Event
Chemical Society Seminar (Winkler Lecture): Christophe Lachance-Brais- Nucleic acid hybrids 鈥� What to make of these exotic DNA forms
Tuesday, January 7, 2025 13:00to14:30
Maass Chemistry Building
OM 10, 801 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montreal, QC, H3A 0B8, CA
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Bio:
Christophe Lachance-Brais did his bachelor in chemistry at the University of Montr茅al. As an undergraduate, he had the chance to learn through internships in the laboratories of Pr. Alexis Vall茅e-B茅lisle, Pr. Garry Hanan, Pr. Radu Iftimie and Pr. Mika毛l Doll茅. His studies ended in 2016 with an exchange at the 脡cole Polytechnique F茅d茅rale de Lausanne in Switzerland. For quality of his undergraduate dossier, he was awarded the Prestige prize and the Lucien-Pich茅 prize.
Following his bachelors, he spent 1 year tutoring chemistry, physics and mathematics in a juvenile readaptation center before starting a PhD in 2017 under the supervision of Pr. Hanadi Sleiman and funded by a Vanier scholarship.
The unifying thread of his doctoral research has been new induced forms of DNA and RNA. It was discovered that polyadenine can be reconfigured by the addition of small molecules mimicking thymine, resulting in the formation of unnatural hybrids. In collaboration with a diverse group of researchers, Dr. Lachance-Brais elucidated the thermodynamic and structural properties of these DNA hybrids. This investigation ruled out many proposed models for the hybrid structure, providing the best understanding to date of their assembly. Building on this fundamental understanding, Dr. Lachance-Brais created a method to protect DNA and RNA from biological degradation, as well as the stiffest hydrogels made of unmodified DNA to date, setting new benchmarks in the field. Combined, these led to a patent for a gene silencing DNA hydrogel. In addition to having expanded the application scope of DNA-hybrids, Dr. Lachance-Brais has expanded their chemical landscape by discovering an entirely new class of molecules capable of reconfiguring DNA into novel and exotic shapes. For his thesis entitled 鈥淣ucleic Acid / Small-Molecule Hybrids and Their Use in Supramolecular Functionalization, DNA Hydrogels, Gene Silencing, and Sequence Protection鈥�, he received his PhD in July 2023.
In his current postdoc position, he has moved to the University of Groningen in the Netherlands to work with Pr. Ben Feringa on using DNA nanotechnology to unite the motion of molecular motors.
