The Killam Seminar Series

Supported by the generosity of the Killam Trusts, the MNI's Killam Seminar Series invites outstanding guest speakers whose research is of interest to the scientific community at the MNI and McGill University.

Talk Title: Chasing Shape-Shifting Condensates Linked to ALS with Proteomics

Ji-Young Youn

Scientist, SickKids Research Institute, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto, Canada

Abstract: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease with no known cure. A hallmark of ALS is the cytoplasmic aggregation of TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TARDBP, called TDP-43 here). TDP-43 is an essential DNA/RNA-binding protein with multiple roles in post-transcriptional regulation. Harboring prion-like domain, TDP-43 readily phase separates in vitro and localizes to biomolecular condensates formed by cellular phase separation. Aberrant phase transition of TDP-43, accelerated by ALS-associated mutations or stress, are thought to underly ALS pathogenesis. However, the functional consequences of altering TDP-43 phase separation properties remain poorly understood. In this talk, I will share our efforts to characterize ALS-associated TDP-43 variants with altered phase separation dynamics. Exploiting proximity-dependent biotinylation techniques, we examine quantitative changes in proximal interaction networks of TDP-43 variants or TDP-43 wildtype during stress. Our preliminary data reveal unanticipated functions of TDP-43 controlled by phase separation.

Speaker Bio: Ji-Young earned her BS in Bioengineering from Yonsei University in South Korea in 2004. Through her experiences in the laboratories of Dr. Joe Ecker at the Salk Institute and Dr. Sarah Liljegren at the University of Chapel Hill, she became interested in pursuing research in Molecular Biology. She completed her PhD in the laboratory of Dr. Brenda Andrews at the University of Toronto in 2013. She focused on functional genetic interaction studies of kinase-regulated pathways and characterization of BAR domain proteins involved in the process of endocytosis. Following PhD, she switched fields to functional proteomics, working in the laboratory of Dr. Anne-Claude Gingras at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute in Sinai Health Systems. Her postdoctoral studies focused on investigating the constituents of cytosolic RNA granules in human cells.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

De Grandpre Communications Centre, 3801 Rue University, Montréal, Canada