Date: 17 March 2023 (Friday)

Time: 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Venue: Cheung Kung Hai Lecture Theatre 1, G/F, William M.W. Mong Block, 21 Sassoon Road

5:00 p.m.

Presenter: Mr. Hazrat ZAMAN, PhD candidate
Primary Supervisor: Prof. Zhongjun ZHOU
Presentation Title: Functional characterization of Isthmin-1 in mammary stem cells and development of mammary gland
Abstract: Isthmin 1 (ISM 1) is the founder of a secreted protein family that are characterized by TSR1 domain followed by an AMOP domain. Its broad expression pattern from embryonic stages to the adult tissues suggests diverse functions in developmental and physiological processes. ISM 1 has many faces in terms of its involvement in numerous biological processes including angiogenesis, metabolism, organ homeostasis, immunity, craniofacial development, and cancer. Even though, ISM 1 is expressed in myoepithelial and stromal cells of the mammary glands throughout its ontogeny however, its functional role in mammary glands development is not determined yet. In our lab we have observed a defective branching morphogenesis in ISM1 knock out mice. Currently, we are focusing to establish ISM1 role in mammary glands development and mammary stem cells function.

5:30 p.m.

Presenter: Mr. Hoi Chun FONG (PhD candidate)
Primary Supervisor: Dr. Alan WONG
Presentation Title: Parallel engineering and activity profiling of base editor system
Abstract: Selecting the most suitable base editors and engineering new variants for installing specific base conversions with maximal efficiency and minimal undesired edits are pivotal for precise genome editing applications. Here we present a platform for creating and analysing a library of base editor variants to enable head-to-head evaluation of their editing performance at scale. Our comprehensive comparison provides quantitative measures on each variant’s editing efficiency, purity, motif preference, and bias in generating single and multiple base conversions, while uncovering higher indel generation rate and noncanonical base conversion for some of the existing base editors. We then further applied this platform to guide RNA scaffold engineering, creating variants that augment the editor’s base editing activity. With the unknown performance and compatibility of the growing number of engineered parts for assembling the expanding collection of base editor systems, our platform addresses the unmet need for an unbiased, scalable method to benchmark their editing outcomes, accelerating the engineering of next-generation precise genome editors.

ALL ARE WELCOME

Should you have any enquiries, please feel free to contact Miss Cynthia Cheung at 3917 9748.