplifies how AI-based modeling can be integrated with in situ structural biology to understand subcellular architecture across spatial organization levels.

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Workshop / Seminar Mon, 21 Feb 2022 13:49:22 -0500 2022-02-25T12:00:00-05:00 2022-02-25T13:00:00-05:00 Chemistry Dow Lab LSA Biophysics Workshop / Seminar Chemistry Dow Lab
MCDB Faculty Candidate > Neuronal Activity - Dependent DNA Repair in Plasticity and Aging (March 1, 2022 11:45am) https://events.umich.edu/event/90405 90405-21670710@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, March 1, 2022 11:45am
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Host: Sara Aton

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Workshop / Seminar Tue, 08 Feb 2022 13:48:39 -0500 2022-03-01T11:45:00-05:00 2022-03-01T12:45:00-05:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Workshop / Seminar Yellow MCDB initials and microscope cartoon on blue background
New generation of neurophotonics for multiscale access of mammalian brain (March 11, 2022 12:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/93013 93013-21699104@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Friday, March 11, 2022 12:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: LSA Biophysics

Human brain as the center of the nervous system controls our physiology, consciousness, and behavior. The function of the brain relies on the interactions of tens of billions of neurons through tens of trillions of synapses. Gaining precise knowledge of neural circuits relies on innovative and transformative tools for quantitative measurement of cellular dynamics and signaling in the live brain. Our lab works at the interface of optical engineering, device fabrication, image processing, and neuroscience to deliver enabling tools for neuroscience research. Specifically, we are working on three frontiers. First, the major challenge of cellular resolution function recording is the superficial access depth. Current methods are limited to ~ 1 mm depth, insufficient to access deep brain regions. We have developed Clear Optically Matched Panoramic Access Channel Technique (COMPACT) for deep-brain large-scale neurophotonic interface. I will present the results of applying COMPACT for deep-brain calcium imaging. Second, high-performance glutamate sensors and voltage indicators are on the horizon. Seeing information flow at millisecond time scale with subcellular resolution among neural circuits in the live mammalian brain is about to become a reality. However, currently available imaging tools are insufficient to keep up with the sensor response. We have developed an optical gearbox that can convert existing scopes for such high-speed measurement. I will present the results of in vivo kHz imaging. Third, cellular resolution recording has been limited to animal models. In comparison, fMRI and ultrasound can be applied to human brain. Can we leverage the advance of cellular resolution recording to address the key challenges of human brain measurement modalities? I will discuss the latest progress on the multimodal imaging of mammalian brain.

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Workshop / Seminar Fri, 04 Mar 2022 12:57:07 -0500 2022-03-11T12:00:00-05:00 2022-03-11T13:30:00-05:00 Chemistry Dow Lab LSA Biophysics Workshop / Seminar Chemistry Dow Lab
Establishing Compositional Control in 2D and 3D Metal Sulfide Electrocatalysts to Drive CO2 and CO Conversion to Alcohols (March 15, 2022 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/84371 84371-21623617@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

Development of materials that address the growing dichotomy of simultaneously increasing energy demands and carbon emissions is an imperative that has progressively affected energy-related research efforts. An emerging technical avenue in this area is the conversion of vastly abundant renewable energy sources that can be harnessed and directed towards synthesis of traditionally fossil fuel-based products from atmospheric feedstocks like CO2. To this end, our work establishes structure—function relationships for materials within the versatile classes of MX2 (M = Mo, W; X = S, Se) and Chevrel-Phase (CP) MyMo6X8 (M = alkali, alkaline, transition or post-transition metal; y = 0-4; X = S, Se, Te) chalcogenides. The molybdenum sulfide structures from both families exhibit exceptional promise as CO2R catalysts. Furthermore, we have identified the CP catalyst framework as being selective towards the electrochemical reduction of CO2 and CO to methanol (only major liquid-phase product) under applied potentials as mild as -0.4 V vs RHE. Reactivity toward electrochemical reduction of CO2 and CO to methanol is correlated with increased population of chalcogen states, as confirmed via X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy. Overall, this work seeks to unravel optimally reactive novel small-molecule reduction catalyst compositions.
Jesus Velazquez (University of California, Davis)

