Email this pageDepartment of Microbiology & Immunology Seminar Schedule for
Fall 2009 - Spring 2010
Monday - October 5, 2009 **4:00-5:00 PM** K-207 (2-6408)
Co-Sponsored by the Pathogenesis Training Grant
Kendra Rumbaugh, Ph. D.
University of Texas at Lubbock
Recently discovered the molecular mechanism whereby Quorum sensing molecules produced by bacteria interact with mammalian cells.
Research Interest: Interkingdom signaling between P. aeruginosa Quorum Sensing Molecules and Host Cells
Host: Barbara H. Iglewski
Monday - October 12, 2009**4:00-5:00 PM**K-207 (2-6408)
Co-Sponsored by DCFAR (UR Developmental Center for AIDS Research)
James Kobie, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor of Medicine
Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology
University of Rochester
Title: Examining the Human Memory B cell Response to HIV and Influenza: Implications for Vaccine Design
Monday - October 19, 2009 **4:00-5:00** K-207 (2-6408)
Co-Sponsored by the Pathogenesis Training Grant
Juan Carlos de la Torre, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Immunology and Microbial Sciences
The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA
Research Interests: Work in our laboratory is focused on two areas. One is the investigation of the molecular mechanisms whereby viruses can persist in the central nervous system (CNS) of the infected host, and cause altered brain function in the absence of overt cytolysis and inflammation. The other area of research is focused on the investigation of the molecular and cellular biology of BDV and LCMV.
Title: “Arenaviruses as important experimental model systems and significant human pathogens”
Host: Luis Martinez-Sobrido
Monday - October 26, 2009**4:00-5:00 PM**K-207 (2-6408)
Co-Sponsored by DCFAR (UR Developmental Center for AIDS Research)
Joan W. Berman, Ph.D.
Professor of Pathology and of Microbiology & Immunology
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Research Interest: Dr. Berman's laboratory examines the mechanisms that mediate HIV entry into the CNS and how viral and inflammatory mediators damage neurons and other CNS cells. More than 40 million people worldwide are HIV infected.
Title: "Mechanisms of Neuroinflammation and Toxicity: Critical Roles in NeuroAIDS"
Host: Sanjay Maggirwar
Tuesday - October 27, 2009**8:30-9:30 AM - Location TBA
Jointly sponsored with Biomedical Engineering
Michael L. Shuler, Ph.D
James M. and Marsha McCormick
Chair of Biomedical Engineering
Samuel B. Eckert Professor of Chemical Engineering
Cornell University
Research Interest: Structured models; Minimal cell; In Vitro toxicology; cell culture analogs for pharmacokinetic models; nanobiotechnology; heterologous protein expression systems; plant cell tissue culture; biodegradation and bioremediation
Hosts: Michelle Dziejman & Richard Waugh
Graduate Student Lunch: Microbiology & Immunology and Biomedical Engineering
Thursday - October 29, 2009**1:30-2:30 PM**
Upper Aud (Room 3-7619)
William H. Bowen Lectureship - Center for Oral Biology
Robert Burne, Ph.D.
Professor & Chair of Oral Biology
College of Dentistry, University of Florida
Title: Catabolite modification of gene expression in Streptococcus mutans
Host: Lemos, José
Reception for Graduate students to meet with Dr. Burne 2:45-3:45 in Room G-9624 KMRB
*Please note: Bob is a former faculty member of the Dept. of Microbiology & Immunology
Monday - November 2, 2009**4:00-5:00 PM**K-207 (2-6408)
Ha Youn Lee, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biostatistics and Computational Biology
University of Rochester
Title: Quantification of SIV Escape Dynamics using Ultradeep Sequencing
Research Description: Dr. Lee has been developing mathematical equations and computer simulations which can integrate experimental and clinical measures of HIV virus replication and sequence diversification, as well as host immunity. Major additional areas of interest in the laboratory include i) quantitative assessment on virulence and each immune component in controlling highly virulent influenza virus infection and ii) kinetics of leukemia cell and allogeneic immune cell proliferation during acute leukemia after allogeneic transplantation. Dr. Lee research focuses on defining, improving, and exploiting models for virus infection and cancer, with the goal of using these models to develop improved vaccines and treatments in a collaborative setting.
Monday - November 9, 2009**4:00-5:00 PM**K-207 (2-6408)
Alan Grossfield, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics
University of Rochester
Title: "Antimicrobial lipopeptides: characterizing a novel class of membrane-binding antibiotics using computer simulations"
Abstract: The accelerated emergence of new antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria and fungi is one of the most pressing medical problems of the 21st century. Antimicrobial lipopeptides (AMLPs) are a new class of synthetic ultra-short peptides, designed to mimic natural antimicrobial peptides; these molecules function by binding and damaging the outer membranes of bacterial and fungi. Despite their promise as drug candidates, their mechanism of action is poorly understood at the atomic level. We will present microsecond-scale molecular dynamics simulations designed to visualize the structure and dynamics of AMLPs while binding to membranes with different lipid compositions. The results will shed light on their effects on membrane structure, their mechanism of action, and the means by which they selectively target bacteria.
Host: Deborah Fowell
Tuesday - November 17, 2009**4:00-5:00 PM**K-307 (3-6408)
James M. Musser, M.D., Ph.D.
