Clyde W. Yancy, M.D., M.Sc. Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
The Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) was authorized by Congress — in legislation that was coincident with the Affordable Care Act — to conduct research to provide information about the best available evidence to help patients and their health-care providers make more informed decisions. Since 2010, a research infrastructure has been created to support a different model of clinical research. Practical questions impacting health-care delivery, unmet clinical needs, and health-care inequities are being explored through extensive measures of patient engagement.
Jean-Laurant Casanova, M.D., Ph.D. The Rockefeller University
The hypothesis that inborn errors of immunity underlie infectious diseases is gaining experimental support. However, the apparent modes of inheritance of predisposition or resistance differ considerably among diseases and among studies. A coherent genetic architecture of infectious diseases is lacking.
Typically, the genetic cause of a disease is identified by studying the DNA of affected individuals, finding the responsible gene, and trying to understand how a mutated version might have coded for a defective protein that led to the disease. Dr. Fuchs, however, has pioneered “reverse genetics”: She starts with the protein abnormality and works backwards to identify the human disease. She has applied this strategy to elucidate the genetic basis of a number of blistering skin disorders and tumors.
Robert S. Langer, Sc.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Advanced drug delivery systems are having an enormous impact on human health. Dr. Langer will begin the lecture by discussing his early research on developing the first controlled release systems for macromolecules and the isolation of angiogenesis inhibitors, noting how these advances have led to numerous new therapies. For example, new drug delivery technologies including nanoparticles and nanotechnology are now being studied for use treating cancer and other illnesses. Dr.
Jenny P-Y Ting, Ph.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The innate immune system is governed by a variety of receptors or sensors that detect microbial pathogens and activate specific signaling pathways. More important, these receptors/sensors also have a great impact on the basic biologic processes that affect cancer, metabolic disorders, inflammation, neurologic disorders, and other diseases. The Ting group first reported on the large human NLR gene family, which comprises regulators of innate immunity and exhibits important regulatory roles in immunity and beyond.
Christine M. Seidman, M.D. Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital
The innate immune system is governed by a variety of receptors or sensors that detect microbial pathogens and activate specific signaling pathways. More important, these receptors/sensors also have a great impact on the basic biologic processes that affect cancer, metabolic disorders, inflammation, neurologic disorders, and other diseases. The Ting group first reported on the large human NLR gene family, which comprises regulators of innate immunity and exhibits important regulatory roles in immunity and beyond.
It has been difficult to establish a link between mutations in the human genome and common disorders of complex etiology. By allowing the direct study of gene expression and function as neural cells divide and differentiate, the induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) model promises to bridge the gap between genomic variation and its effects on neuronal circuitry and function. The genome of iPSCs is relatively stable, but reflects the genomic mosaicism (genomic variation in the cells of a single individual) present in the somatic cells of origin. Dr.
Joseph G. Gall, Ph.D. Carnegie Institution for Science
The eggs of frogs and salamanders contain exceptionally large chromosomes, known since the 19th century as “lampbrush” chromosomes because of their unusual fuzzy appearance under the microscope. The many “bristles” on these chromosomes are actually loops composed of one or a few actively transcribing genes. These genes synthesize RNA at rates much higher than in typical somatic cells, making it possible to study RNA synthesis in exquisite detail by immunofluorescent staining and in situ hybridization.
Douglas C. Rees, Ph.D. California Institute of Technology
ATP Binding Cassette (ABC) transporters constitute a ubiquitous superfamily of integral membrane proteins responsible for the ATP-powered membrane translocation of a wide variety of substrates. The highly conserved ABC domains defining the superfamily provide the nucleotide-powered engine that drives transport. In contrast, the transmembrane domains creating the translocation pathway are more variable, with three distinct folds currently recognized.
The 14th Dalai Lama, known as Gyalwa Rinpoche to the Tibetan people, is the current Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and former head of state of Tibet. He is considered a living Bodhisattva, specifically, an emanation of Avalokiteśvara. The Dalai Lama also meets with other world leaders, religious leaders, philosophers and scientists, and travels worldwide giving Tibetan Buddhist teachings.
This page was last updated on Tuesday, August 10, 2021