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Other Tue, 15 Mar 2022 18:15:27 -0400 2022-03-15T16:00:00-04:00 2022-03-15T17:15:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
Functional MRI 2021-22 Speaker Series with Kawin Setsompop, Ph.D. (March 15, 2022 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/92833 92833-21697181@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Functional MRI Lab

Abstract:

Advances in MRI’s instrumentation, data acquisition, and reconstruction algorithms have opened up exciting opportunities for dramatic gains in MR image encoding efficiency, particularly through the use of continuous volumetric data acquisition strategies. In this talk, I will provide an overview of the on-going research in my lab in developing technologies in this direction. The goal of our work has been in moving towards more precise MR imaging, or ‘precision MRI’, where the targets have been in achieving: i) rapid and comprehensive, high-resolution brain exam with a wealth of precise quantitative tissue parameters and multi-tissue compartment information, and ii) high-speed mesoscale structural and functional imaging of the brain, where the imaging can be done precisely, free of the typical distortion and blurring artifacts that have plagued standard EPI and spiral acquisitions.

You can attend in person: 4 p.m. Chemistry & Dow Willard H Laboratory (Central Campus), Room 1300.

You can attend via Zoom: https://umich.zoom.us/j/96633733558, passcode: 721418

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Lecture / Discussion Mon, 28 Feb 2022 13:18:26 -0500 2022-03-15T16:00:00-04:00 2022-03-15T17:30:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Functional MRI Lab Lecture / Discussion Kawin Setsompop, Ph.D.
“What Does It Mean to Keep a Secret?” Film Series (March 17, 2022 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/91338 91338-21678342@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Thursday, March 17, 2022 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Judaic Studies

Join the Jean and Samuel Frankel Center for Judaic Studies for a hybrid film series on the topic of "Secrets."

Documenting Secret Origins
Dr. Deborah Porter, University of Washington, Seattle
March 10, 4pm
Hybrid
Zoom Registration: https://myumi.ch/G11Qg
North Quad Room 2435

Drawing from her research on the impact of family secrets on psychological functioning and organization, Dr. Porter approaches Michal Weits' Blue Box and Shir Newman's How to Say Silence as cultural objects that have much to offer researchers interested in human behavior and motivation. She calls attention to the films' tacit illumination of a cultural psychology that lies at the foundation of Israelite self-construal and expression. Situating these remarkable films within a broader context of transgenerationally transmitted trauma and a psychology of secrets enhances and deepens our appreciation of the films' palliative effect.


March 17, 4pm
Screening of "Blue Box" by Michal Weits
Chemistry Building Room 1800
Virtual stream registration: https://forms.gle/UMbR5kqQyYEvz5ay9
The link will be available to stream March 17-20


March 24, 4pm
Screening of "How to Say Silence" by Shir Newman
Chemistry Building Room 1800
Virtual stream registration: https://forms.gle/qPARJYoLajxT7jpL7
The link will be available to stream March 24-27


March 25, 12pm
Virtual Panel
Zoom Registration: https://myumi.ch/RWWR8
The film screenings will be followed by a virtual panel with Deborah Porter and both of the films' directors, Michal Weitz and Shir Newman.



Trained as a Sinologist, Deborah Porter's interdisciplinary research on the impact of shameful family secrets on cultural production spans a wide swath of time and geography, including Early China, and fifteenth-and sixteenth-century Western Europe, Russia and Korea. She has authored From Deluge to Discourse: Myth, History and the Generation of Chinese Fiction (SUNY 1996); Collective Trauma and the Psychology of Secrets in Transnational Film (Routledge 2018); and most recently The Evolution of Chinese Filiality: Insights from the Neurosciences (Routledge 2022).

