NEWS

Congratulations to Arden Lee and Virginia for Winning HHMIGilliam Graduate Fellowship!

Arden Lee and Virginia have been awarded the HHMI Gilliam Graduate Fellowship, joining the 2021 cohort. Congratulations to Arden on her outstanding research on tetracycline biosynthesis in yeast. We recognize Arden for her determination in pursuing experimental bench research and commitment to leadership in advancing diversity and excellence in science. The Cornish laboratory and Columbia University are recognized for their commitment to inclusive and effective training environments for a diverse group of biomedical researchers.

Congratulations to Ehud and Arden for publishing “Heterologous Catalysis of the Final Steps of Tetracycline Biosynthesis by Saccharomyces cerevisiae” in ACS Chemical Biology

07/16/2021

Virginia, Ehud, and Arden wrote a journal article detailing the penultimate steps of tetracycline biosynthesis, with heterologous expression of three enzymes, leading to the characterization of an intermediate that was not previously known. This could not have been achieved without the ongoing collaborations between Professor Scott Snyder at University of Chicago and Professor Yi Tang at UCLA.

Winner of Life Science Accelerator Grants Focus on Lab-to-Market Ideas

07/12/2021

“A living yeast biosensor for diagnostic applications”
Investigators: Virginia Cornish, PhD, professor of chemistry; Alastair Ager, PhD, adjunct professor of population and family health; and Thomas Briese, PhD, associate professor of epidemiology

There is an unmet need for low-cost, sensitive, specific, simple, and rapid diagnostics to efficiently identify viral infections, such as SARS-CoV-2, that can be performed at home and at scale. Current at-home solutions are cost-prohibitive: the At-Home Antigen Lateral Flow Assays diagnostics remains >$10/test because of manufacturing, shipping, and storing antibodies, while LAMP-based diagnostics offer molecular accuracy but cost >$50/test for routine testing. The biosensor is a superior diagnostic created by engineering live yeast using synthetic biology. It eliminates the need for expensive equipment and additional reagents by engineering yeast to produce red pigment in response to a given pathogen. Dried yeast can be globally distributed as an inexpensive, safe, simple, and reliable alternative to other diagnostics for routine testing..

Congratulations to Mia and Zhongping for publishing “Genetic Code Expansion: A Brief History and Perspective” in Biochemistry

06/22/2021

Virginia and former PhD students in the lab, Zhongping and Mia, wrote a Perspective for the 60th Anniversary Issue of Biochemistry detailing the progression of unnatural amino acid incorporation technology from modification of natural amino acids in purified in vitro translation systems to upcoming exciting bioengineering and medical applications.