BBE Seminar - Speaker: Paul Blainey | Tuesday, May 28, 2024 at 4 pm

Date: Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Reception: 3:30 pm

Time: 4 pm

Location: Chen 100

Speaker: Paul Blainey

Faculty Host: Paul Sternberg

Title: Profiling cellular responses with scalable arrayed and pooled technologies

Abstract: Cells are intricate, dynamic, and responsive. Basic biological research and therapeutics science demand a deep understanding of cell biology that encompasses the genetic dependencies of cellular functions and the response of cells to their environment. Over the last decade, my group developed two scalable technology platforms to drive scientific progress across a wide array of application areas. First, optical pooled screening (OPS), an in situ approach to profile the responses of cells to genomic perturbation at massive scales. OPS is broadly compatible with image-based cellular profiling assays and routinely generates reproducible high content data from tens of millions of cells with linked perturbation identities. Second, we developed droplet microwell arrays, a streamlined approach for combinatorial cell challenge using a defined number of droplet-borne stimuli that self-assemble in microwells. We demonstrated how this system enables facile implementation of complex combinatorial experimental designs in small molecule screening, microbial community assembly, molecular diagnostics, and profiling the transcriptional response of human immune cells to ligands in the context of systemic inflammation.