BCAM Seminar | A Physics-based Model Reveals Mechanisms of Epigenetic Memory and Reprogramming
Data: Ar, Ira 16 2025
Ordua: 15:00
Lekua: Maryam Mirzakhani Seminar Room at BCAM
Hizlariak: Dr. Simone Bianco (Altos Lab, USA)
Title: A Physics-based Model Reveals Mechanisms of Epigenetic Memory and Reprogramming
Abstract
Cell type and specific functional identity are defined by the epigenetic patterning of chemical modifications to DNA and chromatin that modulate the expression and silencing of specific genes. When a cell divides, histones containing important
epigenetic marks are distributed between the two daughter strands leading to a temporary dilution of epigenetic information and cell identity. The daughter cells must therefore reestablish the parental epigenetic pattern before the next cell division to ensure future progeny can continue to carry out their cell-type specific functions. In this talk, I will present a physics-based model involving polymer looping, epigenetic modifying enzymes, and phase condensates that explains how cells restore H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 histone methylation patterning after cell division. I will present validation of the model via genome-wide epigenetic time-course simulation and comparison to experimental epigenetic data from multiple donors, multiple cell types, and for multiple epigenetic marks. Finally, I will show how this model reveals a conceptual framework to understand four factor partial and full reprogramming as a rejuvenation strategy.
Hizlari baieztatuak:
Dr. Simone Bianco from the Altos Lab, USA
Simone Bianco is a Vice President of Computation at Altos Labs. He was previously a Principal Investigator at the Bay Area Institute of Science and a research staff member and manager at the IBM Almaden Research Center. He holds a MS in Physics and Astrophysics from the University of Pisa, Italy, and a PhD in Physics from the Center for Complex Sciences at the University of North Texas, USA. Dr Bianco is passionate about using tools from mathematics, physics, engineering, and computer science to make biology a quantitative science.
He has contributed to the design of vaccines, antivirals, and immunotherapies, and holds several patents in synthetic biology. He is also a founding principal investigator of the Center for Cellular Construction, an initiative aimed at transforming cell biology into an engineering discipline. He is a TED speaker and the recipient of IBM's Outstanding Research Achievement Award.
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