External seminars
A listing of seminars of interest held at other scientific and medical research institutions and organisations.
Members of the public are welcome to attend at no charge. To join our Seminars and Conferences mailing list email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Monday, 13 February 2012
The Meyerhoff Scholars Program: A successful program for retaining and mentoring minority scientists
Professor Michael F Summers
Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University
Dr Michael F Summers received his BS degree in Chemistry from the University of West Florida in 1980, his PhD degree in 1984 from Emory University, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the NIH from 1984-1987. He joined the faculty at the University of Maryland Baltimore County as an Assistant Professor in 1987, and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 1991 and to Full Professor in 1996. In 1994 he was appointed as an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He is the recipient of two NIH MERIT Awards. He is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Molecular Biology and a member of the editorial advisory board of the Journal of Biomolecular NMR. Dr Summers’ research focuses on NMR studies of proteins and macromolecular interactions, with a major emphasis on the structural proteins that comprise the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1). His laboratory typically includes large numbers of students from diverse backgrounds, and he has led efforts to develop programs for retaining minority students in the sciences.
Dr Summers is a recipient of the Carl Branden award of the Protein Society, the Emily M. Gray Mentoring Award of the Biophysical Society, the ASBMB Award for Exemplary Contributions to Education, the Mentor Award of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Society for Microbiology Hinton Award for Mentoring, and the White House Presidential Award for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.
Time: 11:00am
Host: Monash University
Where: Monash University Parkville Campus LT2
Monday, 13 February 2012
POSSUM Possibilities - the evolution of a dysmorphology database
Dr Cathie Rose and Dr Sue White
Curator and Project Manager and Medical Geneticist, POSSUM, MCRI
Abstract: POSSUM (Pictures Of Standard Syndromes and Undiagnosed Malformations) is a dysmorphology database that was developed here in Melbourne in the mid 1980s. At the time of development this database embraced new technologies and won awards for innovation. It was developed at the Murdoch Institute as a tool for clinicians to assist with the diagnosis of syndromes in their patients, by searching for traits and matching previous reports and clinical photos. This tool is used worldwide and many clinicians ask if a patient has been ‘POSSUMed’ yet.
Over the past 25 years this system has been frequently updated, and we are now ready for our next leap, with a truly web-based database able to link to other programs and databases, giving researchers and clinicians the ability to easily correlate known dysmorphic syndromes and their gene locations, and the opportunity to have collaborative entries, discussions and other interactive processes.
There will be a light lunch beforehand in the Boardroom, Level 2, Alan Gilbert Building at 12:30 pm PLEASE RSVP by Thursday 9 February if you would like to attend the lunch to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Time: 1:00pm
Host: The Human Variome Project Seminar Series
Where: Boardroom, L2, Alan Gilbert Building
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Celiac Disease, sandwiched between adaptive and innate immunity
Professor Frits Koning
Dept of Immunohaematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands
Time: 12:00pm
Host: Dept of Microbiology and Immunology, UM
Where: Woodruff Theatre, UM
Friday, 17 February 2012
Investigating the c-Myb proto-oncogene in intestinal stem cell function and tumourigenesis
Dr Jordane Malaterre
Differentiation and Transcription Laboratory, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
The c-Myb protooncogene is modified or amplified in various types of cancer such as leukaemia, breast cancer and most particularly colon cancer. We have previously demonstrated the functional consequences of c-Myb loss in the colon and showed that c- Myb controls cell cycle progression of stem cells and progenitors (Malaterre et al., PNAS, 2007). Using both in vitro and in vivo approaches we are now investigating the role of c-Myb in stem cell renewal and tumourigenesis. We propose that increased c-Myb activity
initiates and/or drives progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). To investigate our hypothesis we made use of a MybERT2 transgenic mouse model in which a MybERT2 transgene is driven by the intestinal tissue specific promoter A33 and encodes a Tamoxifen inducible version of c-Myb. We have used our model in Wnt driven tumourigenesis model and pro-carcinogen treatment (azoxymethane). Our work suggests that c-Myb reduces survival and accelerates tumourigenesis.
A light lunch will be provided in the seminar room from 1:00-1:30pm.
Host: Dr Tracy Putoczki
Enquiries: 9341 3155
Time: 12:00pm
Host: LICR Seminar Series
Where: Ewing Theatre, 5th Floor, Clinical Sciences Bldg, RMH
Monday, 5 March 2012
The role of cancer/testis antigens as predictive markers in lung cancer
Dr Thomas John
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research/Austin Health
A quick introduction to electromagnetic navigation of the lung
A/Professor Louis Irving
Melbourne Health
Enquiries: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Tel: 8344 8708
Time: 5:00pm
Host: VCCC Lung Cancer Research Seminar
Where: Jack Brockoff Lecture Theatre, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Monday, 26 March 2012
Systems biology of colonic crypts symposium
The organisers invite you to be part of the Systems Biology of Colonic Crypts symposium to take place at the Treacy Centre Parkville from 26th to 27th March 2012 on the theme of Cell Signalling in Colonic Crypts.
The symposium will serve as a focus for scientific exchange; bringing together scientists at the forefront of epithelial biology research with the systems biology community to advance our understanding of cell production in the normal and cancerous colon.
Colon cancer arises from perturbations to cell homeostasis in the colonic epithelial mucosa. Intestinal mucosa consists of a single layer of epithelium arranged as crypts or villi. The crypts are responsible for cell renewal, production and differentiation. The experimental biology of intestinal crypts has been described in detail, and the regulatory biology is now reaching a stage where the signals controlling the crypt cell behaviour can be used in a system biology framework to understand the normal and cancerous physiology of the colon .
International Speakers
Nick Barker, Institute of Medical Biology, A-Star, Singapore & CRM, Edinburgh UK
Helen Byrne, University of Oxford, UK
Robert Coffey, Vanderbilt University, USA
Kevin Haigis, Harvard Medical School & Massachusetts General Hospital, USA
William Hlavacek, Los Alamos National Laboratory & University of New Mexico, USA
Jane McGlade, University of Toronto, Canada
Scott Magness, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, USA
Richard Posner, The Translational Genomics Research Institute, USA
Symposium Aims
*We will hold focussed symposium workshops which identify critical elements in the signalling pathways controlling normal, pre-neoplastic and neo-plastic intestinal crypt dynamics.
*The workshops will allow participants to share experimental techniques, computer modelling techniques and the concepts associated with the transformation of normal crypt cells into cancerous crypt cells.
*A systems approach is needed to predict the effects of particular signalling perturbations on crypt cell biology. We aim to initiate an international network with scientists working with a systems approach to colon biology. Attendees will meet researchers with experience in intestinal stem cells, agent based modelling and large-scale
modelling of growth factor and cytokine signalling pathways.
Further information including the provisional program and registration form can be downloaded from http://www.ludwig.edu.au/parkville/.