CRBI

CRBI seminar - Dr. Leo Chou
2023-02-01 14:00 - 15:00 (America/Toronto) | Life Sciences Buliding (LSB) 107

CRBI seminar - Philip Britz-McKibbin
2023-03-07 08:00 - 17:00
Abstract:

New advances in analytical chemistry for large-scale epidemiological studies: Insights into nutrition and smoke exposures for global health

A suboptimal diet and tobacco smoking are two leading modifiable risk factors in chronic disease burden globally that are typically evaluated using questionnaires by epidemiologists despite being prone to bias and misreporting. This presentation will focus on new advances in mass spectrometry (MS)-based metabolomics research when coupled to capillary electrophoresis (CE) that may allow for more reliable assessment of exposures and their health impacts in large-scale epidemiological studies. A capillary electrophoresis assay for surveillance of iodine deficiency in the Canadian population will first be presented. This work revealed differences in iodine nutrition and exposures to environmental iodine uptake inhibitors in four different regions across Canada. Also, recent developments to expand CE-MS techniques for untargeted lipid profiling when using nonaqueous conditions will be discussed. This approach was used to identify specific circulating lipids associated with omega-3 index status, including biomonitoring changes following high-dose fish oil supplementation. Lastly, I will present a new approach for biochemical verification of tobacco smoke exposures in various countries at different socioeconomic status in support of global health and chronic disease prevention. Stratification of fast from slower nicotine metabolizers offers a unique way to better assess the true hazards from tobacco smoking in diverse populations.

CRBI/CREATE Joint Conference - July 2023
2023-07-11
CREATE/CRBI joint CONFERENCE JULY 2023
The joint CREATE Technology-Enhanced Pharmaceutical Discovery (TEPD) and CRBI conference was held at York University on Monday July 10th and Tuesday July 11th . Day one included workshops featuring guest speakers from Eurofins, Gilead and GSK. Students were able to learn from industry experts and connect with their peers. Day two featured student presentations from various labs in Chemistry and Biology as well as students from the Centre for Research on Biomolecular Interactions (CRBI) lab.

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2023-12-18 10:30 - 11:30
CRBI Seminar – Karen C. Waldron
Department of Chemistry, Université de Montréal
Crosslinked proteolytic enzymes for microscale proteomics applications
Proteolytic enzymes are routinely used to cleave the potentially thousands of proteins in a biological sample into smaller, more manageable peptide fragments. This facilitates their separation and identification by nano-HPLC, capillary electrophoresis (CE) and/or mass spectrometry (MS). This process, called peptide mapping, is one of the steps used in the workflow for identifying, quantifying, characterizing or probing the function of proteins in the vast field of proteomics, specifically “bottom-up” proteomics. Insoluble proteolytic enzymes (i.e., trypsin, chymotrypsin, pepsin, Lys-C, Asp-N, etc.) offer several benefits such as limited autolysis, reusability and rapid digestion because high enzyme-to-substrate ratios can be used. The added advantage of adaptability to microreactor formats and microfluidic platforms comes from using glutaraldehyde (GA) to crosslink enzymes and render them insoluble instead of immobilizing them on solid-phase supports. In 2004 we reported a multi-step GA-crosslinking procedure for trypsin and compared its specific activity and peptide maps to trypsin immobilized onto GA-functionalized glass beads. The procedure was later adapted for chymotrypsin to digest nanomolar concentrations of fluorescently labelled protein substrate with peptide mapping by CE laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection. A GA-chymotrypsin microreactor was fabricated in a capillary column by programing reagent delivery in a CE instrument. Despite the ease in making GA-crosslinked trypsin and chymotrypsin “particles”, their re-use for multiple digestions has been problematic. Our successes and setbacks will be discussed, as well as our efforts to improve the robustness of the crosslinked enzymes using a Design-ofExperiments (DOE) approach to investigate the experimental parameters in our multi-step crosslinking method.

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2024-01-09 10:30 - 12:00
CRBI/CIRC Seminar –
Dr. Seyed M Moghadas, Professor, Dept of Mathematics, York University
COVID-19 Quarantine and Testing Strategies for Preventing Onward Transmission
Jason Kindrachuk, Associate Professor, Medical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, University of Manitoba
Investigating emerging zoonotic virus circulation and spillover at the human-wildlife interface in diverse global settings – increasing preparedness and response capacities

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2024-01-23 10:30 - 12:00
CRBI/CIRC Seminar – Dr. Jianhong Wu, Professor Dept. of Mathematics, York University
Identifying contact mixing patterns in respond to public health interventions and behavioral changes

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2024-02-13 10:30 - 11:30
CRBI/CIRC Seminar – Dr. Jude Dzevela Kong, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, York University
Harnessing Light for Molecular-Specific Sensing and Imaging of Biological Samples