Michal Weits is an Israeli documentary director and producer, studied at the Sam Spiegel Film & Television School. Former head producer of the leading Israeli documentary Channel 8 (HOT network), in charge of highly acclaimed films: "The Law in These Parts”, "5 Broken Cameras", "The Flat", and many more. In 2013 Weits Founded 'Tape Runners', an independent production company. ‘Tape Runners' titles include Production: "WALL" (director: Moran Ifergan), winner for the best documentary, DocAviv film festival 2017. Distribution: "The Decent One", "No Place on Earth" and more. BLUE BOX is Weits' debut film as a director.

Shir Newman, 30, is a director and photographer who graduated from Kibbutzim College in cinema. She is a founding member of “Bush” collective for queer-feminist art and works as a coordinator for community arts programs and gallery director.

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Film Screening Thu, 03 Mar 2022 16:44:45 -0500 2022-03-17T16:00:00-04:00 2022-03-17T18:00:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Judaic Studies Film Screening Deborah Porter, Michal Weits, and Shir Newman
“What Does It Mean to Keep a Secret?” Film Series (March 24, 2022 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/91338 91338-21678343@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Thursday, March 24, 2022 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Judaic Studies

Join the Jean and Samuel Frankel Center for Judaic Studies for a hybrid film series on the topic of "Secrets."

Documenting Secret Origins
Dr. Deborah Porter, University of Washington, Seattle
March 10, 4pm
Hybrid
Zoom Registration: https://myumi.ch/G11Qg
North Quad Room 2435

Drawing from her research on the impact of family secrets on psychological functioning and organization, Dr. Porter approaches Michal Weits' Blue Box and Shir Newman's How to Say Silence as cultural objects that have much to offer researchers interested in human behavior and motivation. She calls attention to the films' tacit illumination of a cultural psychology that lies at the foundation of Israelite self-construal and expression. Situating these remarkable films within a broader context of transgenerationally transmitted trauma and a psychology of secrets enhances and deepens our appreciation of the films' palliative effect.


March 17, 4pm
Screening of "Blue Box" by Michal Weits
Chemistry Building Room 1800
Virtual stream registration: https://forms.gle/UMbR5kqQyYEvz5ay9
The link will be available to stream March 17-20


March 24, 4pm
Screening of "How to Say Silence" by Shir Newman
Chemistry Building Room 1800
Virtual stream registration: https://forms.gle/qPARJYoLajxT7jpL7
The link will be available to stream March 24-27


March 25, 12pm
Virtual Panel
Zoom Registration: https://myumi.ch/RWWR8
The film screenings will be followed by a virtual panel with Deborah Porter and both of the films' directors, Michal Weitz and Shir Newman.



Trained as a Sinologist, Deborah Porter's interdisciplinary research on the impact of shameful family secrets on cultural production spans a wide swath of time and geography, including Early China, and fifteenth-and sixteenth-century Western Europe, Russia and Korea. She has authored From Deluge to Discourse: Myth, History and the Generation of Chinese Fiction (SUNY 1996); Collective Trauma and the Psychology of Secrets in Transnational Film (Routledge 2018); and most recently The Evolution of Chinese Filiality: Insights from the Neurosciences (Routledge 2022).

Michal Weits is an Israeli documentary director and producer, studied at the Sam Spiegel Film & Television School. Former head producer of the leading Israeli documentary Channel 8 (HOT network), in charge of highly acclaimed films: "The Law in These Parts”, "5 Broken Cameras", "The Flat", and many more. In 2013 Weits Founded 'Tape Runners', an independent production company. ‘Tape Runners' titles include Production: "WALL" (director: Moran Ifergan), winner for the best documentary, DocAviv film festival 2017. Distribution: "The Decent One", "No Place on Earth" and more. BLUE BOX is Weits' debut film as a director.

