FUSION Seminar: Christina So (Neher Lab) and Reggie Edwards (Manis Lab)
2024-01-29 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill

Departmental Special Seminar: Toshi Hige, PhD
2024-01-30 12:30 - 13:30 | 215 Coker
Toshi Hige, PhD
Assistant Professor
Cell Biology and Physiology
Research Title: “Synaptic and circuit basis of learning in Drosophila”

Departmental Seminar: Peter K. Jackson, PhD
2024-02-05 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill
Peter K. Jackson, PhD
Professor
Microbiology & Immunology and Department of Pathology
Stanford University School of Medicine
Research Focus: Cell cycle control of DNA replication in embryonic and somatic cells: cyclins and the cell cycle in Xenopus embryos.

FUSION Seminar: Rebecca Hirsch (Bowser Lab), Juliet King (Williams Lab), and Chris Ho (Gupton Lab)
2024-02-19 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill

FUSION Seminar: Allison Skinkle (Gladfelter Lab), Max Hockenberry (Bear and Legant Labs), and Cassie Phillips (Snider Lab)
2024-02-26 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill

Departmental Seminar: Paul Jenkins, PhD
2024-03-04 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill
Paul Jenkins, PhD
Assistant Professor
Pharmacology and Psychiatry
University of Michigan | Medical School
Research Focus: Basic cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying complex neuropsychiatric diseases, such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia; mechanisms of plasma membrane organization in polarized cells.

FUSION Seminar: Danial Babaki (Bahnson Lab), Ellie Hunt (Thaxton Lab), and Garrett Sessions (Purvis and Diekman Labs)
2024-03-18 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill

FUSION Seminar: Amber Gomez (Milner Lab), Alex Powers (Cohen Lab), and Ian McCabe (Yeh Lab)
2024-04-01 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill

CBP Departmental Seminar: Peter Douglas, PhD
2024-04-08 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill

FUSION Seminar: Sherry Hsu (Cohen Lab), Andrew Kennedy (Thaxton Lab), and Keith Breau (Magness and Elston Labs)
2024-04-15 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill

FUSION Seminar: Anna Beeson (Caron Lab), Kimberly Lukasik (Gupton Lab), and Pierre N’Guetta (O’Brien Lab)
2024-04-29 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill

FUSION Seminar: Mark Hazelbaker (Bear Lab), Anna Kim (Heinzen Lab), and Vickie Williams (Cohen Lab)
2024-05-06 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill

FUSION Seminar: Anca Frasineanu (Gupton Lab), Nicole Hondrogiannis (Deshmukh Lab), and Caden Sweet (Magness Lab)
2024-05-13 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill

FUSION Seminar: Samantha Ryken (Gupton Lab), Jennifer Nwako (McCauley Lab), and Frankie Marchan (Bear Lab)
2024-05-20 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill

FUSION Seminar: Gabby Bais (Giudice Lab), David Rocco (Bergmeier Lab), and Joceyln Alvardo (Campbell Lab)
2024-06-03 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill

FUSION Seminar: Emily Bulik-Sullivan (Randell Lab), Matt Zimmerman (Miller Lab), and Gabby Williams (Falk and Ciavatta Labs)
2024-06-10 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill

Monday - FUSION: Sam Ryken & Frankie Marchan
2024-10-14 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill
Sam Ryken

(Gupton lab)

Frankie Marchan

(Bear lab)

Monday - FUSION: Amber Gomez & Kayla Mason
2024-10-21 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill
Amber Gomez (Milner and Baldwin labs)

Understanding the molecular regulators of CD8 T cell exhaustion

Kayla Mason (Conlon lab)

Ddx3x is required in female cardiomyocytes of mice for cardiac development
Identifying DDX3X translationally dependent cardiomyocyte specific mRNA targets underlying sex differential congenital heart disease

Monday - FUSION: Garrett Sessions & Anca Frasineanu
2024-10-28 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill
Garrett Sessions (Purvis & Diekman labs)

Aggregate analysis of cellular senescence fails to identify the effect of key subpopulations
Senescence induction is heterogeneous over time, making time point selection critical for designing future experiments

Anca Frasineanu (Gupton lab)

