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Our most recent preprint is up! We’ve done a deep-dive into the protein interactions engaged by CARs. Now to get it through review…

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.06.07.495180v1

The SEPS lab has published three papers since I’ve last updated the website. Some great work by Jon, Whitney and Mason.

Congrats to Ted on his first, first-author paper describing some new IP-FCM assays that he’s been working non-stop on for the past two months. We detect anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in almost all recovered patients, and we detect inhibition of SARS-2 spike protein binding to its receptor, ACE2. Our cell-free inhibition assay, based on IP-FCM, could be useful to quantify immunity in recovered patients or vaccine trials. Big thanks to our collaborators at SCRI, Drs. Whitney Harrington, Noah Sather and Lisa Frenkel. We’re very proud to be a small part of the global, collaborative effort to fight COVID-19.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.09.20127050v1

An entry-level tab technician position is available in the SEPS lab at SCRI! The ideal candidate will have a strong interest in molecular biology, neuroscience and/or immunology, as well as some basic undergraduate experience in a lab environment. Prior experience with Luminex bead-based assays, proteomics and/or flow cytometry are desirable. More than any specific skill, we seek a candidate who is intelligent, driven, good with a pipette, and willing and able to learn new techniques. Duties include genotyping and maintenance of the mouse colony, daily running of the QMI assay (video available on JOVE), neuronal tissue culture, and general lab upkeep. The SEPS lab is a fast-paced, collaborative and friendly environment, so the ability to work well as a team is also critical. Please submit a cover letter and CV through the Seattle Children’s job site , and an email to introduce yourself won’t hurt either!

In collaboration with Mike Jensen’s CAR T cell group, the SEPS lab has been awarded a 5-year grant from the National Cancer Institute! Will will use our QMI platform to investigate how CAR T cells transmit intracellular activation signals upon antigen engagement. We hope identify protein interactions that correlate with positive or negative outcomes, in order to perform a ‘personalized signal transduction analysis’ for each batch of cells, before infusion into the patient. More to come…

Whitney has been working for over a year on experiments characterizing the synaptic protein interaction network (PIN) response to homeostatic scaling. We’ve uploaded the pre-print to BioARxIV, and submitted to a great journal! Congrats to Whitney and all co-authors

Thanks to the Brotman Baty Institute for funding our catalytic collaboration grant with the Yadev Lab to investigate signaling deficits in human iPS neurons!

6/10/2022: We are looking to fill several positions, from entry-level lab technician to postdocs. Prior experience with molecular signal transduction, molecular (neuro)biology, T cell immunology, and/or bioinformatics are all desirable. Please contact Dr. Smith directly via email, and submit an application at the Seattle Children’s jobsite.

Our review on the function of autism-linked genes in both development and adulthood has jest been published at Trends in Neuroscience. Read it here!