Shir Newman, 30, is a director and photographer who graduated from Kibbutzim College in cinema. She is a founding member of “Bush” collective for queer-feminist art and works as a coordinator for community arts programs and gallery director.

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Film Screening Thu, 03 Mar 2022 16:44:45 -0500 2022-03-24T16:00:00-04:00 2022-03-24T18:00:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Judaic Studies Film Screening Deborah Porter, Michal Weits, and Shir Newman
A New Way to Stop the Spread of Viral Respiratory Infections (March 29, 2022 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/93801 93801-21708246@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, March 29, 2022 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

I want to speak about viral respiratory diseases, such as influenza and COVID-19. When COVID-19 first appeared, public health authorities worried about the new coronavirus being spread by contact with large fluid droplets or by residues upon droplet evaporation. The guidance for individual behavior that was given included washing hands, cleaning groceries, wearing face coverings, avoiding people who sneeze or cough, and keeping some social distance apart from other individuals. But a detailed understanding of flu transmission, which took decades to develop, led scientists to understand only relatively recently that SARS-CoV-2 follows the same path of airborne transmission. Researchers found that the virus is breathed out in small particles by infected individuals while talking, singing, sneezing, and coughing. And these viruses have been found in many indoor environments. Those infected can even spread the virus when showing no symptoms of being sick, which shows that transmission does not depend on coughing or sneezing. Large wet droplets are not required for transmission.

The transmission of many infectious diseases requires that pathogens can survive, that is, remain infectious, in the environment, outside the host. It has long been recognized that viral respiratory diseases show a seasonal variation in temperate parts of the world, such that they increase in the winter but decrease in the summer. This behavior is strongly correlated with outside temperature, but viruses are hardy and are not killed by temperature changes of the outdoors. Instead, evidence has accumulated that the correlation is strongest with relative humidity in which viruses show U-shaped viability, surviving best in high or low humidity but surviving much more poorly in the relative humidity range of 40 to 60 %.[1] People in temperate regions of the world spend about 90% of their time indoors, and the relative humidity of indoor air is typically much reduced in the wintertime caused by heating of the indoor air which is necessary to keep people warm.[2] Evidence will be presented that relative humidity affects the evaporation rate of aqueous microdroplets (aerosols) in the air, and that relative humidity values of 40-60% provide enough time to kill viruses in aqueous microdroplets.[3] This conclusion explains this seasonal variation, which has heretofore been quite puzzling and often ignored. We find that this killing is promoted by the presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in aqueous microdroplets in the size range of 1 to 20 microns in diameter. The possible mechanism for the formation of ROS will be discussed.

References:

1. Lin K, Marr LC. (2020) "Humidity-dependent decay of viruses, but not bacteria, in aerosols and droplets follows disinfection kinetics," Environmental Science & Technology 54, 1024-1032.
2. Bozic A, Kanduc M. (2021) "Relative humidity in droplet and airborne transmission of disease." Journal of Biological Physics 47,1-29.
3. Dulay MT, Huerta Aguila AC, Chamberlayne CF, Zare RN, Davidse A, Vukovic S. (2021), "Effect of Relative Humidity on Hydrogen Peroxide Production in Water Droplets," QRB Discovery 2, e8, 1-6.





Dick Zare (Stanford University)

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Other Tue, 29 Mar 2022 18:15:35 -0400 2022-03-29T16:00:00-04:00 2022-03-29T17:30:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
Proteostasis and Viral Evolution (April 4, 2022 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/85240 85240-21626064@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Monday, April 4, 2022 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

Our group is broadly interested in understanding how cells fold complex proteins, as well as in the design and application of next-generation in vivo directed evolution platforms. In recent work, we used chemical genetic tools for controlling mammalian proteostasis networks to reveal that RNA viruses hijack host chaperones to facilitate their rapid evolution. This phenomenon has proven broadly significant for understanding viral adaptation and pathology. More recently, we discovered that host protein quality control mechanisms (as opposed to folding chaperones) can have the opposite effect on viral evolution -- effectively constraining viral mutational space. The connections drawn between host proteostasis and viral evolution have potentially significant implications for topics including viral host-switching, vaccine development, and the design of improved antiviral therapeutic strategies. Moreover, these principles may provide strategies to turbo-charge directed evolution campaigns aimed at the development of new biotechnologies.

