Event Details:
Special Seminar
A High-Performance Magnetogenetics, m-Torquer, for Long-range and Wireless Neuromodulations in Freely Moving Animals
Speaker
Jinwoo Cheon
Director, Institute for Basic Science (IBS) Center for Nanomedicine H. G. Underwood Professor, Department of Chemistry Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea https://ibs.yonsei.ac.kr/
Host: Kang Shen
Abstract
Among physical stimulation modalities, magnetism has clear advantages, such as deep penetration and untethered interventions in biological subjects. We have developed the m-Torquer system, a novel magneto-mechanical method for untethered, deep brain neuromodulation at a long distance. This system utilizes the magnetic nanoparticles (m-Torquer) capable of generating piconewton-scale mechanical force to control gating of genetically encoded mechanosensitive ion channels Piezo1. In this talk, I will describe the development of the m-Torquer system that enables robust and reproducible control of neural activities with spatiotemporal accuracy in freely behaving animals. We have also applied our magnetogenetic system for remote gene editing with spatiotemporal precision. Our approach of magnetogenetics has the potential to open new opportunities for interrogating neural mechanism underlying complex behaviours, controlling neurons in large animal models (primates), and remote therapy for neurological disorders. References [1] Lee, J.; Cheon, J. et. al, Nat. Mater. 2021, 20, 1029. [2] Shin, W.; Cheon J.; Lee J. H. et al., Nano Letters, 2021, 22, 7415. [3] Kim, J.; Cheon, J. et. al. Acc. Chem. Res., 2018, 51, 839.
Speaker Bio
Dr. Jinwoo Cheon is the founding director of the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) Center for Nanomedicine and H. G. Underwood Professor at Yonsei University. After his undergraduate at Yonsei University, Dr. Cheon received his Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1993.
Dr. Cheon’s contributions in the advancement of chemistry, nanoscience and nanomedicine have been recognized with accolades including U. of Illinois Sheth International Alumni Award for Exceptional Achievements (2018), Samsung Ho-Am Prize (2015), KCS Academic Achievement Award (2013), POSCO ChungAm Prize (2012), and Inchon Prize (2010). Currently, Dr. Cheon is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and American Chemical Society. Since 2009, he has been a senior editor of Accounts of Chemical Research.