In this webinar, Dr. Karl Deisseroth, discusses the
principles and practice of a powerful new way of interacting with complex biological systems.
Over the past 7 years, an in situ chemical synthesis
approach to biological systems has emerged from his laboratory and has been further developed and applied around the
world, in which functional materials are assembled within tissues such as the brain, either constructed throughout
the intact tissue [hydrogel-tissue chemistry (HTC)], or genetically targeted to cell types [genetically targeted
chemical assembly (GTCA)].
The resulting hybrid materials are endowed with diverse
capabilities, including anchoring, and labelling of RNA and protein, in situ sequencing (as with STARmap), tissue
transparency, reversible size changes (swelling/expanding or shrinking/contracting), and electrical insulation or
conduction. In this webinar we discuss the principles and practice of this powerful new way of interacting with
complex biological systems, which involves reimagining and transforming the system with integrated optical, genetic,
and chemistry methodologies.