Matthew Shoulders (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

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Other Mon, 04 Apr 2022 18:15:27 -0400 2022-04-04T16:00:00-04:00 2022-04-04T17:30:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
Mini-Enzymes for Hydrogen Production and Small Molecule Activation (April 5, 2022 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/84372 84372-21623618@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, April 5, 2022 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

Inorganic
Kara Bren (University of Rochester)

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Other Tue, 05 Apr 2022 18:15:24 -0400 2022-04-05T16:00:00-04:00 2022-04-05T17:30:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
Interdisciplinary QC/CM Seminar | Dynamical Electronic Correlations: From Models to Materials (April 7, 2022 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/94213 94213-21724630@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Thursday, April 7, 2022 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Physics

I will discuss the role of dynamical correlations in predicting electronic excitation spectra in systems ranging from molecules to condensed systems with thousands of electrons. Using the many-body perturbation theory based on Green's function formalism, we can study individual quasiparticle states and even non-trivial quasiparticle-quasiparticle interactions. First, I will exemplify these approaches on small test systems, for which we can find numerically exact excitation spectra and study the role of various theoretical formulations. Second, I will show practical applications to quantum materials, e.g., in studying the correlated phenomena for localized moire states in twisted bilayer graphene. For the latter, we employ our real-space and real-time stochastic methods and combine them with embedding and ab-initio downfolding onto explicitly correlated Hamiltonians. This framework, leveraging efficient low-scaling numerical techniques, is generally applicable to (quantum) material science and chemistry problems and constitutes an ideal platform for simulating complex nanoscale systems with thousands of electrons at a minimal computational cost.

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Workshop / Seminar Thu, 07 Apr 2022 18:16:21 -0400 2022-04-07T16:00:00-04:00 2022-04-07T17:00:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Physics Workshop / Seminar Chemistry Dow Lab
Chaperoning Protein Folding with RNA, and Fun with Foldit (April 8, 2022 12:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/94317 94317-21733895@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Friday, April 8, 2022 12:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: LSA Biophysics

Maintaining the folding health of the proteome is a critical cellular task. It has recently become appreciated that RNAs and RNA:protein complexes play important roles in maintenance of proteomic health. Here, we investigate the role of RNAs in direct modulation of protein aggregation and folding. To begin, an in vitro screen identified that G-quadruplexes are highly efficient general molecular chaperones. Testing these G-quadruplexes in E. coli demonstrated that these RNAs improve the protein folding environment in the cell. Protein folding experiments showed that some G-quadruplexes directly accelerate protein folding. In-cell experiments then found that this acceleration of protein folding drives better quality protein folding in E. coli. Finally, fast protein:RNA oligomerization was discovered for several G-quadruplexes, providing a biophysical explanation for the outsized role of G-quadruplexes in protein aggregation diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease and ALS. Together, these studies provide a striking example of how RNA structure impacts protein folding and misfolding disease. We will additionally discuss the use of citizen science both to improve structural biology research and biochemistry education using the biochemistry video game Foldit.

