Abstract:
The principal theme of Prof. Yadav’s research is the utilization of metabolic & enzyme engineering to investigate and customize novel biosynthetic enzymes that can convert biomass-derived feedstocks into value-added chemicals. His group also extends the principles of metabolic engineering to the design and development of unique bioremediation strategies to rehabilitate the water quality in and around industrial zones and develop new mining biotechnologies. In addition to green engineering, his research group also pursues medical biotechnology research, and focuses on bioengineering for assay development, lead generation and product development.
The seminar will provide a broad overview of the research and commercialization efforts that are afoot in his laboratory at UBC. In particular, the talk will cover some of his group’s recent successes in elucidating and using a novel plant metabolic pathway for the synthesis of value-added chemicals, the development of a biosensor for screening insect repellants, bioremediation of oil sands tailings ponds and the fabrication of biohybrid materials for harvesting solar energy.