MSE Talk: Hee-Sun Han

  • Starts: 3:00 pm on Friday, October 25, 2024
  • Ends: 4:00 pm on Friday, October 25, 2024
Speaker: Hee-Sun Han, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Title: Precision Measurements in Biology 2.0: How System-level Functions Emerge from Molecular Mechanisms

Abstract: My group develops high-resolution, high-content measurement technologies and new conceptual frameworks for analysis to understand how molecular mechanisms coalesce into systems-level biological phenotypes. I take a unique, information-centric approach aiming to uncover new biological insights that emerge from high-resolution, high-content measurements. We study relatively simple, natural systems that are amenable to reductionist analysis using utilizing both non-spatial (droplet microfluidics) and spatial (imaging) measurements. On the non-spatial measurement front, we are pioneering 'single virus genomics' for quantitative profiling of influenza evolution. I will present our technical innovations that enable direct, high-throughput measurement of individual viral genomes, as well as the first quantitative assessment of genome mixing probabilities among circulating influenza A virus (IAV) strains from natural reservoirs - an essential step in predicting potential pandemic strains. On the spatial measurement front, we are working toward "comparative whole-brain spatial omics" to uncover how detailed molecular mechanisms are coordinated and translated into whole-brain phenotypes. We have studied the honeybee brain to take advantage of its small size and the rich repertoire of well-defined social behaviors it encodes. I will discuss new biological insights revealed by our comprehensive brain mapping efforts and present the tools we have developed for next-generation molecular neuroimaging.

Bio: Hee-Sun Han is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry and a Mark A. Pytosh scholar at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She is a co-founder of the 'Spatial Omics Initiative' at the Carle R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology. Her research program lies at the nexus of chemistry, engineering, and data science driving innovations in both technology and analytical frameworks to better understand how molecular mechanisms coalesce into system-level phenotypes. Han has been recognized for her contributions with the Johnson & Johnson WiSTEM2D Award in Science and the NIH Maximizing Investigators' Research Award. Additionally, she serves as a member of the Early Career Advisory Board for Analytical Chemistry. Han earned her PhD in Physical Chemistry from MIT as a Samsung and KFAS Scholar, under the guidance of Prof. Moungi Bawendi, a 2023 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. She then completed her postdoctoral training with Prof. David A. Weitz at Harvard. Han began her academic journey at Seoul National University in Korea, where she graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry, earning summa cum laude honors and valedictorian recognition.

Location:
EMB 105, 15 St. Mary's St.
Hosting Professor
Joerg Werner