CCB Brown Bag Seminar

1st.Presenter: Christopher Park, Ph.D., Research Scientist, Genomics

Topic: The darker side of the genome – Long non-coding RNA

Abstract: There are now more annotated long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) genes than protein coding genes in the genome. However, except for a few examples, we do not know the function or the regulatory role of these RNA molecules. I will give an overview of lncRNAs, then present some preliminary results on a potential disease link to psychiatric disorders

 
2nd Presenter: Sebastian Fürthauer, Ph.D., Research Scientist, Biophysical Modeling

Topic: Contractile behavior of acto-myosin networks in theory and in-vivo

Abstract: Cellular processes ranging from cell division to motility crucial rely on the contractility of the actomyosin cytoskeleton. While the molecular players underlying actomyosin contraction have been well studied, how cellular-scale deformation in disordered actomyosin networks emerges from the filament-scale interactions between constituent components, such as are found in the cell cortex, is not well understood. I will discuss this question in the context of a theoretical framework for understanding the properties of cytoskeletal networks from molecular scale interactions that we recently developed and compare model predictions to experiments on cortical contraction waves in meiotic starfish oocytes.