Professor Ahmed Badran

Professor Ahmed Badran
Department of Chemistry & Integrative Structural and Computational Biology
Scripps Research Institute
Printable Abstract

Expanding the Chemical Space of Cellular Protein Translation

The genetic code is the foundation for all life. With few exceptions, the translation of nucleic acid messages into proteins follows conserved rules, which are defined by codons that specify each of the 20 proteinogenic amino acids. Supplementing translation with non-canonical amino acids (ncAAs) can yield protein sequences with new-to-nature functions, but existing ncAA incorporation strategies suffer from low efficiency and context dependence. Recently, our lab has developed technologies rooted in bioengineering and directed evolution that overcome longstanding limitations in genetic code expansion. In this presentation, I will discuss our efforts to develop new-to-nature proteins and peptides by altering the cell’s translation apparatus, including tRNAs, mRNAs, and the ribosome itself. Given the generality of our approaches and streamlined resources, our findings will accelerate innovations in multiplexed genetic code expansion and enable the discovery of chemically diverse biomolecules for researcher-defined applications.

Ahmed H. Badran

Dr. Ahmed H. Badran is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology at the Scripps Research Institute. Badran’s research leverages the programmability of biological systems and uncovers next-generation strategies to address pressing global problems. Badran’s major research interests include engineering and deployment of carbon-capturing enzymes to address climate change; discovery and optimization of pathogen-specific antimicrobials to curb widespread bacterial resistance; development of new-to-nature catalysts that bridge the scope of synthetic chemistry transformations with programmability of biology; and pioneering novel bioactive modalities to therapeutically intervene in diverse disease states. Badran’s research has been recognized by a number of awards, including the NIH Director’s Early Independence Award, Air Force and Army Young Investigator Awards, J- WAFS Water and Food Grand Challenge Award, FFAR New Innovator in Food & Agriculture Research Award, Breakthrough Energy Fellow Explorer Award, and the Chemical & Engineering News Talented 12 Award.

Hosted by Professor William Pomerantz