Pizza will be served outside the lecture theatre from 12:20 for those attending the seminar.
Host: Pau Creixell
Date, time and venue: Monday 24th November, 12:30-13:30, CRUK CI Lecture Theatre (Zoom link available on request)
Speaker: Dr Xin Zhou, Assistant Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School
Title: “Modular strategies to decode and rewire cell surface signaling”
Abstract: Cell surface proteins are key regulators of cancer and immune cell signaling, metabolism, and interactions with the surrounding environment. A promising approach to modulating their function is through the control of endocytosis and intracellular trafficking. Under normal physiological conditions, cells use these processes to maintain membrane protein homeostasis and attenuate signaling, yet their therapeutic potential has only recently begun to be explored. In this talk, I will discuss how bispecific antibodies can be designed to modularly control membrane protein endocytosis and signaling, including those of growth factor receptors and G protein–coupled receptors, and describe the underlying mechanisms by which these molecules function, with comparisons to traditional antagonists and their potential clinical implications. I will also present a protein engineering approach to develop synthetic protein binders that recognize tyrosine-phosphorylated signaling motifs, including sites in PD-1 and LAT, regulators of T cell activity. Using these binders, we have built sensors and biocircuits to elucidate PD-1 activation with spatiotemporal specificity, investigate mechanisms of new PD-1 modulators such as anti–PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibodies, and reprogram signaling outcomes to create enhanced CAR-T cells.
Bio: Xin Zhou is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School and the Department of Cancer Biology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She earned her PhD in Bioengineering from Stanford University with Dr. Michael Lin and completed her postdoctoral training with Dr. James Wells at the University of California, San Francisco. Her lab develops modular protein and antibody technologies to decode and rewire cell surface signaling. Current research areas include engineering bifunctional antibodies to elucidate and reprogram cell signaling pathways and target previously undruggable membrane antigens, as well as building protein switches such as phosphorylation- or cell-surface antigen-gated enzymes, ligands, and receptors to control cellular fate.
Posted on 29/10/2025
