October 2009
October 14, 2009Dr. Frank J. Rauscher, III
"Gridlock on the Genomic Beltway: How Epigenetic Gene Silencing Shapes our Cellular Phenotypes"
Frank J. Rauscher, III, PhD, will present the annual George Khoury Lecture as part of the Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series on October 14, 2009. As professor and founder of the Gene Expression and Regulation Program, deputy director for Basic Science at the Wistar Institute Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and editor-in-chief of Cancer Research, Dr. Rauscher will present "Gridlock on the Genomic Beltway: How Epigenetic Gene Silencing Shapes our Cellular Phenotypes."
Dr. Rauscher's research at Wistar focuses on the molecular genetics of cancer. In particular, he is interested in the structure-function aspects of tumor suppressor and oncogene proteins, mechanisms of transcriptional regulation, transcriptional control of cellular differentiation programs and organogenesis. Several years ago, he and his research team described the function of the WT1 gene that, when mutated, causes Wilms' Tumor. More recently, Dr. Rauscher and his team discovered BAP1, a gene encoding an enzyme that helps regulate levels of BRCA1 and is involved in the development of breast and lung cancers.
Be sure to catch Dr. Rauscher's lecture at 3 p.m. in Masur Auditorium/Building 10 on Wednesday, October 14, 2009. The lecture is also available in an archived webcast.
October 21, 2009Dr. Bonnie Bassler
"Intra- and Inter-Species Cell-to-Cell Communication in Bacteria"
Bonnie Bassler, PhD, will present the annual DeWitt Stetten, Jr., Lecture as part of the Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series on October 21, 2009. As the Squibb Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University, an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Bassler will present "Intra- and Inter-Species Cell-to-Cell Communication in Bacteria."
The research in Dr. Bassler's laboratory focuses on the molecular mechanisms that bacteria use for intercellular communication. This process is called quorum sensing.
In 2008, Dr. Bassler was given Princeton University’s President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching. She is the 2009 recipient of the Wiley Prize in Biomedical Science. She is the President-Elect of the American Society for Microbiology and editor for Molecular Microbiology and Annual Reviews of Genetics, and she is an associate editor for Cell and the Journal of Bacteriology. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses. Be sure to catch Dr. Bassler's lecture at 3 p.m. in Masur Auditorium/Building 10 on Wednesday, October 21, 2009. The lecture is also available via live webcast.
October 28, 2009Dr. Robert Sapolsky
"Stress and Health: From Molecules to Societies"
Robert Sapolsky, PhD, will present the annual Florence S. Mahoney Lecture as part of the Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series on October 28, 2009. As professor of Biology, Neurology and Neurosurgery at Stanford University, Dr. Sapolsky will present "Stress and Health: From Molecules to Socities."
Over the last 30 years, Dr. Sapolsky has divided his time between neurobiology research in the laboratory and research with wild baboons in a national park in East Africa. The former work has focused on the effects of stress and stress hormones on the brain, while the latter has examined what a baboon’s social rank, personality and patterns of social affiliation have to do with patterns of stress-related disease. Along with his technical papers, he is the author of a number of books, including Stress, The Aging Brain, and the Mechanisms of Neuron Death, and Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: A Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Disease and Coping.
Be sure to catch Dr. Sapolsky's lecture at 3 p.m. in Masur Auditorium/Building 10 on Wednesday, October 28, 2009. The lecture is also available via live webcast.
