The Arkansas Integrative Metabolic Research Center (AIMRC) will host Suresh Thallapuranam, the Mildred Cooper Chair of Bioinformatics & Biochemistry in the U of A Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and director of the AIMRC Bioenergetics Core at the U of A, at 12:55 p.m. Wednesday, April 17, in Gearhart Hall 108.

Abstract:  The main focus of the Thallapuranam Group is to understand the structure-activity relationship of mitogenic and metabolic fibroblast growth factors using a wide range of biophysical, biochemical, molecular and cell biology tools. Having successfully determined the three-dimensional structures of the human acidic fibroblast growth factor (FGF1) and the FGF1-heparin complex using multidimensional NMR spectroscopy, the Thallapuranam Group, for the first time, has used structural and functional data to demonstrate that oligomerization of FGFs, induced by heparin, is not mandatory for their mitogenic activity. Using limited trypsin digestion and site-directed mutagenesis techniques, the Thallapurnam Group delineated the structural determinants that govern the stability of FGFs. These studies have facilitated the design and production of the most stable form of FGF1, called super FGF1 (sFGF1), that exhibits potent mitogenic activity in a heparin-independent manner. Since then, the Thallapuranam Group has designed several new fibroblast growth factors (such as an FGF1-FGF2 dimer and FGF1-FGF10/KGF chimera) which are predicted to exhibit potent wound healing applications. Inspired by the successful design of sFGF1, the Thallapuranam Group has recently designed a sFGF1-FGF21 chimera that exhibits stable and interesting metabolic properties. The lessons learned for potential biomedical applications will be shared.

In addition, as the director of the Bioenergetics Core, Thallapuranam will briefly highlight instrumentation available to cater to the needs of metabolism investigators.

Biography: Professor Suresh Thallapuranam earned his B.S. degree as a double major (in chemistry and mathematics) from Osmania University, Hyderabad, completing his undergraduate research in theoretical biophysics under the tutelage of professor G.N. Ramachandran (of the Ramachandran plot fame). He earned a joint Ph.D. degree in molecular biophysics & biochemistry from Osmania University and completed his post-doc at National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, before joining the faculty of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the U of A. Thallapuranam is a biochemist with significant interest in the design of novel fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-based rational design of therapeutic principles for chronic wound care, anti-diabetes, antiobesity and osteoporosis. His research is supported by several federal grants (NIH/DOE/NSF/USDA). He has published 10 U.S. patents and 175 peer-reviewed research papers in high-impact journals, and Thallapuranam is the recipient of several teaching, research and service awards and has been elected as a member of the National Academy of Inventors. Thallapuranam currently serves as the director of the Bioenergetics Core of the AIMRC and as the director of the U of A Office of Undergraduate Research. Thallapuranam regularly serves on grant proposal review panels for federal agencies such as NIH, NSF and DOE. He currently serves as the associate editor of Frontiers of Molecular Biophysics and serves on the editorial board of several journals including the prestigious Journal of Biological Chemistry.

This event is supported by NIGMS of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P20GM139768. The content is solely the authors' responsibility and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Pizza and beverages will be served. Please contact Kimberley Fuller, fullerk@uark.edu, for more information. For those unable to attend in person, this seminar will also be available via Zoom.