From Genes to Proteins: The Impact of Gene Sequence on Translation and Expression Event Date: October 28, 2009 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time; 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time Brought to you by the Science/AAAS Business Office To see answers to many of the questions raised by viewers, but not covered in the webinar, please go to: www.dna20.com/forums.     Real Player   Real Media Video (56k/150k)   Windows Media Player   Windows Media Video (56k/150k)     Advances in life science technologies have enabled researchers to gain greater insight into the workings of our genetic code. This includes how subtle changes in gene sequences can impact the expression of encoded proteins through mechanisms including codon bias, mRNA stability, and translation initiation. Natural gene sequences have been shaped in response to many different evolutionary pressures, but are rarely optimal for aspects of "biotechnological fitness," such as maximized protein yield or optimal expression control. In this webinar, out expert guests will discuss the current understanding of how and why gene coding sequences influence protein expression, and ways in which this understanding can help shape strategies to design genes for applications ranging from synthetic biology to protein crystallography. During the webinar, viewers will: obtain an overview of the current state of research in this field gain insight into the range of cellular processes affected by variations in gene sequence learn about the importance of optimizing gene sequences for numerous research applications have questions answered live by the panel of experts!   Speakers: Joshua Plotkin, Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA Dr. Joshua Plotkin completed his undergraduate degree in mathematics at Harvard University in Massachusetts, followed by a Ph.D. in applied and computational mathematics from Princeton. He completed a junior fellowship back at Harvard University before moving to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia to take the position of Assistant Professor of Biology and Computer Science. Currently Dr. Plotkin is the Martin Meyerson Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Penn where he studies evolutionary biology—using mathematical and computational approaches—with a focus on the origin and maintenance of genetic variation in populations. Dr. Plotkin has served an associate editor of the Journal of Molecular Evolution since 2006 and has published his research in numerous international, peer-reviewed journals. He also sits on the Faculty of 1000 and is the recipient of many awards, including most recently an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship. Christine Vogel, Ph.D. University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX Dr. Christine Vogel completed her Master’s in biochemistry at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany, and a second Master’s in mathematical biology at University College London, UK. She then pursued a Ph.D. with Cyrus Chothia and Sarah Teichmann at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK. In 2005, she joined Edward Marcotte's lab at the University of Texas at Austin as a postdoctoral fellow, sponsored by the Human Frontier Science Program. Currently, Dr. Vogel works as a research associate, and her scientific interests revolve around the use of quantitative shotgun proteomics to decipher global and specific regulation of protein expression and stability. She has acted as an associate editor for PLoS Computational Biology, as an associate member of Faculty1000, and has published widely in international peer-reviewed journals. Mark Welch, Ph.D. DNA2.0 Menlo Park, CA Dr. Mark Welch studied for his undergraduate degree at the University of California at Santa Cruz and received his Ph.D. at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1996, where he also carried out his postdoctoral training. From 1998 to 2002 Dr. Welch worked as a staff scientist at Maxygen in the development and application of directed biomolecule evolution. He then pursued work in the area of rational and combinatorial protein engineering and kinetic analysis at Kosan Biosciences before holding a staff scientist position in the Advanced Research and Technology group at Applied Biosystems from 2005 to 2006, focusing on engineering of DNA polymerases with a variety of altered properties for new and improved applications. In 2007, Dr. Welch joined DNA2.0 as director of gene design to develop the company’s capabilities in the areas of protein expression and engineering. He has more than 12 years experience in directed evolution and engineering of nucleic acid and protein biomolecules.   Moderator: Sean Sanders, Ph.D., Commercial Editor, Science/AAAS Sean Sanders did his undergraduate training at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and his Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge, UK, supported by the Wellcome Trust. Following postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health and Georgetown University, Dr. Sanders joined TranXenoGen, a startup biotechnology company in Massachusetts working on avian transgenics. Pursuing his parallel passion for writing and editing, Dr. Sanders joined BioTechniques as an editor, before joining Science/AAAS in 2006. Currently Dr. Sanders is the Worldwide Commercial Editor for the journal Science and Program Director for Outreach.   ___________________________________________________________________________________________________   For the best experience we recommend you use Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) or higher on a Windows-based PC to view this webinar. Please ensure that you are using a computer with a stable internet connection and good bandwidth. To ensure the best possible performance of the webinar we recommend that you avoid using a dial-up connection. Note: please confirm the start time of the webinar in your time zone. A free time zone converter is available at www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html   Test Your System   Help   Download Real Player   Download Windows Media Player