Hubert Yin has been thinking about one type of cell receptor since he joined the BioFrontiers Institute, and it is a receptor worthy of that kind of time. Yin, an Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is focusing much of his research on toll-like receptors. These are pattern recognition receptors designed to identify pathogen signals and activate an immune response within the cell. Humans have ten known toll-like receptors. In some cases, the immune response from these receptors needs to be managed, like in the case of many autoimmune diseases, which turn the body's immunity on itself. In other cases, toll-like receptors can be activated to provide a powerful immune response to a disease, harnessing the body's own ability to fight off illness. 

 Toll-like receptors are becoming popular research subjects in many labs around the world because they are the body's first-responders to many of the viruses, bacteria and fungi that are trying to find a home in our cells. In 1989, scientists first proposed the idea that cells are using pattern recognition to weed out pathogens and keep them out of healthy cells. Toll-like receptors that used this pattern recognition were identified nearly a decade later. Scientists also discovered toll-like receptors in plants and smaller organisms, pointing to their role in evolution protecting the host organism from disease.

"These toll-like receptors have been a central interest of my group since 2007," says Yin. "These receptors are leading us to new ideas for the treatment of different diseases." Read more

Electric voltage powers life - Our brains use electrical transients to process every thought; every heartbeat arises from voltage changes in heart cells. Despite its importance, voltage changes in bacteria were never really studied because the cells were just too small to measure. In fact, biologists historically assumed that these voltage changes were only present in plants and animals. BioFrontiers Institute faculty member, Joel Kralj, an Assistant Professor in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, developed a method to encode a fluorescent protein into bacterial cells that allow it to become visible, revealing how bacteria use electricity to stay alive.

"Voltage really is everywhere, and life has harnessed it for billions of years in order to evolve. That's what is amazing," says Kralj. "Finding these electrical transients in bacteria gives us an entirely new perspective on their evolution."

Kralj recently became a Searle Scholar for his work on voltage in bacteria. The Searle Scholars Program supports the research of scientists who recently started their appointments at the assistant professor level, and who are in their first tenure-track position at one of 153 participating academic or research institutions. Kralj was one of 15 researchers who were named Searle Scholars this year. As part of this award, he will receive $100,000 per year for three years to support his research. Read more