E. coli Surface Display of Nanobody Binders for Receptor Screening
Carlotta Ronda, Principal Investigator
Innovative Genomics Institute
Closed. This professor is continuing with Spring 2025 apprentices on this project; no new apprentices needed for Fall 2025.
Discovering molecular binders that recognize specific receptors is central to applications in diagnostics, biosensing, and microbiome engineering. Bacterial surface display offers a compact and accessible system to present candidate binders (e.g., nanobodies) on E. coli and test their ability to interact with target receptors. This project will use E. coli as a living platform to display nanobody libraries (small antibody-like proteins) and screen them for receptor interactions. Students will help develop a modular surface-display system, establish fluorescence-based readouts (including flow cytometry), and evaluate nanobody libraries to identify promising candidates. The long-term goal is to create a reproducible, student-friendly pipeline for discovering and characterizing novel receptor binders.
Role: The undergraduate apprentice will:
* Design and assemble modular plasmids for surface display with mentor guidance, verifying constructs by sequencing.
* Express nanobody libraries in E. coli and test surface display.
* Implement positive and negative controls (e.g., biotin/streptavidin) to benchmark assay behavior.
* Assist with fluorescence-based binding assays and FACS enrichment of library members.
* Organize sample-tracking templates and summarize enrichment trends to nominate promising binders.
Learning Outcomes: Students will gain hands-on experience in molecular cloning, library screening, bacterial display systems, and assay development. They will also learn how to interpret fluorescence-based data and produce a reproducible workflow for future library screening experiments.
Qualifications: Required:
* Comfort with micropipetting, sterile technique, and standard lab safety.
* Introductory coursework in molecular biology or equivalent experience.
* Willingness to plan cloning steps, keep accurate records, and seek feedback.
Preferred:
* Prior exposure to PCR, restriction cloning, or gel electrophoresis.
* Familiarity with plasmid/primer design or fluorescence data handling.
* Interest in protein–receptor interactions, synthetic biology, or screening assays.
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Zhixiang Yao., Graduate Student
Hours: 9-11 hrs
Related website: https://innovativegenomics.org/members/