NIH Director’s Lecture

The Director’s Lectures feature leading researchers from around the globe. Nominated by scientists and interest groups throughout NIH, the speakers are specifically approved by the NIH Director. There are typically three NIH Director’s Lectures per year.

The Future of CRISPR: What’s Ahead for Genome Editing

Jennifer A. Doudna, Ph.D.
University of California, Berkeley

NIH Director’s Lecture

Jennifer Doudna is a Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, and a Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology. Her research focuses on RNA as it forms a variety of complex globular structures, some of which function like enzymes or form functional complexes with proteins. Her lab's research into RNA biology led to the discovery of CRISPR-Cas9 as a tool for making targeted changes to the genome. In bacteria, CRISPR systems preserve invading genetic material and incorporate it into surveillance complexes to achieve adaptive immunity.

WALS: Phyllis C. Zee, M.D., Ph.D.

Phyllis C. Zee, M.D., Ph.D.
Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine

NIH Director’s Lecture

At Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Dr. Phyllis C. Zee is professor of Neurobiology, Benjamin and Virginia T. Boshes Professor in Neurology, and chief of the Division of Sleep Medicine. She also serves as director of the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine, where she oversees an interdisciplinary program in basic and translational sleep and circadian rhythm research; findings from her team have paved the way for innovative approaches to improve sleep and circadian health. A central theme of Dr.

NIH Director's Lecture with Kevan Shokat, Ph.D. "Overcoming The Undruggable Nature Of The Most Common Human Oncogene K-Ras"

Kevan Shokat, Ph.D.
University of California, Berkeley

NIH Director’s Lecture

Kevan Shokat is a chemist who discovers drugs against some of the most common drivers of human cancers. He is best known for targeting a mutation that drives more than 1 in 10 lung cancers, opening up a new arena of cancer treatment discovery. The target, K-Ras, is the most common driver of cancer, and was considered “undruggable” by most cancer researchers after 40 years of failed attempts to block its function. Dr. Shokat’s discovery of a K-Ras blocker broke through this decades-old barrier and threw open the doors to a new class of cancer treatments.

Objectives:

Bitten: Why Are Some People More Attractive to Mosquitoes Than Others?

Leslie B. Vosshall, Ph.D.
HHMI

NIH Director’s Lecture

Leslie Vosshall wants to understand how environmental cues and internal physiology work together to guide complex animal behaviors. Vosshall and her team study this problem in mosquitoes and humans, applying approaches in neurobiology, behavior, genetics, and genomics. Vosshall’s team uses CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing tools to advance understanding of how the mosquitoes that spread dengue and yellow fever integrate sensory cues to hunt their human hosts.

The Secret Life of Introns

Tracy Johnson, Ph.D.
University of California, Los Angeles

NIH Director’s Lecture

Regulation of gene expression is crucial for every function carried out by the cell, from cell growth and proliferation to the ability of the cell to respond to its ever-changing environment. Hence, understanding cellular function and dysfunction is dependent upon deciphering these gene regulatory mechanisms. This is particularly challenging in the case of eukaryotic genes, which are often interrupted by long stretches of noncoding sequences (introns). These are removed from the newly synthesized RNA, and the remaining sequences (exons) are ligated together to form a mature messenger RNA.

The Future of Non-invasive Functional Imaging in the Era of Big Data

Damien Fair, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota

NIH Director’s Lecture

The Fair laboratory focuses on mechanisms and principles that underlie the developing brain. The majority of this work uses functional MRI and resting state functional connectivity MRI to assess typical and atypical populations. Dr. Fair is the co-director of the new Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain.

Neurobiology of Social Behavior Circuits

Catherine Dulac, Ph.D.
Harvard University

NIH Director’s Lecture

Social interactions are essential for animals to survive, reproduce, raise their young. Over the years, my lab has attempted to decipher the unique characteristics of social recognition: what are the unique cues that trigger distinct social behaviors, what is the nature and identity of social behavior circuits, how is the function of these circuits different in males and females and how are they modulated by the animal physiological status?

This page was last updated on Tuesday, August 10, 2021