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2024-02-20 10:30 - 12:00
CRBI/CIRC Seminar – Dr. Ebrahim Ghafar-Zadeh, Associate Professor, Dept. of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, Lassonde School of Engineering
Electronic Point-of-Care Diagnostics: Recent Advances and Future Prospects
Bill Kim, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Chemistry, York University
Next-generation Genome Editing: Technology and Applications

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2024-03-12 10:30 - 12:00
CRBI/CIRC Seminar – Dr. Nima Tabatabaei, Associate Professor Department of Mechanical Engineering York University
Harnessing Light for Molecular-Specific Sensing and Imaging of Biological Samples

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2024-03-26 10:30 - 12:00
CRBI/CIRC Seminar – Dr. Pouya Rezai, Associate Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering
Functional Materials Integrated with Microfluidics for Sample Preparation and Detection of Pathogens and Contaminants in Fluids

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2024-04-09 08:00 - 17:00
CRBI/CIRC Seminar – Dr. Derek Wilson, Professor Department of Chemistry
Understanding COVID vaccine efficacy on the molecular level

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2024-04-23 10:30 - 12:00
CRBI/CIRC Seminar – Dr. Sebastian Magierowski, Associate Professor, Dept of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science York University
Sequencing on Silicon

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2024-04-25 13:30 - 14:30
CRBI Seminar – Dr. Martin Schmeing, McGill University Thursday April 25th 2024
Biosynthesis and use of the most interesting polymer you didn’t know existed
Abstract:

Cyanophycin is a natural product polymer with a poly-aspartate backbone and arginines linked to each Asp side chain. Used in bacteria for storage of fixed nitrogen, carbon and energy, long chains of cyanophycin coalesce into inert, membrane-less granules which can occupy most of the volume of a cell. Cyanophycin has a variety of potential green industrial and biomedical applications. Cyanophycin is made by cyanophycin synthetase 1 or 2 through ATP-dependent polymerization of Asp and Arg, or β-Asp-Arg, respectively. It is degraded into dipeptides by specialized exo-cyanophycinases, and these dipeptidase are hydrolyzed into free amino acids by nonspecific isoaspartyl dipeptidases. I will share highlights of our structural and functional studies of cyanophycin biosynthesis and degradation, which led to surprising discoveries: Our structures and biochemical assays of the cyanophycin synthetase 1 revealed it to be a remarkable, multi-domain, multi-functional biosynthetic machine and uncovered a hidden hydrolytic active site that is crucial for rapid biosynthesis. We also showed that cyanophycin synthetase 2 can assume several elegant architectures that influence its synthetic activity. Further, we discovered and characterized a novel, large family of isoaspartyl dipeptidases dedicated to cyanophycin metabolism, which allows the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa to use β-Asp-Arg as a sole carbon source, and as good a sole nitrogen source as ammonium. Bioinformatics results underscore how common it is for bacteria to be cyanophycin producers or scavengers, much more so than currently appreciated.

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2024-05-14 10:30 - 12:00
CRBI/CIRC Seminar – Dr. Alvine Boaye Belle, Assistant Professor, , Dept of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science York University
Humanity 101 for cyber-physical systems

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2024-05-28 10:30 - 12:00
CRBI/CIRC Seminar – Dr. Jennifer Chen, Associate Professor, Chemistry, York University
Nanocrystals and their assemblies for sensing and imaging

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2024-06-11 10:30 - 12:00
CRBI/CIRC Seminar -Dr.Laleh Seyyed-Kalantari, Assistant Professor, Dept of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science York University
Fair generative AI in the era of foundation models
Dr. R. Shayna Rosenbaum, Professor, Department of Phycology, York University
Assessing and improving engagement in protective behaviours during COVID-19

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2024-06-25 10:30 - 12:00
CRBI/CIRC Seminar – Dr. Darius Rackus, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Chemistry, TMU
Microfluidic tools for determining disease immunity

CRBI/CREATE Joint Conference - July 2024
2024-07-22 08:00 - 17:00
CREATE/CRBI joint CONFERENCE JULY 2024

The CREATE Technology-Enhanced Pharmaceutical Discovery (TEPD) and CRBI conference was held at York University on Monday July 22nd and Tuesday July 23rd. Day one featured academic, industrial partner and pharmaceutical guest speakers. Students were able to learn from field experts and connect with their peers and industry partners. Day two featured a presentation from Innovation York on Intellectual Property which provided students and other attendees with a broader understanding on this important topic . The two day event included student presentations from CREATE as well as students from various labs in Chemistry and Biology who presented their research.

