BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//132.216.98.100//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.20.4// BEGIN:VEVENT UID:20250624T062340EDT-46976cr5En@132.216.98.100 DTSTAMP:20250624T102340Z DESCRIPTION:Abstract:\n\nThe lab has a longstanding interest in photochemic ally cleaving covalent bonds and thereby removing light-sensitive protecti ng groups\, so called caging groups\, from proteins and nucleic acids. Thi s has allowed for the precise spatial and temporal control of biological p rocesses\, for example DNA recombination\, gene editing\, cell signaling\, etc\, in cells\, tissues\, and animals. In recent years\, we have become increasingly interested in creating covalent bonds in biological systems t hrough the use of self-labeling enzymes and label-transferring aptamers. T his enabled to modification of cancer and T cell surfaces for diagnostic a nd therapeutic applications.\n\n \n\nBio:\n\nAlex is currently a Distingui shed Professor of Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh and founding D irector of the Institute for Synthetic Biology. His group's research inter ests are in the areas of Synthetic Biology and Chemical Biology\, with a f ocus on cell\, protein\, and nucleic acid engineering. Projects in his lab include the engineering of an expanded genetic code\, discovery of small molecule modifiers of microRNA pathways\, medicinal chemistry of sulfotran sferase inhibitors\, development of peptides and aptamers as covalent prot ein modifiers\, construction of antibody drug conjugates\, and the applica tion of chemical adaptor systems to cell therapy. Prominent disease indica tions targeted in Alex's lab include cancer\, neurological disorders\, and viral infections. Several of the compounds and reagents that his group de veloped are now commercially available. Alex has been granted several pate nts and technologies that he co-developed have been licensed to biotech co mpanies\, such as Coeptis Therapeutics (coeptistx.com). He is a co-founder of Monarch Therapeutics. \n \n Alex is a member of the Hillman Cancer Cente r\, the Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biology Program at the Univers ity of Pittsburgh\, the Medical Scientist Training Program at the Universi ty of Pittsburgh\, the Center for Systems Immunology at the University of Pittsburgh\, and the Center for Nucleic Acids Science & Technology at Carn egie Mellon University. He has published >200 peer-reviewed papers\, writt en six book chapters and 14 review articles\, has presented over one hundr ed eighty research seminars\, and has consulted for several pharmaceutical companies. Alex is a member of the editorial advisory board of ChemBioChe m and ChemPhotoChem\, and a member of the editorial board of Scientific Re ports. He also also been a guest editor for special issues of Methods in E nzymology\, Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry\, ChemBioChem\, and ChemPhoto Chem. Alex has served as a standing member of NIH's SBCB and CBP study rev iew groups.\n \n Alex was born in Germany and studied Chemistry at the Unive rsity of Münster from 1993-1998. He received his diploma degree in 1998 an d his doctoral degree in 2000 for work in Professor Hoppe's group on new c yclization reactions with enantiomerically enriched allyllithium species. In 2001 he joined Professor Martin's lab at the University of Texas at Aus tin where he worked as a postdoctoral fellow on the total synthesis of ind ole alkaloids. In 2002 he began another postdoctorate in Professor Schultz 's lab at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla where he developed ge netic code expansion methodologies for unnatural amino acids. \n \n Alex rec eived several awards for his Ph.D. and postdoctoral work\, most importantl y for the best dissertation at the Departments of Natural Sciences\, Mathe matics\, and Computer Science at the University of Münster in 2001. His st udies were continously supported by fellowships from the German National A cademic Foundation\, the Fund of the Chemical Industry\, the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation\, and the German Research Foundation. \n \n In 2004\, A lex joined the Department of Chemistry at North Carolina State University as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2009 and to Full Professor in 2012. He moved his lab to the University of Pitts burgh in September 2013. Alex has trained over one hundred graduate studen ts\, postdocs\, and undergraduates in his lab. He has also been a faculty advisor to the iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) teams a t the University of Pittsburgh since 2016.\n ​\n For his research accomplish ments\, Alex received a Basil O'Connor Starter Scholar Award from the Marc h of Dimes Foundation\, a Sigma Xi Research Faculty Award\, a Cottrell Sch olar Award\, a Beckman Young Investigator Award\, a National Science Found ation CAREER Award\, a Teva USA Scholars Grant from the American Chemical Society\, a Thieme Chemistry Journal Award\, an American Cancer Society Re search Scholar Grant\, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenges Ex plorations Grant\, an NCSU Alumni Association Outstanding Research Award\, a Charles E. Kaufman Foundation New Initiative Research Award\, an Innova tor Award from he University of Pittsburgh\, the Pittsburgh Award from the American Chemical Society\, and a Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Awa rd from the University of Pittsburgh. Research discoveries from his lab ha ve been highlighted by various news outlets\n \n For Alex's departmental web page click here.\n DTSTART:20241022T170000Z DTEND:20241022T183000Z LOCATION:OM 10\, Maass Chemistry Building\, CA\, QC\, Montreal\, H3A 0B8\, 801 rue Sherbrooke Ouest SUMMARY:Chemical Society Seminar: Alex Deiters- Breaking and Making Covalen t Bonds in Cells and Animals URL:/chemistry/channels/event/chemical-society-seminar -alex-deiters-breaking-and-making-covalent-bonds-cells-and-animals-358414 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR