Fabricating Intelligent Protein Materials

Date/Time
Date(s) - 12/04/2014
2:00 pm

Jin Montclare, Associate Professor, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering

Abstract:

Through centuries of evolution, nature has developed biopolymers capable of folding and assembling into discrete structures with a functional consequence. Inspired by this, our lab focuses on engineering “intelligent” protein materials with entirely new properties and function.  In particular, our lab has fabricated protein-derived nanomaterials: helix-elastin block polymers and coiled-coil fibers.  We investigate the self-assembly and molecular recognition capabilities of these systems.  More importantly, we are able to harness these structure as well as others to interface with small molecule therapeutics, nucleic acids and inorganic metals.  The resulting materials bear potential as scaffolds or delivery vehicles for medicine as well as for nano-materials synthesis

Brief Bio:

Jin Montclare is an Associate Professor in the Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Department at NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering. Her research focuses on protein engineering and under this umbrella my group creates proteins that can assemble into materials and those that can catalyze specific reactions. Prior to her faculty position, she completed her graduate work as an NSF graduate fellow on investigating transcription factors and designing mimics that can inhibit genes at Yale University and an NIH postdoctoral fellowship at Caltech on evolving proteins bearing unnatural amino acids.  Her research, educational and entrepreneurial efforts have been supported by NSF, NIH, ARO, AFOSR, Dreyfus and Teagle Foundations.  She has received a number of awards including the 2014 Distinguished Award for Excellence, Dedication to Invention, Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Executive Leadership in Academic Technology and Engineering Fellow.