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2024-11-26 10:30 - 12:00
CRBI/CIRC Seminar – Dr. Sergey Krylov, Distinguished Research Professor, Chemistry York University
Enhancing the Reliability of Home Diagnostic Testing: Challenges and Solutions

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2024-12-10 10:30 - 12:00
CRBI/CIRC Seminar – Dr. Derek Wilson, Professor Chemistry, York University
A tale of early and late stage anti-covid drug development

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2025-01-07 10:30 - 12:00
CRBI/CIRC Seminar – Dr. Manos Papgelis, Associate Professor Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, York University
Mobility-based models for epidemic spreading

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2025-01-21 10:30 - 12:00
CRBI/CIRC Seminar – Dr. Sebastian Magierowski, Associate Professor Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, York University
A Chip Designer’s Tour Across Virus Detection Land

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2025-02-04 10:30 - 12:00
CRBI/CIRC Seminar – Dr. Christo El Morr, Professor School of Health Policy & Management, York University
Dr. Rachel da Silveira Gorman, Associate Professor School of Health Policy & Management, York University
AI and Disability Justice: “Decolonizing AI through community engagement and co-design

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2025-03-04 10:30 - 12:00
CRBI/CIRC Seminar – Dr. Brian Kim, Assistant Professor Chemistry, York University
New Frontiers in CRISPR Technologies and Applications

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2025-03-28 12:30 - 13:30
CRBI Seminar – Dr. Qili Feng Professor in School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
Gene transcription regulation by DNA advanced structures
DNA advanced structures such as G4 and i-motif, have been found to play important roles in multiple biological processes. A large-scale genomic analysis of distribution and evolution of the DNA secondary structures in 37 representative species revealed that the number, density and ratios of advanced structures in the genomes gradually increased with evolution and enriched in the upstream regulatory regions of many genes, particularly transcription factor genes, suggesting that these DNA structures may have developed into an epigenetic regulation mechanism for gene transcription in genomes. Methylation modification and advanced structures in DNA molecules are two epigenetic regulation mechanisms for gene transcription. We found that the 5mC modification in G4 forming sequences inhibited the folding of the sequences into G4s. Suppression of whole-genome methylation led to a genome-wide increase in the abundance of G4s. Whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) and G4 CUT&Tag data from HeLa and K562 cells revealed that the hypomethylated sequences around transcriptional start sites (TSSs) had a much higher abundance of G4s than the hypermethylated sequences, suggesting a negative relationship between these two epigenetic mechanisms. G4 and i-motif structures were identified in the promoter of the transcription factor gene BmPOUM2, which regulates the expression of the wing disc cuticle protein gene (BmWCP4) during metamorphosis in Bombyx mori. Disruption or deletion of the G4 and i-motif structures by base mutation, anti-sense oligonucleotides (ASOs) , inhibitory ligands or knockout resulted in significant decrease in the activity of the BmPOUM2 promoter. Two transcription factors (BmLARK and BmILF) were was identified by pull-down experiment and proved to specifically bind to the G4 and i-motif structures, respectively, and activated the transcription of BmPOUM2. All the data indicate that DNA advanced structures function as an epigenetic regulation mechanism for gene transcription and participate in regulation of insect development.

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2025-04-01 10:45 - 12:00
CRBI/CIRC Seminar – Dr. Marios Fokaefs Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, York University
“Supporting software engineering tasks in epidemiological research – An AI approach”

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2025-04-15 10:45 - 12:00
CRBI/CIRC Seminar – Dr. Leo Chou, Assistant Professor, Molecular Engineering, University of Toronto “DNA-Scaffolded Materials for Biomedical Research and Applications”

Dr .Nima Tabatabaei, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering. York University
“Molecular-Specific and Label-Free Sensing and Imaging of Biological Samples”

CRBI/CIRC Seminar
2025-05-06 10:45 - 12:00
CRBI/CIRC Seminar – Dr. Teshager Dagne Associate Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, York University
Dr. Soren D. Frederiksen Assistant Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, York University

CREATE/CRBI Joint Conference - July 2025
2025-06-25 08:00 - 2025-06-26 17:00
The CREATE Technology-Enhanced Pharmaceutical Discovery (TEPD) and CRBI conference was held on Wednesday June 25th and Thursday June 26th at The Schulich Executive Learning Center, York University. The conference featured academic, industrial partner and academic guest speakers. Students were able to learn from a field experts and connect with their peers and industry partners. The two day event also included student presentations from the CREATE program as well as students from various labs who presented their research. Two poster sessions were also featured where six travel awards were presented to the most outstanding poster presentations.
CREATE-CRBI 2025 Conference Agenda

CRBI/TEPD Seminar
2025-09-08 12:15 - 13:15
Mike Che, PhD., York University: “Development of a Novel Lateral Flow Immunoassay (LFIA) Architecture for machine learning Applications and Incorporating Electrophoresis-Enhanced into fusion antibody-based COVID-19 LFIA for Signal Amplification”.
Quan Le, PhD., York University: “Determination of Absolute Injection Volume in Capillary Electrophoresis by the Capillary-Volume-Plateau Calibration (CVPC)”.
