3D Molecular Modeling: What makes some organisms glow?

The natural world is full of creatures that glow in the dark. Are you interested in understanding how, biochemically, so many organisms accomplish this incredible feat? This phenomenon, known as biofluorescence, is found across the marine environment from jellyfish to sharks. Biofluorescence is not only cool, but has been used in countless research applications including from finding where proteins are located in cells to demonstrating how cells move, divide, and interact...In this course, we will take a deep dive into the world of biofluorescence and explore the inner workings of biofluorescent proteins, including the well known Green Fluorescent Protein from the jellyfish Aqueoria victoria.

In this workshop, participants will:

• Learn how amino acids assemble to form proteins, and understand the different mechanisms of fluorescence in fluorescent proteins
• Learn to use the rendering software PyMol to visualize 3D protein structures
• Do a hands on lab demo to visualize a new class of eel fluorescent proteins indicating the presence of a common clinical health marker
  

Please bring a laptop with you to the workshop.

COVID-19 Safety Notice:

If you are feeling unwell, suspect that you have been exposed to COVID-19 or have tested positive in the past 7 days, please do not attend and let us know ASAP ([email protected]). If you cancel after our 7-day policy, we cannot refund your ticket, but we can exchange and offer credits toward future classes. If you have signed up for Biohacker Boot Camp, we will automatically transfer your registration to the next month’s dates unless you tell us otherwise.

Jean Gaffney (she/her) is an Associate Professor Chemistry and Biochemistry at Baruch College, City University of New York. Jean has been studying the underwater world of biofluorescence since 2014 in her research lab at Baruch.

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