{"693683":{"#nid":"693683","#data":{"type":"event","title":"PhD Proposal by Shifeng Xu","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EShifeng Xu\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBioE PhD Proposal Presentation\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E1:30 PM, Monday November 16th, 2026\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELocation: EBB 5029\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EZoom Link:\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgatech.zoom.us%2Fj%2F97816529623\u0026amp;data=05%7C02%7Cannouncements%40grad.gatech.edu%7C7b649cd607144bb972ff08df38f2f99a%7C482198bbae7b4b258b7a6d7f32faa083%7C1%7C0%7C639292288412810861%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C\u0026amp;sdata=k5Lksq%2BEeEl%2FyhgLte%2F300p%2BPwpUaAG1by%2FaXcPF8aM%3D\u0026amp;reserved=0\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/gatech.zoom.us\/j\/97816529623\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAdvisor:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;Dr. Mark Styczynski (School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECommittee Members:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. John Blazeck (School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Julie Champion (School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Brian Hammer (School of Biological Sciences)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Valeria Milam (School of Materials Science and Engineering)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEngineering Modular Target Recognition for Cell-Free Biosensing in One-Pot PURE\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPoint-of-care (POC) diagnostics benefit from low-cost biosensing platforms that offer simple readouts and can be readily adapted to detect diverse analytes. Cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) offers a programmable environment for combining molecular recognition elements and genetic circuits for biosensing. One such approach, the T7 RNA polymerase-Linked ImmunoSensing Assay (TLISA), uses nanobodies to reassemble split polymerase fragments upon simultaneous binding to a target protein, driving reporter expression. A more sensitive version of TLISA has been implemented in PURE, a CFPS system reconstituted from purified components. However, commercial PURE costs $1,110 per mL of reaction, making biosensor optimization expensive and limits affordability for POC deployment. One-pot PURE simplifies preparation by jointly purifying the 36 PURE proteins from a co-culture, reducing costs to $90 per mL. I hypothesize that one-pot PURE will improve TLISA\u2019s affordability, while interchangeable nucleic acid recognition elements will enable modular detection of protein and nucleic acid targets. These elements would address a separate limitation: adapting TLISA to new targets requires cloning new affinity domain\u2013polymerase fusions, slowing sensor development. First, I will establish and optimize one-pot PURE in-house and validate its support for TLISA sensing. Second, I will engineer an RNA hairpin-aptamer TLISA architecture that tethers target-binding aptamers to split polymerase fragments through specific protein-RNA interactions. This design would allow target specificity to be changed by switching out aptamers while retaining the same polymerase fusion proteins, reducing the need for cloning. Third, I will adapt TLISA to detect microRNA, extending the platform to sense nucleic acid biomarkers. Together, this work aims to establish an affordable, modular cell-free biosensing platform that accelerates sensor development and supports future POC diagnostic applications.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEngineering Modular Target Recognition for Cell-Free Biosensing in One-Pot PURE\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Engineering Modular Target Recognition for Cell-Free Biosensing in One-Pot PURE"}],"uid":"27707","created_gmt":"2026-11-02 15:49:26","changed_gmt":"2026-11-02 15:50:12","author":"Tatianna Richardson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2026-11-16T01:30:37-05:00","event_time_end":"2026-11-16T15:30:00-05:00","event_time_end_last":"2026-11-16T15:30:00-05:00","gmt_time_start":"2026-11-16 06:30:37","gmt_time_end":"2026-11-16 20:30:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2026-11-16 20:30:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"EBB 5029","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"102851","name":"Phd proposal"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1788","name":"Other\/Miscellaneous"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78771","name":"Public"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}