MBS/Oden Institute Joint Seminar - "Decoding and engineering cell state-specific gene regulation with AI and synthetic biology"

Jan

2025

12:00 pm – 1:30 pm

Hybrid (view details)

Featured Speaker(s): Dr. Sebastian Castillo-Hair

MBS/Oden Institute Joint Seminar

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Description

The Molecular Biosciences Department and the Oden Institute welcome Dr. Sebastian Castillo-Hair for a joint seminar.

Dr. Castillo-Hair is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Professor Georg Seelig's group at the University of Washington. In his research, he uses machine learning and high throughput experiments to study gene regulation and design synthetic sequences with novel capabilities. He has applied this approach to optimize mRNA-delivered gene editing therapeutics, to engineer human enhancers with cell type-specific activity, and to uncover the sequence determinants of differentiation and gene regulation during zebrafish development. Dr. Castillo-Hair received his PhD in Bioengineering from Rice University, where he worked in Professor Jeffrey Tabor's group on bacterial optogenetics and development of open-source tools for synthetic biology

Dr. Castillo-Hair's seminar, “Decoding and engineering cell state-specific gene regulation with AI and synthetic biology” will be held on Thursday, January 16 at 12:00 PM in POB 6.304 and via zoom with a pizza reception to follow at 1:00 PM.

Abstract

Cells across tissues, developmental stages, and disease conditions adopt distinct intracellular states – epigenomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic profiles – to compartmentalize function in time and space. The ability to write DNA- and RNA-encoded programs that sense and interface with cellular states has transformative potential for biotechnology, for example in designing gene therapies with cell type- and disease-specificity to minimize off-target effects. However, limited understanding of how cellular processes respond to cellular states remains a major challenge. Machine learning (ML) models that learn the determinants of cell state regulation from high throughput experiments offer a powerful tool to overcome these barriers. In this talk I will present advances in combining ML and high throughput experiments to study and engineer DNA and RNA sequences that recognize cell types, tissues, and developmental stages. Our work shows the potential of combining ML, high throughput experiments, and synthetic biology to decode and engineer cell state-responsive biological systems.

Click here to learn more about Dr. Castillo-Hair's research.