Topic: Enabling tools for drug discovery and chemical bioproduction

Abstract: In humans, G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) detect a myriad of chemical signals, from hormones and neurotransmitters to odors and flavors, ultimately resulting in genomic transcriptional changes. Transduction of these signals results in the regulation of multiple biological process, from cell migration and proliferation, to inflammation and immune responses. In the first part of the talk, I will cover the development and application of GPCR-based assays for 1) the discovery of drug leads that target medically-relevant GPCRs, and 2) the deorphanization of olfactory GPCRs to enable their study outside the olfactory tissue. In the second part of the talk, I will focus on our engineering of biological systems for the production of chemicals from renewables. In particular, I will highlight our recent work on the production of biofuels on Mars and the biological upgrading of carbon dioxide into value-added chemicals.