{"584454":{"#nid":"584454","#data":{"type":"event","title":"BioE PhD Proposal presentation- Monica McNerney","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAdvisor:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMark Styczynski Ph.D. (ChBE\/Georgia Institute of Technology)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECommittee:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAndreas Bommarius, Ph.D.\u0026nbsp;(ChBE\/Georgia Institute of Technology)\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBrian Hammer, Ph.D. (Biology\/Georgia Institute of Technology)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHang Lu, Ph.D.\u0026nbsp;(ChBE\/Georgia Institute of Technology)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EPamela Peralta-Yahya, Ph.D.\u0026nbsp;(Chemistry\/Georgia Institute of Technology)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEngineering a Fast-Responding Bacterial Test for Zinc Deficiency\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;Zinc deficiency is estimated to affect millions of children each year, but the high cost and logistical challenges associated with current zinc diagnostic tools prevent adequate surveillance and\u0026nbsp;treatment of zinc deficiency. \u0026nbsp;To be used in surveillance programs, a zinc status diagnostic test must be inexpensive, easy to administer, nearly equipment-free, and fast-responding. A\u0026nbsp;bacterial biosensor has the potential to meet all of these requirements.\u0026nbsp;Our group recently developed a low-cost\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003Ebiosensor that can produce different visible outputs based on the\u0026nbsp;concentration of zinc in which the cells grow. However, these initial sensor cells always produce some pigment, which necessitates that they be grown from a very small inoculum so that initial\u0026nbsp;coloration is minimal \u0026ndash; thus requiring overnight assay times. To make an easy-to-use, field-deployable assay, we will engineer cells to repress pigmentation during growth and to quickly\u0026nbsp;produce pigments from either the carotenoid or violacein pathways upon induction.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;Zinc-responsive elements will also be tested in a lysate based cell-free system, and both the whole cell\u0026nbsp;and cell-free systems will be tuned to respond to physiologically relevant serum zinc concentrations. The resulting biosensor will be a significant step towards a deployable, field-friendly zinc\u0026nbsp;diagnostic tool.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPhD Proposal presentation-\u0026nbsp;\u0026quot;Engineering a Fast-Responding Bacterial Test for Zinc Deficiency\u0026quot;- Monica McNerney\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"\u0022Engineering a Fast-Responding Bacterial Test for Zinc Deficiency\u0022"}],"uid":"27917","created_gmt":"2016-11-30 20:18:57","changed_gmt":"2017-04-13 21:13:48","author":"Laura Paige","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2016-12-14T14:00:00-05:00","event_time_end":"2016-12-14T16:00:00-05:00","event_time_end_last":"2016-12-14T16:00:00-05:00","gmt_time_start":"2016-12-14 19:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2016-12-14 21:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2016-12-14 21:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"65448","name":"Bioengineering Graduate Program"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1789","name":"Conference\/Symposium"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78761","name":"Faculty\/Staff"},{"id":"78751","name":"Undergraduate students"},{"id":"174045","name":"Graduate students"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELaura Paige\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E404.385.6655\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}