BioZone: Engineering Biocatalysts for New Reactions

Join BioZone for its AGM keynote lecture with Prof. Joelle Pelletier, McGill University, Engineering Biocatalysts for New Reactions.

Join the Zoom Meeting:

https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/93180740161

Meeting ID: 931 8074 0161, Password: 742042

Abstract

Biocatalysis is increasingly present in synthetic routes to high-value products. The very qualities of biocatalysts – their high chemo-, regio- and stereo-selectivities – often prove to be hurdles because no natural enzyme catalyses the desired reaction. We report on strategies to alter the product profiles of a lipase, a transglutaminase and a cytochrome P450 oxidase. We demonstrate high-throughput active-site library screening to identify new enzyme activities, and perform high-throughput computational analysis of a surprisingly broad family of mutations that result in a dominant effect on structure and on activity. We look ahead to the potential for large experimental datasets to train smarter design algorithms for enzyme engineering

Bio

Following a Ph.D. from McGill U. and postdoctoral fellowships at U. de Montréal and at the U. of Zürich, Joelle Pelletier became a Professor of Chemistry and Adjunct Professor of Biochemistry at U. de Montréal in 1999. Her transdisciplinary research has produced new enzymes for applications in health, materials science and industrial synthesis and has provided remarkable insights into the fundamentals of protein biology. Evolution of antibiotic resistance, generation of ‘smart’ protein libraries and protein dynamics are prominent among her research topics. She has established advanced methods for automated and high-throughput protein engineering, applied biocatalysis and computational models, as reported in over 85 publications and 15 patents. She is co-director of PROTEO, the Québec Network for Protein Function, Engineering and Applications and director of the Canadian Green Chemistry and Engineering Network. Highly solicited in the broader research community, she hserves on numerous executive boards, grant and award panels and conference organization committees in Canada and internationally. Her advances in SPR biosensing helped launch the start-up company Affinité Instruments where she currently serves as VP-Research.