Synthetic Genomes and Genetic Codes for Virus Resistance, Biocontainment, and Therapy
Event Details
- Type
- Molecular Pharmacology and Chemistry Program
- Speaker(s)
-
Akos Nyerges, Ph.D., research associate, Harvard Medical School
- Speaker bio(s)
-
Dr. Akos Nyerges is an NIH K99/R00-funded Research Associate at Harvard Medical School. His research focuses on genome synthesis and genetic code engineering for virus resistance, drug delivery, and the production of genetically encoded polymers and biologic drugs beyond the limits of natural protein synthesis. Prior to Harvard, as a Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds Ph.D. Fellow, he developed tools for directed evolution and genome engineering and utilized these tools for rational antibiotic design and biomolecular engineering. Akos' research has been recognized by numerous awards and honors: he was named a Distinguished Young Scholar by the University of Washington and a Next Generation in Biomedicine scholar by the Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard; he was a European Molecular Biology Organization Long-term Fellow at Harvard and an EMBO Short-term Fellow at ETH Zurich; and he received the Junior Prima Prize – the highest honor awarded to Early Career Researchers in Hungary. Most recently, Akos received an NIH K99/R00 Award from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, which supports his work on the clinical translation of his recent discoveries. His NIH-funded research merges genome and genetic code engineering with drug development to enable therapeutic applications that are not attainable with existing cell-based therapies and biopolymers. His long-term goal is to unlock fully customizable genome and genetic code design for the discovery and safe delivery of protein and peptide drugs, as well as new classes of living therapeutics that are genetically isolated from existing biology.
- Open to
- Public
- Reception
- Tea, 10:45 a.m.
- Phone
- (646) 888-3712
- Sponsor
-
Beneysha Bolden
(646) 888-3712
boldenb@mskcc.org