December 2009
December 2, 2009Dr. Tobias Meyer
"Shotgun siRNA Perturbation to Dissect Growth Factor Triggered Proliferation and Migration Signaling Systems"
Tobias Meyer, PhD, will present a Wednesday Afternoon Lecture on December 2, 2009. As a professor in the Department of Chemical and Systems Biology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Dr. Meyer will present "Shotgun siRNA Perturbation to Dissect Growth Factor Triggered Proliferation and Migration Signaling Systems."
Dr. Meyer received his Ph.D. in biophysics in 1986 from the Biocenter of the University of Basel in Switzerland. Currently, Dr. Meyer is the Mrs. George A. Winzer Professor in Cell Biology in the Department of Chemical and Systems Biology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. His lab explores the elaborate cell control system that integrates inputs from multiple receptors, computes this information and makes decisions about key cellular outputs such as cell migration, synapse formation, differentiation or proliferation. His laboratory is focusing on discovering the rules that govern these decision processes by perturbing signaling steps, by monitoring signaling events and cell functions, and by employing mathematical modeling.
Be sure to catch Dr. Meyer's lecture at 3 p.m. in Masur Auditorium/Building 10 on Wednesday, December 2, 2009. The lecture is also available via live webcast.
Special Thursday LectureDecember 3, 2009
Dr. Juan Bonifacino
"Sorting It All Out: Signal-mediated Protein Trafficking in the Endosomal-Lysosomal System"
Juan Bonifacino, PhD, will present the annual G. Burroughs Mider Lecture as part of the Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series on December 3, 2009. As head of the Cell Biology and Metabolism Program at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and an NIH Distinguished Investigator, Dr. Bonifacino will present "Sorting It All Out: Signal-mediated Protein Trafficking in the Endosomal-Lysosomal System."
Dr. Bonifacino received his Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1981 from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 1982 he moved to NIH where he pursued post-doctoral studies with Dr. Richard D. Klausner. In 1997 Dr. Bonifacino became the Chief of the Cell Biology and Metabolism Branch. Throughout his career, Dr. Bonifacino has been interested in the molecular mechanisms that determine protein localization and fate in the secretory and endocytic pathways, and diseases that result from dysfunction of these mechanisms. In particular, Dr. Bonifacino's group at the NIH has conducted research on signals and adaptor proteins that mediate protein sorting in the endosomal-lysosomal system. Dr. Bonifacino serves as associate editor of Developmental Cell, member of the editorial board of The Journal of Cell Biology, and co-editor of Current Protocols in Cell Biology.
Be sure to catch Dr. Bonifacino's lecture at 3 p.m. in Masur Auditorium/Building 10 on Thursday, December 3, 2009. The lecture is also available via live webcast.
December 9, 2009Dr. Gerard Karsenty
"The Novel Physiology of Bone"
Gerard Karsenty, MD, PhD, will present a Director's Lecture as part of the Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series on December 9, 2009. As the Paul A. Marks, M.D., Professor and Chairman of the Department of Genetics and Development at Columbia University Medical Center, Dr. Karsenty will present "The Novel Physiology of Bone."
His first seminal contributions in skeletal biology were in the transcriptional control of osteoblast differentiation through his identification of two of the three known osteoblast-specific transcription factors, Runx2 and ATF4, and his demonstration of their involvement in several human skeletal dysplasia. Expanding his interest to skeletal physiology Dr. Karsenty hypothesized that, in order for bone remodeling to take place, bone mass and energy metabolism must be co-regulated. Exploring systematically all aspects of this hypothesis, he then showed that bone regulates energy metabolism through osteocalcin, an osteoblast-derived hormone promoting insulin secretion and sensitivity and favoring energy expenditure.
A number of honors and awards have been bestowed on Dr. Karsenty, the most recent being the Lee C. Howley Prize for Arthritis Research presented by the Arthritis Foundation (2008). He is the current editor of several scientific journals, including Bone; Journal of Cell Biology; Developmental Cell; Cell Metabolism, Science and the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Be sure to catch Dr. Karsenty's lecture at 3 p.m. in Masur Auditorium/Building 10 on Wednesday, December 9, 2009. The lecture is also available via live webcast.
December 16, 2009Dr. Rebecca Richards-Kortum
"From Cell Phones to Cell Biology: High Tech, Low Cost Solutions for Global Health”
Rebecca Richards-Kortum, PhD, will present a Wednesday Afternoon Lecture on December 16, 2009. As the Stanley C. Moore Professor of Bioengineering at Rice University in Houston, Texas, Dr. Richards-Kortum will present "From Cell Phones to Cell Biology: High Tech, Low Cost Solutions for Global Health."
Dr. Richards-Kortum’s research group is developing miniature imaging systems to enable better screening for oral, esophageal, and cervical cancer and their precursors at the point-of-care. In collaboration with the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, her group has carried out clinical trials of this technique in the US, India and Nigeria. Her group is developing contrast agents for in vivo molecular imaging of changes associated with precancer, including expression of epidermal growth factor reception. More recently, her group has integrated advances in nanotechnology and microfabrication to develop novel, low-cost sensors to detect infectious diseases at the point-of-care.
Dr. Richards-Kortum founded the HHMI support program Beyond Traditional Borders (BTB), a multidisciplinary undergraduate program in global health technologies. The program led to a new undergraduate degree in global health technologies at Rice.
Be sure to catch Dr. Richards-Kortum's lecture at 3 p.m. in Masur Auditorium/Building 10 on Wednesday, December 16, 2009. The lecture is also available via live webcast.
