NIH Director’s Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series

The NIH Director’s Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series, colloquially known as WALS, is the highest-profile lecture program at the NIH. Traditionally, lectures have occurred on most Wednesdays from September through June from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. ET in Lipsett auditorium, Building 10 on the NIH Bethesda campus.

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How Proteins Cross Membranes

Tom Rapoport, Ph.D.
Harvard Medical School

Many proteins need to cross membranes to be secreted from cells or to be localized to intracellular organelles. In the case, of membrane proteins, some segments are translocated across the membrane, while others stay in the cytosol. Translocating a protein across a membrane is not a trivial task, as membranes are generally barriers for even small molecules and the barrier needs to be maintained during protein transport. Protein translocation across the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane occurs through the Sec61 channel, which opens when a substrate arrives.

Progress in Sickle Cell: Can the Long Biomedical Arc Bend Toward Equity?

Alexis A. Thompson, M.D., MPH
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Marshall W. Nirenberg Lecture

Sickle cell disease has played many substantive roles in advances across biomedical research, yet, until recently, translation of this progress to improvement in patient outcomes have been elusive. This presentation will summarize the accomplishments over time, focusing on newer and potentially transformational therapies, acknowledging continued impediments and exploring opportunities to further make an impact on this condition.

Presentation Objectives

Harnessing Chemical Interactions to Explore Tumor Cell Biological Responses to Fluctuations in Metal and Micronutrient Availability

Donita C. Brady, Ph.D.
Perelman School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania

NIH Director’s Lecture

The Brady Lab at the University of Pennsylvania focuses on two critical areas of cancer biology: the role of metal signaling and protein function in cancer development and treatment. Their research on metal signaling investigates how dietary metals and their regulation influence cellular processes, metabolic pathways, and stem cell activity, aiming to uncover how disruptions in metal balance may drive cancer.

This page was last updated on Monday, January 6, 2025