TRIM9 deletion decreases mitochondrial translation and increases nuclear speckle proteins in the PSD proteome of 6-month-old PS19 mice
Cultured cortical neurons from TRIM9 KO embryos undergo slight changes in mitochondrial morphology

Monday - FUSION: Jocelyn Alvarado & Max Hockenberry
2024-11-04 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill
Jocelyn Alvarado (Campbell lab)

Characterizing the effect of increasing levels of metavinculin on force transmission in MEFs at the general cellular level and at local focal adhesions

Max Hockenberry (Bear and Legant labs)

Developing a method to quantitatively measure the traction forces produced by cells migrating in any arbitrary 3D geometry
Applying this methodology to understand how cells physically propel their nucleus through tight confinements

Fall 2024 Seminar Series - Kristy Welshhans, PhD
2024-11-18 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill
Kristy Welshhans, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

University of South Carolina

Research focus

Axonal protein synthesis in neurodevelopment and Down syndrome

Faculty host

Stephanie Gupton, PhD

More information on speaker
Kristy Welshhans received her Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from Agnes Scott College and her PhD in neurobiology and behavior from Georgia State University. She received a National Institute of Health postdoctoral fellowship for work examining the role of mRNA binding proteins during axon guidance while in the laboratory of Gary Bassell at Emory University School of Medicine. She is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of South Carolina and a Center Affiliate of the University of South Carolina Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Center of Excellence. Her research team focuses on understanding how appropriate connectivity within the nervous system is established during development, with a focus on Down syndrome.

Fall 2024 Seminar Series - Francisco Laurindo, MD, PhD
2024-11-19 12:30 - 13:30 | 6002 Marsico Hall
Francisco Laurindo, MD, PhD

Professor, Heart Institute (Incor) & Director, Vascular Biology Laboratory

University of São Paulo

President, Society for Redox Biology and Medicine

Research focus

An endoplasmic reticulum-centered model for redox-dependent intercellular communication

Faculty hosts

Edward Bahnson, PhD and Sharon Campbell, PhD

More information on speaker
Francisco Laurindo is pioneer in redox signaling and cardiovascular biology. He earned his medical degree from the University of São Paulo School of Medicine in 1978 and completed his residence training in internal medicine and cardiology at the University of São Paulo School of Medicine’s Heart Institute (Incor). He trained in physiology and pharmacology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences under the mentorship of Robert Goldstein from 1984 to 1987. In 1992, he returned to the University of São Paulo School of Medicine, where he earned his PhD investigating the mechanisms of redox signaling in the vascular system under the supervision of Protásio da Luz. In 2001, with da Luz, Laurindo started the Vascular Biology Laboratory at the Heart Institute (Incor) and became its director in 2008. He investigates the mechanisms and regulatory processes underlying oxidant species production in vascular cells and tissues and their physiological implications for vessel remodeling in disease. His research group uncovered the shear stress-dependent generation of superoxide radical from the endothelium, characterized the redox response to vascular injury, and discovered how the endoplasmic reticulum chaperone protein, disulfide isomerase, interacts functionally and physically with oxidant-generating NADPH oxidase complexes. These findings have led to a better understanding of endoplasmic reticulum pathophysiology on NADPH oxidase function and how redox processes regulate cell migration and vascular remodeling.

Gottschalk Lecture (2024) - Samir Parikh, MD
2024-11-25 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill
Samir Parikh, MD

Ruth W. and Milton P. Levy, Sr. Chair in Molecular Nephrology

Robert Tucker Hayes Distinguished Chair in Nephrology

Professor & Chief of the Division of Nephrology, Dept. of Internal Medicine

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Research focus

Turning back kidney frailty by targeting metabolism

Faculty host

Lori O’Brien, PhD

More information on speaker
Samir Parikh earned his medical degree at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in nephrology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in nephrology, he joined the University of Texas at Southwestern faculty in 2021. He specializes in acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease, and his research team investigates the mechanisms of aging and resilience to stress in the kidney. His research discoveries have earned him numerous awards, including the Sir William Osler Award from the Interurban Clinical Club in 2018, the Donald Seldin Award from the American Society of Nephrology and the American Heart Association in 2019, and a faculty STARs Award from UT Southwestern in 2021. Original research from the group has appeared in Nature, Nature Medicine, Science Translational Medicine, Cell Metabolism, the Journal of Clinical Investigation, and PNAS, among other leading journals.

