Daniela Zarnescu, Ph.D. Penn State College of Medicine
The Zarnescu Laboratory studies the molecular mechanisms of aging and neurodegenerative diseases with a focus on RNA processing and cellular metabolism. We use a combination of molecular, genetic, bioinformatic and pharmacological tools, and a diverse array of experimental models, including fruit flies, cultured cells and patient tissues. We also seek to develop therapeutics for neurodegenerative disorders. I will present our recent findings on modelling TDP-43 proteinopathies in ALS and FTD relevant circuits with a focus on metabolic, synaptic and signaling targets.
Guoping Feng, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Human genetic studies have identified a large number of risk genes for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), many of which encode synaptic proteins, suggesting that synaptic dysfunction is a key pathology in ASD. Using a variety of animal models, we have identified distinct synaptic and circuitry mechanisms related to repetitive behaviors, social interaction deficits, sensory abnormalities.
Yousin Suh, Ph.D. Columbia University, Department of Genetics and Development
The ovary is the first organ to undergo early-onset aging in the human body, with profound consequences for both fertility and overall health in women. However, the biological mechanisms driving ovarian aging remain poorly understood. To understand the molecular, cellular, and genetic basis of ovarian aging in humans, we performed integrative single-nucleus multi-omics analyses of young and reproductively aged human ovaries, uncovering coordinated changes in gene regulation across all ovarian cell types.
Jonathan Kipnis, Ph.D. Washington University in St. Louis, Department of Pathology & Immunology
The brain, long considered an immune-privileged organ, is continuously surveyed and maintained by intricate clearance systems. Recent discoveries have reshaped our understanding of brain homeostasis, revealing essential roles for meningeal lymphatic vessels and glymphatic pathways in facilitating waste removal, fluid balance, and immune communication. In this lecture, I will discuss how the lymphatic and glymphatic systems cooperate to maintain brain health across the lifespan — and how their dysfunction contributes to aging and disease.
Viral infections spread within complex and dynamic cellular microenvironments that shape the outcome of infection. As such, intra-cellular communication cascades, as well as communication between infected cells and cells in the surrounding tissue create a virus microenvironment. Here, we will describe some of our efforts to characterize communication at the intra- and inter-cellular levels.
The lecture will discuss allergic immunity – role of the environment in allergic sensitization, differences of allergic immunity with antimicrobial immunity, and the role of neuro-immune interactions in allergies. He will also discuss ecological perspectives o the biological functions of allergic defenses and possible roles of the rise of allergic diseases. Finally, he will discuss the role of antigen exposure and antigen cross-reactivity in protection and susceptibility to allergic diseases.
Sandeep Robert Datta, M.D., Ph.D. Harvard Medical School
Nearly all animals depend upon smell to usefully interact with the world. Although underappreciated, smell is also critical to humans, as patients with olfactory loss face substantial additional risks for injury, psychiatric disease, and death. However, smell remains a mystery — we know little about how odor information is organized in the brain, and even less about how odors are linked to perception. Here I review the canonical mechanisms thought to enable olfaction, and discuss recent surprises that are revising our ideas about how our sense of smell might work.
Kafui Dzirasa, Ph.D. Duke University, School of Medicine
Kafui Dzirasa is an American psychiatrist and Associate Professor at Duke University. He looks to understand the relationship between neural circuit malfunction and mental illness. He was a 2019 AAAS Leshner Fellow and was elected Fellow of the National Academy of Medicine in 2021.
This page was last updated on Friday, August 16, 2024
