Reprogramming the genetic code

This month we are joined by Professor Jason Chin, Programme Leader at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, who will be presenting on reprogramming the genetic code.

In terrestrial life, DNA is copied to messenger RNA, and the 64 triplet codons in messenger RNAs are decoded – in the process of translation – to synthesize proteins. Cellular protein translation provides the ultimate paradigm for the synthesis of long polymers of defined sequence and composition, but is commonly limited to polymerizing the 20 canonical amino acids. I will describe our progress towards the encoded synthesis of non-canonical biopolymers. These advances may form a basis for new classes of genetically encoded polymeric materials and medicines. To realize our goals we are re-imagining some of the most conserved features of the cell; we have created new ribosomes, new aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase/tRNA pairs, and organisms with entirely synthetic genomes in which we have re-written the genetic code.

Speaker bio: Jason Chin is a Programme Leader at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology (MRC?LMB), where he is also Head of the Centre for Chemical & Synthetic Biology (CCSB). He is a Professor of Chemistry & Chemical Biology at the University of Cambridge, and holds a joint appointment at the University of Cambridge Department of Chemistry. He is also a fellow in Natural Sciences at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Jason is a native of the UK. He was an undergraduate at Oxford University, where he worked with Professor John Sutherland on Cephalosporin biosynthesis. He obtained his PhD as a Fulbright awardee from Yale University, working with Professor Alanna Schepartz. He was a Damon Runyon Fellow at The Scripps Research Institute with Professor Peter Schultz where he developed the first approaches to systematically expand the genetic code of eukaryotic cells and pioneered approaches, that are now widely used, for defining protein interactions by genetically encoding photocrosslinking amino acids.

Jason’s work has been recognized by a number of awards, including: the Francis Crick Prize (Royal Society), the Corday Morgan Prize (Royal Society of Chemistry), European Molecular Biology Organization’s (EMBO) Gold Medal, Louis-Jeantet Young Investigator Career Award, Sackler International Prize in the Physical Science. He is in the European Inventors Hall of Fame, a member of EMBO, a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and a Fellow of The Royal Society. Jason’s early work provided a foundation for Ambrx and he is the founder and CSO of Constructive Bio. He is also a non-executive director at the UK Government’s Department of Science, Innovation and Technology.

This event is sponsored by the Biochemical Society. Founded in 1911, the Biochemical Society has been at the forefront of advancing molecular bioscience for over 100 years, promoting its importance as a discipline, facilitating the sharing of knowledge and expertise, and supporting molecular bioscientists across all career stages.

This is a hybrid event.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact the Centre for the Physical Science of Life team at [email protected].

If you plan to attend in person, please note the seminar will be held in Room 106, the big seminar room, at Britannia House.

Centre for the Physical Science of Life Seminar Series

The Centre for the Physical Science of Life Seminar Series is the flagship seminar series for King’s College London’s Centre for the Physical Science of Life, connecting across disciplines and building collaborations between physical and life scientists to identify and solve the most fundamental riddles underpinning life.

Every month, we host a speaker to discuss a new research idea and seek contributions from audience members during the Q&A.

About us

The Centre for the Physical Science of Life realises the transformative power of physical science in advancing understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underlying living systems across scales. The goal of our unique physical science centre is to achieve a whole-scale quantitative understanding of life using physical and mathematical principles.

Based in the Faculty of Natural, Mathematical and Engineering Sciences (NMES), the Centre coalesces expertise across our Faculty in creative fusions of natural, mathematical and engineering sciences, our ambition is to solve the fundamental challenge of modern biology; bridging the gap between current biomolecular and systems level descriptions of biological phenomena.

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Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Britannia House Kings College London Chemistry Department, 7 Trinity Street, London, United Kingdom