Fall 2024 Seminar Series - Danielle Schmitt, PhD
2024-12-02 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill
Danielle Schmitt PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

University of California, Los Angeles

Research focus

Illuminating compartmentalized metabolic regulation in single cells

Faculty host

Whitney Edwards, PhD

More information on speaker
Danielle Schmitt obtained her Bachelor of Science in chemistry and biochemistry from Ball State University, where she was a Lewis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation Scholar. She earned her PhD in biochemistry from the University of Maryland Baltimore County under the mentorship of Songon An, where she identified the mechanisms for forming multienzyme complexes produced by metabolic enzymes. She completed her postdoctoral training as a California President’s Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California San Diego with Jin Zhang. There, she used genetically encoded reporters for kinase activity to study subcellular regulation of cellular signal transduction. Schmitt joined the University of California, Los Angeles faculty in 2022. Her research team investigates how cells organize essential processes like metabolism and signaling to coordinate cell function and fate. They take a multidisciplinary approach to identify mechanisms for subcellular compartmentation of metabolic processes, including signaling networks regulating metabolism and metabolites, and develop new genetically encoded tools to study metabolic events in single cells.

Monday - FUSION: Matt Zimmerman & Nicole Hondrogiannis
2024-12-09 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill
Matt Zimmerman (Miller lab)

FRb inhibits macrophage survival and suppresses anti-tumor functions in vitro
FRb ablation decreases tumor growth in preliminary experiments

Nicole Hondrogiannis (Deshmukh lab)

Neurons are long-lived post mitotic cells
Exploring if the apoptotic pathway in neurons becomes activated in response to sublethal DNA damage

Monday – FUSION: Juliet King & Alex Powers
2025-01-13 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill
Juliet King (Williams lab)

Alex Powers (Cohen lab)

Monday – FUSION: Ian McCabe & Mark Hazelbaker
2025-01-27 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill
Ian McCabe (Yeh lab)

Identifying two clinically relevant populations of CAFs in PDAC: tumor promoting (proCAF) and tumor restrictive (restCAF)
These CAF subtypes are distributed spatially and may play distinct functional roles

Mark Hazelbaker (Bear lab)

The Arp2/3 complex is required for the turnover of clathrin plaques
ACK regulates the recruitment of the Arp2/3 complex via tyrosine phosphorylation

Monday – FUSION: David Rocco & Andrew Kennedy
2025-02-03 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill
David Rocco (Bergmeier lab)

Elucidating a novel pathway for platelet activation
Understanding how this pathway contributes to platelet adhesion under arterial shear stress

Andrew Kennedy (Thaxton lab)

ER sheet dynamics are distended in T cells in solid cancers
Balancing ER sheets and tubules may protect T cells from disturbed ER dynamics in solid tumors

Monday – FUSION: Kimberly Lukasik & Emily Bulik-Sullivan
2025-02-17 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill
Kimberly Lukasik (Gupton lab)

TRIM9 modulates focal adhesion dynamics to regulate cell motility in melanoma

Emily Bulik-Sullivan (Randell lab)

Elucidating the mechanism of ENaC activity reduction by CC-90009
This mechanism, and CC-90009’s capacity to promote ribosomal readthrough of PTC-CFTR variants is of therapeutic interest for cystic fibrosis

Monday - FUSION: Gabby Bais & Sherry Hsu
2025-03-03 12:30 - 13:30 | G202 MBRB, 111 Mason Farm Rd, Chapel Hill
Gabby Bais (Giudice lab)

FXR1 may regulate the translation of many cardiomyocyte-specific proteins
Expression of muscle-specific splice isoforms of FXR1 may impact the contractility of the adult heart

Sherry Hsu (Cohen lab)

Tubulin acetylation and polyglutamylation increase early in neuronal differentiation, exhibit distinct distributions, and are important for maintaining neuronal morphology
Tubulin acetylation regulates lysosome morphology and its contacts with the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria, highlighting its role in lysosomal function during neuronal differentiation
