Effrosyni (Frosso) Seitaridou
I am a graduate student in the Rob Phillips group at Caltech.
Contact Information
Office/Lab: Broad basement, room number 71Mail Code: 128-95
Phone: 626-395-5761
Email: frosso[at]caltech[dot]edu
Research interests
- Non-equilibrium Statistical Dynamics: We are studying the free expansion of colloidal suspensions in microfluidic chips to observe diffusion in the small-numbers limit and get statistical quantities (such as fluctuations) in processes that are out of equilibrium. Since biological cells are non-equilibrium systems with processes that take place in the small-numbers limit, the goal is to apply our findings to the area of biological processes. This project is in collaboration with the K. Dill group at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
- Assembly of the 30S Ribosomal Subunit: Due to its role in protein synthesis, the ribosome is a target for some antibiotics which aim to inhibit the ribosomal assembly. The 30S subunit of the bacterial ribosome is a self-assembling macromolecular machine and, therefore, a potential target for antibiotics. However, our understanding of its assembly is incomplete, owing to the fact that it requires monitoring the association of the 20 proteins it consists of. We are using microfluidics to monitor this association since microfluidics enables automation and allows the use of small amounts of reagents. The goal is to mix the various components at different concentrations inside a microfluidics chip. We detect the outcome using the methods of Fluorescent Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) and two photon excitation combined with Fluctuation Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS). This project is in collaboration with the J. Williamson group at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in La Jolla.
- Diffusion in Biofilms: Bacteria organize themselves in multicellular communities called biofilms. The bacteria Pseudomonas are producing secondary metabolites, called phenazines, which, as a means of communication, help the bacteria compete with other organisms in the ecosystem for resources (e.g. against fungi in the case of the roots of crops in the soil ecosystem), and can induce gene expression, among other things. Inside biofilms diffusion is the predominant method of transport and a communication mechanism. Knowing how the cells can communicate with each other is vital for the prevention of biofilm formation. However, not much is known about the diffusive properties of phenazines across biofilms. We are studying the phenazine diffusion inside a Pseudomonas biofilm using microfluidics. We take advantage of the automation capabilities of microfluidics in order to study this diffusion under various growth (media) conditions and for several different mutant bacteria. This project is in collaboration with the D. Newman group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge.
Relevant links
Publications
- Low complexity, continuous, noise monitoring system for communities, small airports and remote areas. Kenneth Kaliski, Ayorkor Mills-Tettey, Effrosyni Seitaridou, Robert Collier. Noise-Con, 2001. [Online full text of paper]
- Teaching the Principles of Statistical Dynamics. Kingshuk Ghosh, Ken A. Dill, Mandar M. Inamdar, Effrosyni Seitaridou, Rob Phillips. American Journal of Physics, Vol. 74, No. 2, pp. 123-133, February 2006. [Online full text of paper]
- Measuring Flux Distributions for Diffusion in the Small-Numbers Limit. Effrosyni Seitaridou, Mandar M. Inamdar, Rob Phillips, Kingshuk Ghosh, Ken A. Dill. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol. 111, No. 9, pp. 2288-2292, February 2007, DOI: 10.1021/jp067036j. [Online full text of paper]
Education
- Master of Science in Applied Physics, 2004, Caltech, Pasadena, CA
- Bachelor of Arts in Physics, 2002, Smith College, Northampton, MA
- Bachelor of Engineering in Materials Science, 2002, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
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