BME Seminar Series: Manu Platt, Georgia Institute of Technology

Things Fall Apart: Proteolytic Networks in Tissue Destructive Diseases

Abstract: Manu Platt’s research centers on proteolytic mechanisms of tissue remodeling during disease progression using both experimental and computational approaches. These diseases of focus are health disparities in the U.S., but also global health concerns: pediatric strokes in sickle cell disease, personalized and predictive medicine for breast cancer, and others, which have taken him to South Africa and Ethiopia for collaborative work to find solutions for low-resource settings. Cysteine cathepsins are the most potent mammalian collagenases and elastases, but cathepsin pharmacological inhibitors continue to fail human clinical trials, mostly due to unexpected side effects. This suggests there are underlying regulatory behaviors or feedback loops yet to be elucidated. During this seminar, Platt will discuss 1) experimental and computational tools to better quantify and model protease activity, 2) concept of a proteolytic network in tissue destructive diseases, and 3) fundamental insights and consequences of the underlying enzymology to improve pharmacological targeting.

Bio: Manu Platt received his B.S. in biology from Morehouse College in 2001 and his Ph.D. from the Georgia Tech and Emory joint program in biomedical engineering in 2006. He finished his postdoctoral training at MIT in orthopedic tissue engineering and systems biology prior to returning to Georgia Tech and Emory in the joint department of biomedical engineering in 2009, where he has since been promoted and tenured. His research centers on proteolytic mechanisms of tissue remodeling during disease progression using both experimental and computational approaches. These diseases of focus are health disparities in the U.S., but also global health concerns: pediatric strokes in sickle cell disease, personalized and predictive medicine for breast cancer, and HIV-mediated cardiovascular disease, which has taken him to South Africa and Ethiopia for collaborative work to find solutions for low-resource settings.