Title: Engineering protein capsids for drug  delivery

Speaker: Professor Kenneth J.  Woycechowsky

Time: 12:30-14:00, May 8th, 2015

Venue: Meeting Room 408, Building 24

Brief introduction of speaker:

Professor Woycechowsky has been working in the field of  the supramolecular chemistry of proteins. In particular, his main research  activity has been focused on three main areas: 1) Capsid self-assembly.  Investigate the relationship between amino acid sequence and quaternary  structure. The knowledge gained from these studies is then applied to the  engineering of capsid assembly switches; 2) Molecular encapsulation. Generate  novel encapsulation systems for different types of cargo molecules including  nucleic acids, enzymes, and small molecules. These efforts involve the design or  evolution of attractive interactions between the cargo molecule and the capsid  interior. Detailed characterization of these complexes reveal how confinement  can be used to regulate the activity of cargo molecules. 3) Drug delivery.  Control the self-assembly and encapsulation properties of protein capsids to  build “smart materials” that can be used for the targeted delivery and release  of pharmaceutical agents into cells. Such next-generation delivery systems will  offer unprecedented specificity, environmental responsiveness, and chemical  sophistication, enabling the development of more potent and powerful treatment  regimes for myriad diseases.