Pittsburgh is at the forefront of an emerging interdisciplinary field which could provide new tools to doctors in the fight against cancer and other diseases.
The researchers met at Carnegie Mellon University for the second condensate condensates of Steel City to discuss cutting -edge research on compartments within cells that concentrate nucleic proteins and acids. By disentangling the rules governing the way in which biomolecular condensates are formed and operated, they lay the foundations for a new era of precision medicine which could target cancer at its root, exceed the bacteria resistant to antibiotics and other medical breakthroughs.
“Condensate biology uses the physical concept of phases separation to understand biomolecular structures in cells,” said Huaiying Zhang(Opens in a new window)Deputy professor of biological sciences with courtesy appointments in physics and chemical engineering.
Condensates are everywhere: in plants, bacteria, animals, etc. They also have many roles, storage compartments to reaction centers. The separation of phases in cells implies proteins, RNA and other self-organized macromolecules and separating into distinct liquid type compartments called biomolecular condensates. The condensates do not have membranes and are mainly maintained together by a network of low molecular interactions. Understanding how cells use condensates to organize could provide new avenues to provide medication and help better understand how certain neurodegeneration diseases – such as SAL or Alzheimer’s disease – and cancers are caused.
“This requires techniques and perspectives for several disciplines,” said Zhang. “The CMU, with its rich tradition in interdisciplinary science, is only placed to promote collaboration and advance the domain.”
These compartments have been observed for decades for decades, but the term biomolecular condensates was invented in 2017 by researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Biology and Genetics of Molecular Cells and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas – among them, among them, Michael Rosen(Opens in a new window)the conference of honor speaker.
“This is an emerging field that has aroused growing interest,” said Zhang. “A challenge for the field is that it is a new direction in biology, requiring new experimental theoretical and technical frameworks to study them effectively.”
More than 100 teachers, medical researchers and students attended the symposium from disciplines such as biological sciences, chemistry, physics, engineering and medicine.
“It was great, super interesting to look at the same data from very different angles and thought processes,” said Tafadzwa Chigumira, a recent doctorate. Graduated in chemical engineering and postdoctoral researcher in the Zhang laboratory. “Our research rides and experience has provided an overview of the ways to borrow in different fields.”
Chigumira focuses on a subset of cancer cells. The way in which cells proliferate takes place through liquid droplets on telomeres – caps at the ends of chromosomes which protect DNA. Its goal is to understand how droplets are formed and how to disturb them. Zhang was invaluable as a mentor, she said.
“Huaiying is an embodiment of the diversity of the field,” said Chigumira. “Her work rides three departments, and she is part of a joint program between the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon.”
This program is the program of molecular biophysics and structural biology. Zhang is a recognized leader in the field of biomolecular condensates and is active in the progress of research. The interdisciplinary and collaborative environment of Carnegie Mellon offers training opportunities on advanced imaging, biophysics and molecular biology techniques.
Jasper Jeffrey is a doctoral student in the program of molecular biophysics and structural biology and another member of the Zhang laboratory which led the organizing committee 2025. His research focuses on shell -type condensates formed by a protein that helps eukaryotic cells to reproduce properly.
“Pittsburgh is a large research center for biophysics and structural biological work,” said Jeffrey. “We have a lot of resources and teachers in the region, and we bring people together in the condensate community to share ideas and see how we can help each other in our research.”