Title: Rewiring Cell Surfaces with click chemistry for applications in cell biology and tissue engineering
Speaker: Prof. Muhammad N. Yousaf, Department of Chemistry, York University, Toronto, Canada
Time: July 19th, Friday, 2:00 pm
Venue: Building 24#-C406
Host: Prof. Jon Antilla
Abstract: 1. An integrated method that combines bio orthogonal chemistry, liposome fusion and cell surface engineering will be introduced and applied to cell biology and biotechnology. 2. A new rapid and traceless click chemistry reaction that reacts with primary amines will be introduced and applications explored from bioconjugation to tissue engineering. Commercial aspects of the click chemistry reaction will also be discussed.
Brief Biography:
Dr. Muhammad N. Yousaf grew up in Toronto, Canada. He did all his formal education in Toronto and studied inorganic chemistry at York University in Toronto as an undergraduate with Prof. Dennis Stynes. He then moved to the US and pursued his PhD studies in surface chemistry and material science at the University of Chicago with Milan Mrksich followed by a cell biology postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University with Marc Kirschner.
Dr. Yousaf has recently returned to his hometown of Toronto and his alma mater. He is currently a Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemistry at York University (2013). He previously was a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA) (2005-2013). His research interests are in interfacing organic, bioanalytical, bioengineering and cell biology research to study fundamental cell behavior and to develop new biomaterials and tools for regenerative medicine applications.
As a PI since 2005, he has published more than 100 original papers, proceedings and book chapters, given over 200 seminars at universities and conferences including plenary and named lectureships and has been elected to serve on 5 journal advisory and editorial boards. His research has been highlighted multiple times in Nature, Science and Chemical and Engineering News and several print and online media circulars. Dr. Yousaf has received several national USA awards including, a Damon Runyon Fellowship, Burroughs Wellcome Interface Career Award, NSF CAREER award and a Canadian NSERC Discovery Accelerator Award. Dr. Yousaf is very proud of his highschool, undergraduate and graduate students who have also received numerous national awards including, Barry Goldwater Award, Churchill Scholar (Cambridge), NSF Predoctoral Fellowship, American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship, NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship, Lymphoma and Leukemia Postdoctoral Fellowship, Howard Hughes Postdoctoral Fellowship, High School State and National Westinghouse Awards and a Nobel Laureate Lindau Meeting award.
Detailed information about Prof. Yousaf’s research can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/muhammadnyousaf1/home
