Engineering peptides to target a fungal pathogen

Wednesday, July 15, 2020
2:00 p.m.
Zoom, link provided upon registration
Aishah Briscoe
abrisco1@umd.edu

Register: go.umd.edu/faculty-research-register

Join our Zoom sessions with Clark School faculty to learn more about their research and how undergraduate students can get involved.

Protein engineering involves using engineering principles to modify proteins found in nature or to design new proteins. Engineered proteins can be used for many applications, such as designing new medicines or helping produce chemicals. One area of research in our lab is using protein engineering to design new ways to treat disease caused by the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans. C. albicans is a commensal organism (in typically lives in our body without causing any harm), but it can cause infections in patients who have compromised immune systems, such as patients who have AIDS or are undergoing chemotherapy. Infections are increasingly displaying resistant to the drugs that are currently available, so we are exploring how small proteins, also called peptides, can be engineered to target C. albicans. In one project, we are starting with a peptide found in human saliva that naturally has the ability to kill C. albicans cells and improving the properties of the peptide to make it a more promising drug. In another project, we are studying how peptides can be designed to deliver molecules into fungal cells, with the goal of designing effective drugs with limited side effects. This webinar will introduce you to the world of protein engineering by telling you about our accomplishments in these projects. 

Dr. Amy J. Karlsson grew up in a small town in rural Minnesota and then moved to the big city of Ames, IA, to attend Iowa State University and earn her BS in chemical engineering in 2003. She then received her PhD in chemical engineering in 2009 from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. After receiving her PhD, she performed postdoctoral research at Cornell University, where she was a National Institutes of Health Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Fellow. Dr. Karlsson joined the faculty of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Maryland in 2012, where she teaches courses about chemical engineering, protein engineering, and education and performs research with the graduate and undergraduate students in her laboratory. Her research is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. When she’s not working, Dr. Karlsson enjoys reading, running, and making pottery.

Audience: Clark School  All Students  Graduate  Undergraduate  Prospective Students  Faculty  Staff  Parents and Family 

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