Chinese researcher speaks on collaborative study at HBKU event

Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU)’s College of Health and Life Sciences (CHLS) recently presented a talk by Dr Zhongwen Chen from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), highlighting the discovery of how molecular systems affect function in living cells in the broad context of cancer metastasis and viral infection.His talk focused on the results of a collaborative study that included the HBKU, represented by assistant professor at the Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences Dr Kabir H Biswas, and researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford, University of Texas, and National University of Singapore, as well as from China’s Fudan University, where Dr Chen is an assistant professor.He is also the principal investigator at the Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Biology and Chemistry at the CAS.CHLS assistant professor Dr Hend Mansoor moderated the seminar, which attracted an international audience of scientists, senior HBKU faculty, graduate students and researchers.Dr Chen’s presentation illustrated how single-molecule imaging uncovers the way in which molecular systems affect function in living cells by capturing transient intermediates and heterogeneous behaviour at the molecular level and in real time.A hybrid live cell-supported lipid bilayer, developed over the past few years, allows for manipulating and imaging receptor signalling with high spatial-temporal resolution.The findings could be utilised in the screening of pharmacological agents to target diseases that involve clustering-dependent receptor signalling.“This study and its results presented by Dr Chen illustrate the kind of high-impact scientific research being achieved through international collaborations,” said Prof Dindial Ramotar from the CHLS. “It’s an approach we value and aim to sustain at the CHLS, as it gives our academic community access to leading expertise, enhances our interdisciplinary work, and helps to advance innovation.”