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Workshop / Seminar Mon, 04 Apr 2022 08:56:09 -0400 2022-04-08T12:00:00-04:00 2022-04-08T13:00:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab LSA Biophysics Workshop / Seminar Chemistry Dow Lab
Metal Oxo Clusters in Oxidation Chemistry and Water-Splitting Catalysis (April 11, 2022 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/91343 91343-21678332@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Monday, April 11, 2022 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

The conversion of solar energy into a useful chemical fuel represents a major scientific goal in the drive towards a society powered by renewable energy. Several potential solar fuels seem possible, including hydrogen from proton reduction, or hydrocarbons from the reduction of carbon dioxide. Useful rates of solar fuel production must rely on an efficient oxidation that generates electrons and protons. In nature's photosynthesis, this is accomplished by a tetra-manganese oxo cluster (the oxygen-evolving complex, OEC), which yields 4 protons and 4 electrons by the photo-oxidation of water (the oxygen evolution reaction, OER). For solar fuel applications this water-splitting half reaction must be catalyzed to make it energetically feasible, and transition-metal oxo cubane clusters related to the OEC represent intriguing model systems and design motifs for new water-splitting catalysts based on abundant metals. Molecularly derived catalysts of this type offer potential advantages, including the synthetic tunability of catalytic and chemical properties. In addition, the study of high-valent molecular species can provide key insights into the mechanism of water oxidation and help bridge the gap between solid-state and molecular systems to allow for more rational design of catalysts. This presentation will describe high-valent metal complexes and clusters, and a detailed mechanism for the evolution of oxygen via water oxidation at a tetranuclear cobalt oxo cubane. An important aspect to this catalysis relates to the manner in which metals cooperate to mediate multi-electron, multi-proton oxidations. In further pursuit of these concepts, the synthesis and study of related heterometallic oxo clusters have been targeted.

Don Tilley (University of Caifornia, Berkeley)

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Other Mon, 11 Apr 2022 18:15:26 -0400 2022-04-11T16:00:00-04:00 2022-04-11T17:30:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
Nickel-Mediated Radical Pathways and Applications to Peptide Modification (April 12, 2022 11:00am) https://events.umich.edu/event/94329 94329-21734377@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, April 12, 2022 11:00am
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

Reactions involving organic radical intermediates have been traditionally regarded as overly reactive and unselective. Nickel complexes can mediate reactions involving radicals by forming metallo-radical intermediates, and thus modulate the reactivity and control the selectivity. We apply organometallic and physical organic techniques to characterize fundamental steps involved in nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions, including radical generation, chain propagation, termination, and C–C bond formation. Mechanistic insight has informed us in the development of an enantioselective method to modify peptides. The reaction provides a convenient means to access non-canonical peptides that could serve as pharmaceutical targets.
Tianning Diao (New York University)

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Other Tue, 12 Apr 2022 18:15:17 -0400 2022-04-12T11:00:00-04:00 2022-04-12T12:00:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
Capture and Release of Metals of Energy Importance Using Redox-Switchable Carboranes (April 12, 2022 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/90378 90378-21670539@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, April 12, 2022 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

Inorganic
Gabriel Menard (UC Santa Barbara)

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Other Tue, 12 Apr 2022 18:15:17 -0400 2022-04-12T16:00:00-04:00 2022-04-12T17:15:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
Functional MRI 2021-22 Speaker Series with Katharine Thakkar, Ph.D. (April 12, 2022 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/93931 93931-21710805@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, April 12, 2022 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Functional MRI Lab

Abstract:

The ability to make rapid behavioral adjustments is critical in a dynamic environment, and impaired action control is associated with several neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. Rapid action modification and cancellation has been investigated using the stop-signal task and related paradigms. These paradigms require a fast response to a movement cue unless a subsequent signal is presented that instructs participants to inhibit or change the planned movement. Performance on these tasks is modeled as a race between competing STOP and GO processes, which permits an estimation of the time it takes to stop a prepared action—stop-signal reaction time. Using oculomotor versions of such tasks, nonhuman primate studies have investigated the cellular basis of reactive action control and performance monitoring. This body of neurophysiology work provides a firm basis from which to understand the brain circuits supporting reactive action control in humans. In this talk, I will present work that uses fMRI to examine the network involved in rapid cancellation, modification, and monitoring of gaze in humans. In addition, I will present a series of studies indicating reduced efficiency of action cancellation in individuals with schizophrenia that are related to symptoms and functional outcomes and more recent work demonstrating altered activation in a frontobasal network in individuals with schizophrenia while performing a modified oculomotor stop-signal task. Combined, this work provides a link between mechanisms of action control in humans and non-human primates and insights into potential mechanisms of inefficient action control in individuals with schizophrenia.

