Wednesday, May 24, 2023
4:00 PM -
5:00 PM
Gates Annex B122
Organic Chemistry Seminar
Series: Organic Chemistry Seminar Series
Polymer Chemistry-Inspired Approaches to Precision Biomacromolecules
Jia Niu,
Assistant Professor,
Department of Chemistry,
Boston College,
Speaker's Bio:
Jia Niu is an assistant professor of chemistry in Boston College. Jia obtained a B.S. degree (2005) and a M.S. degree (2008) from Tsinghua University in China. He then moved to the United States to pursue a PhD degree at Harvard University, working with Professor David R. Liu on the enzyme-free translation and directed evolution of synthetic polymers. After working as a postdoctoral scholar in the laboratories of Professor Craig Hawker and Professor Tom Soh at University of California, Santa Barbara, Jia joined the faculty of Boston College in 2017. Currently, Jia and his group are focused on developing sustainable plastics using biobased building blocks, understanding functional roles of sulfation patterns in bioactive macromolecules, and the directed evolution of genome editors. Jia is a recipient of ACS PMSE Young Investigator Award (2021), NSF CAREER Award (2020), NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (2019), and the Beckman Young Investigator Award (2019).
Jia Niu is an assistant professor of chemistry in Boston College. Jia obtained a B.S. degree (2005) and a M.S. degree (2008) from Tsinghua University in China. He then moved to the United States to pursue a PhD degree at Harvard University, working with Professor David R. Liu on the enzyme-free translation and directed evolution of synthetic polymers. After working as a postdoctoral scholar in the laboratories of Professor Craig Hawker and Professor Tom Soh at University of California, Santa Barbara, Jia joined the faculty of Boston College in 2017. Currently, Jia and his group are focused on developing sustainable plastics using biobased building blocks, understanding functional roles of sulfation patterns in bioactive macromolecules, and the directed evolution of genome editors. Jia is a recipient of ACS PMSE Young Investigator Award (2021), NSF CAREER Award (2020), NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (2019), and the Beckman Young Investigator Award (2019).
Despite recent progress in genomics, proteomics, and glycomics, the structural heterogeneity of biomacromolecules such as polysaccharides and proteins remains a significant barrier for their characterization and utilization. A long-term goal of our research group is to develop synthetic approaches to precision biomacromolecules and their mimetics and use them to understand and manipulate biology. In this seminar, I will discuss two polymer chemistry-inspired approaches to precision biomacromolecules: (1) A SuFEx-based approach to peptides, proteins, and glycomimetic oligomers with defined sites, sequences, and stoichiometry of sulfation; (2) chemical synthesis of polysaccharides from living polymerization.
Event Sponsors:
For more information, please contact Annette Luymes by phone at x6016 or by email at [email protected].