[Ai4biomed.meet.ups.beta] Reminder - AI4Biomed next Thursday October 30th 2025, 16:00h - 18:00h in NU-4A25

[Sajan, A. (Akshay)]

Dear all,



This is a reminder for the upcoming AI4Biomed meetup.



Thursday October 30th 2025, 16:00h - 18:00h in NU-4A25



Join us to welcome our speakers Evelina Tutucci (Systems Biology lab) and Melissa Bärenfänger (Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences), and stay for drinks and networking afterwards!



Please register here.<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_ZccBr7R1PkKrG0_NdwHteK16tp5eK-b9Lcpom5-XpZ8WgA/viewform?usp=header>



Please forward the invitation to other group members who may be interested to hear more about AI for biomedicine.



We are looking forward to welcoming you soon!



If you are not yet on the mailing list for the AI4Biomed series, please contact a.sajan at vu.nl.



Best wishes,

The Organizers



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AI4 Biomed,Thursday October 30th 2025, 16:00h - 18:00h in NU-4A25 (NU Building on the VU Campus)



Schedule

16:00h - 16:30h: Evelina Tutucci<https://www.tutuccilab.com/home> - “Shapeshifting Fungi: How Spatial and Temporal Gene Expression Control Contribute to Fungal Success”

 

Across the fungal kingdom, species exhibit remarkable diversity in both lifestyle—ranging from single-celled to multicellular forms—and morphology, enabling their successful adaptation to diverse ecosystems. Fungi can grow as simple, spherical single cells or develop into elongated, highly asymmetric structures that facilitate the organization of distinct subcellular compartments. To understand how fungi regulate their lifestyle choices and morphology, we develop imaging technologies to analyze gene expression changes at the single-cell level. By visualizing and quantifying single mRNA molecules in both fixed (single-molecule RNA FISH) and living (MS2 system) fungal cells, we investigate how spatial and temporal gene expression regulation contributes to fungal physiology. To identify both species-specific and conserved strategies, we study fungal differentiation across diverse species, including pathogenic (Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus) and non-pathogenic (Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Aspergillus niger) fungi. Our findings reveal an unexpected level of spatial organization in gene expression, where the synthesis and localization of mRNAs within fungal structures contribute to growth and adaptation.


16:30h - 17:00h: Melissa Bärenfänger<https://research.vu.nl/en/persons/melissa-baerenfaenger> - "Using Ion-mobility mass spectrometry to understand 2D and 3D structure of glycoproteins in human health and disease"


Protein glycosylation, the attachment of carbohydrates to proteins, plays a vital role in determining protein structure, stability, and function. Distinct glycosylation patterns, for example in human antibodies, can directly modulate immune responses, promoting either inflammation or anti-inflammatory effects. Aberrant glycosylation has also been correlated with various diseases, including cancer or Alzheimer’s disease. Despite these correlations, a major challenge remains in understanding how specific glycan modifications alter protein structure and therefore function.
Our research employs ion mobility mass spectrometry (IM-MS) to bridge this gap by revealing both the chemical composition and conformational landscape of glycoproteins. Through advanced bottom-up glycoproteomics, we generate large datasets that provide comprehensive views of glycosylation across single proteins and entire proteomes. On intact protein lever, the ion mobility dimension enables measurement of collision cross sections (CCS, Ų), offering direct insights into how glycans influence protein folding and three-dimensional architecture.
In this presentation, I will highlight our work on three glycoproteins: Clusterin (Alzheimer’s disease), β-2-glycoprotein 1 (antiphospholipid syndrome), and TDP-43 (ALS) to demonstrate how IM-MS can dissect glycosylation patterns and reveal protein conformation.




17:00h - 18:00h: Drinks and networking



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Organizing Team:

Daan Geerke

Jaap Heringa

Mark Hoogendoorn

Martijn Schut

Annette ten Teije

Bas Teusink

Bernd Brandt

Aneta Lisowska

Gustavo Jeuken

Halima Mouhib

Mifen Chen

Akshay Sajan

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