You can attend in person: 4 p.m. Chemistry & Dow Willard H Laboratory (Central Campus), Room 1300.

You can attend via Zoom: https://umich.zoom.us/j/91394388153,
passcode: 892467

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Lecture / Discussion Thu, 24 Mar 2022 07:28:12 -0400 2022-04-12T16:00:00-04:00 2022-04-12T17:30:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Functional MRI Lab Lecture / Discussion Katharine Thakkar, Ph.D.
Viral Noncoding RNAs: New Insights into RNA Structure (April 18, 2022 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/86654 86654-21635378@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Monday, April 18, 2022 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

Chembio
Joan Steitz (Yale University School of Medicine)

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Other Mon, 18 Apr 2022 18:15:10 -0400 2022-04-18T16:00:00-04:00 2022-04-18T17:15:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
Controlling Localized Surface Plasmons via an Atomistic Approach: Chemical Analysis at Angstrom Scale and Site-Selective Reactions at Sub-Molecular Scale (April 27, 2022 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/84370 84370-21623616@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Wednesday, April 27, 2022 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

My research group is interested in investigating how local chemical environments affect single-molecule behaviors with angstrom scale resolution. This talk will start from Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (TERS), which affords the spatial resolution of traditional Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) while collecting the chemical information provided by Raman spectroscopy. By using a plasmonically-active material for our scanning probe, the Raman signal at the tip-sample junction is incredibly enhanced, allowing for single-molecule probing. This method, further aided by the benefits of ultrahigh vacuum, is uniquely capable of controlling localized plasmons via an atomistic approach. We are able to obtain (1) single-molecule chemical identification; (2) the configurations and orientations of individual molecules on the surface; (3) adsorbate-substrate interactions in the ordering of molecular building blocks in supramolecular nanostructures; (4) local strain effects in an organic/2D materials heterostructure. By investigating substrate structures, superstructures, 2D materials lattices, and the adsorption orientations obtained from vibrational modes, we extract novel surface-chemistry information at an unprecedented spatial (< 1 nm) and energy (< 10 wavenumber) resolution. Another application of localized surface plasmons is to achieve site-selective chemical reactions at sub-molecular scale. We recently selectively and precisely activated multiple chemically equivalent reactive sites one by one within the structure of a single molecule by scanning probe microscopy tip-controlled plasmonic resonance. Our method can interrogate the mechanisms of forming and breaking chemical bonds at the angstrom scale in various chemical environments, which is critical in designing new atom- and energy-efficient materials and molecular assemblies with tailored chemical properties.



Nan Jiang (University of Illinois Chicago)

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Other Wed, 27 Apr 2022 18:15:12 -0400 2022-04-27T16:00:00-04:00 2022-04-27T17:30:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
Mohammad R. Seyedsayamdost (May 3, 2022 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/88355 88355-21653505@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, May 3, 2022 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

Chembio
Mohammad Seyedsayamdost (Princeton)

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Other Wed, 06 Apr 2022 06:15:29 -0400 2022-05-03T16:00:00-04:00 2022-05-03T17:15:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab
TBA (May 3, 2022 4:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/91342 91342-21678331@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Tuesday, May 3, 2022 4:00pm
Location: Chemistry Dow Lab
Organized By: Department of Chemistry

Materials
Mohammad Seyedsayamdost

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Other Wed, 06 Apr 2022 06:15:29 -0400 2022-05-03T16:00:00-04:00 2022-05-03T17:30:00-04:00 Chemistry Dow Lab Department of Chemistry Other Chemistry Dow Lab