- Speaker
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Joy Bergelson, Ph.D.Executive Vice President, Life Sciences, Simons Foundation
Presidential Lectures are a series of free public colloquia spotlighting groundbreaking research across four themes: neuroscience and autism science, physics, biology, and mathematics and computer science. These curated, high-level scientific talks feature leading scientists and mathematicians and are designed to foster discussion and drive discovery within the New York City research community. We invite those interested in these topics to join us for this weekly lecture series.
The plant immune system comprises a large family of resistance genes, many of which harbor extensive polymorphism. The evolutionary dynamics of resistance loci vary, driven by an interplay between ecological interactions, genetic architecture and underlying molecular mechanisms.
In this Presidential Lecture, Joy Bergelson will discuss her lab’s work on the evolution of resistance genes in A. thaliana, also known as the mouse-ear cress. She will summarize how selection acts on individual resistance loci and consider how resistance genes interact to form a robust immune system. A long-term goal of the Bergelson Lab is to understand the evolution of resistance as a system of immune receptors.
About the Speaker
Bergelson is a Silver professor at New York University and the executive vice president, life sciences, at the Simons Foundation. Her work has been instrumental in developing A. thaliana as a model system for studies of natural variation, ecological adaptation and evolutionary genetics. She was most recently a distinguished professor at the University of Chicago, where she chaired the Department of Ecology and Evolution for many years. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.