Kavli Research & Enterprise Discussions (K.R.E.D)
Kavli Research & Enterprise Discussions (K.R.E.D)
Our Kavli Research and Enterprise Discussion (K.R.E.D.) will be presented by Professor Dr. Kerstin Göpfrich from Heidelberg University.
Date: 04 February 2025
Time: 11:00
Room: Phase 1 - Seminar Room 20-026
This is an event for University staff only.
Professor Dr. Kerstin Göpfrich's Talk is entitled “Engineering Synthetic Cells with RNA Origami”
Her abstract and biography are below.
Abstract:
Today’s living cells emerge from the complex interplay of thousands of molecular constituents. Our vision is to create a simpler model of a cell capable of self-replication and evolution. It will consist of a lipid vesicle and operate based on our own custom-engineered molecular hardware made from highly functional and folded RNA. Building on our previous work where we demonstrated DNA-based mimics of cytoskeletons capable of cargo transport, force generation and signal transduction, we now demonstrated that similar functions can be realized with RNA origami. We designed RNA origami-based mimics of cytoskeletons and transmembrane pores that fold co-transcriptionally and can be genetically encoded and expressed inside of vesicles. The nanopores, in particular, self-insert into membranes without further chemical functionalization with cholesterol tags thanks to membrane-binding aptamers. Ultimately, by coupling vesicle division to their informational content and their function, we aim for a prototype of an RNA origami-based synthetic cell capable of evolution.
Biography:
Professor Dr. Kerstin Göpfrich has always been curious about fundamental questions in science and long fascinated by the idea to engineer a cell from scratch. Since 2022, she is a professor at the Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH). She led the Max Planck Reseach Group Biophysical Engineering of Life (2019-2024). Previously, as a Skłodowska-Curie Fellow in Stuttgart, she worked on bottom-up synthetic biology and microfluidics with Joachim Spatz. In April 2017, she completed her PhD in physics as a Gates Cambridge Fellow at the University of Cambridge, UK, where she built DNA origami nanopores in the group of Ulrich Keyser.
Her groups research is generously supported by the Alfried Krupp Prize (2024), the Women Interactive Materials Award (2022), the Hector Fellow Academy Award (2022), and several grants such as an ERC Starting Grant (2022), and an HFSP Grant (2023).
If she doesn't do science, she likes talking about it with students and the wider public, via their plattform Ring-a-Scientist, YouTube or media outlets like The Naked Scientists (BBC – Radio 5 live), ZDF neo or Spektrum der Wissenschaft.
