Toward nanopore protein sequencing for next-generation proteomics and programmable nanotechnology
Jeff Nivala (Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering)
Colloquium
Thursday, February 13, 2025, 3:30 pm
Gates Center (CSE2), G20 | Amazon Auditorium
Abstract
Despite significant advances in biotechnology and computational biology, a large portion of the biomolecular world remains "dark," limiting our ability to fully understand and engineer living systems. One of the most promising yet challenging areas is the proteome — the collection of millions of proteins that form the cell's molecular machines and information-processing systems. In this talk, I will describe our recent progress in developing electronic nanopore-based protein sequencing technology to address current analytical limitations and illuminate the proteome's full complexity. By providing deeper insights into protein diversity and function, this approach could open new opportunities in biotechnology and medicine. I will also discuss how we are beginning to leverage this technology to develop new molecular tools for programmable biological systems, including protein-based intracellular data recorders and molecular clocks, with the potential to advance how we track and control biological processes.
Bio
Jeff Nivala is a Research Assistant Professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington and co-director of the Molecular Information Systems Lab. His research focuses on developing new technologies for molecular data storage, molecular-information interfaces, and synthetic biology. He is the recipient of an NSF CAREER Award (2023) and the Falling Walls Foundation Breakthrough Prize in Art & Science (2022), and was recognized in Forbes Magazine's "30 Under 30" in Science (2017) —don't worry, not on the cover. Before joining UW, Jeff conducted postdoctoral research in George Church's lab at Harvard Medical School. He completed his PhD in biophysics at UC Santa Cruz, where he was a California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3) Graduate Fellow in the Nanopore Group with Mark Akeson. As an undergraduate, he was a Washington Research Foundation Fellow in David Baker’s lab at UW.
This talk will be streamed live on our YouTube channel. Link will be available on that page one hour prior to the event.