KNI-Wheatley Scholar Lecture: Protein Complexes as the Nanomachines of the Human Body

Join the Kavli Nanoscience Institute for a special public lecture during Caltech's Alumni Weekend by 2024 KNI-Wheatley Scholar assistant professor of Biology and Biological Engineering Dr. Rebecca Voorhees. Dr. Voorhees will discuss her group's recent advancements in understanding protein assembly and production.

"Protein Complexes as the Nanomachines of the Human Body: Their Manufacture, Assembly, and Destruction in Health and Disease"

Abstract

Proteins are the molecular machines of the human body, responsible for everything from signaling of neurons in our brains to recognizing pathogens in our blood stream. However, many of these functions require not just a single protein, but a protein complex that must be assembled from individual components. Within our cells, we can imagine a nanoscale assembly line where each protein part must be first manufactured at a precise number and then glued together into a functional complex. Any mistakes in this process--whether they are
errors in production, manufacture of excess unneeded pieces, or incorrect assemblies--must be rapidly corrected to ensure the protein complex can carry out its biological function. The goal of our lab is to understand the features and structure of this molecular assembly line in healthy cells, so that we can explain and potentially intervene when defects in the protein manufacturing pipeline cause disease. We use the support of the KNI to directly visualize these nanomachines, so we can understand how they work at a level of detail that allows rational development of novel therapeutics.

Rebecca Voorhees

Rebecca performed her graduate work in Venki Ramakrishnan's lab at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB), where she studied the molecular mechanism of protein synthesis using X-ray crystallography. For her postdoctoral studies, Rebecca joined Manu Hegde's lab, just down the hall in the LMB's Cell Biology division. In Manu's lab Rebecca used single particle cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) to study how secreted and integral membrane proteins are specifically targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum.

Rebecca moved to Caltech in July 2017, where she joined the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering. Rebecca's work has been recognized by the Searle Foundation, the Pew-Stewart Scholar's program, the Shurl and Kay Curci Foundation, the Heritage Medical Research Institute. In 2019 she was the recipient of an NIH Director's New Innovator's Award and in 2023 she was named one of the 31 inaugural Freeman Hrabowski Scholars at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

About the KNI-Wheatley Scholarship in Nanoscience

The KNI-Wheatley Scholar in Nanoscience was established in 2016 as a result of a generous endowment from Caltech Distingushed Alumnus Chuck Wheatley and his wife Judy. The initiative provides $25,000 of seed funding to one tenure-track faculty member selected among candidates nominated by Division Chairs and the KNI Board members at Caltech. Early stage proof-of-concept demonstrations are often difficult to support. As envisioned, this unrestricted funding will allow junior faculty in nanoscience the flexibility to pursue novel research ideas. Learn more about KNI-Wheatley Scholars here.