Fondren Distinguished Endowed Chair,
Executive Vice President and Co-Director
The Methodist Hospital Research Institute
Director
Center for Molecular and Translational, Human Infectious Diseases Research
The Methodist Hospital Research Institute
Vice-Chair
Department of Pathology
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston TX
Title: Genome-wide portrait of epidemics caused by group A Streptococcus, the flesh-eating pathogen
Host: Stephen Dewhurst
Monday - November 23, 2009**4:00-5:00 PM**K-307 (3-6408)
Shawn Murphy, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology
and of Microbiology & Immunology
University of Rochester
Title: “Inhibition of IFN-γ-inducible gene expression in trophoblast cells”.
Research Interest: One of the long term goals of our research is to determine why the maternal immune system does not reject the genetically disparate fetus during pregnancy. Our studies are focused primarily on the immunoregulatory properties of trophoblast cells, which are the first cells to differentiate from the embryo, and ultimately form the fetal component of the placenta.
Monday - November 30, 2009**4:00 - 5:00 PM**Location TBA
Sponsored by the PREP Program
Joaquin Ortega, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Biomedical Science
McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
Title: Building a Bacterial Ribosome: The movie
Abstract: Containing more than 50 individual components the ribosome constitutes one of the most intricate macromolecular machines found in living organisms. Witnessing this complexity certainly sparks our curiosity of trying to understand how such a structure is assembled. However, very little information about the assembly process itself can be extracted from the inspection of the fully assembled ribosome. Research performed over the last four decades using in vitro approaches has been focused in understanding the sequence of events occurring at the assembly line. However, a description of the structure of these ribosomes on the making is lacking. We have been using an experimental approach to capture in vivo assembled ribosome intermediates using genetics. Biochemical and structural characterization of these immature ribosomes is providing the individual photograms of the “ribosome assembly movie” that is allowing us to visualize in three dimensions the coordinated series of events that take place in bacteria to generate a functional ribosome. Our results are the first ever look at ribosome biogenesis in three dimensions and provide transforming information about the process.
Host: Luis Martinez-Sobrido
Tuesday - December 1, 2009 **1:30 - 2:30pm**
Class of '62 Auditorium
Sponsored by the UR Developmental Center for AIDS Research
Paul Bieniasz, Ph.D.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator
Aaron Diamond Associate Professor
Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center
Head, Laboratory of Retrovirology
The Rockefeller University
Research Interest: Dr. Bieniasz seeks to define how host gene products influence the replication of retroviruses, with an emphasis on human and primate immunodeficiency viruses. There are two dominant research areas in his lab: characterizing the host-cell factors and pathways that are mimicked, manipulated and otherwise exploited by retroviruses, and studying host functions that have evolved specifically to defend cells against retrovirus infection.
Host: UR D-CFAR as part of the first annual D-CFAR World AIDS Day Scientific Symposium
Monday - December 7, 2009 **4:00-5:00 PM** K-207 (2-6408)
John M. Leong, Ph.D., M.D.
Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Bacterial Genetics and Pathogenesis,
Cell Dynamics Group
Center for AIDS Research
Interdisciplinary Graduate Program,
Program in Immunology and Virology
Research Interest: Interactions of pathogenic bacteria with mammalian cells.
Host: Michelle Dziejman
Monday - December 14, 2009**4:00-5:00 PM**K-207 (2-6408)
Co-Sponsored by the Immunology Training Grant
John D. Clements, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair of Microbiology and Immunology
Tulane University Health Sciences Center
Research Interest: Dr. Clements' Vaccine Research Laboratory is developing powerful new techniques for vaccination against bacterial, viral, and parasitic diseases. These techniques include the use of harmless bacteria as vaccine delivery vehicles for proteins from harmful bacteria and viruses, the use of novel adjuvants (substances that enhance the immune response to foreign antigens), and the use of edible vaccines.
Host: Mingtao Zeng
Monday - January 18, 2010* *4:00 - 5:00 PM** Location TBA
Sponsored by the HIV Training Grant and UR Developmental Center for AIDS Research (D-CFAR)
Robert Seder, M.D.
NIAID, Vaccine Research Center (VRC), Cellular Immunology Section
Research Interest: The aim of the Cellular Immunology Laboratory is to rationally design vaccines for diseases that require cellular immunity in humans.
Hosts: Deborah Fowell & Andrea Sant
Monday - January 25, 2010**4:00 - 5:00 PM**Location TBA
Co-Sponsored by the Pathogenesis Training Grant
Rebecca E. Dutch,Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry
University of Kentucky
Research Interest: The central focus of our research is the synthesis, folding, processing and function of viral glycoproteins.
Host: Toru Takimoto
Monday - February 1, 2010**4:00 - 5:00 PM**Location TBA
Sponsored by the Allergy/Rheumatology Division
Carl Richards, Ph.D.
Professor of Pathology and Molecular Medicine
Head - Rheumatic Diseases Division
Research Interests: Arthritis (inflammation of the joints) affects many individuals, and is the most common cause of long-term disability in Canada. Damage to joints can range in severity from relatively mild cases to those people needing joint replacement or with major morbidity. Forms of the disease such as osteoarthritis affect 10% of the population, while rheumatoid arthritis affects 1%. Demographics suggest that over the next 5-20 years, there will be a sharp increase in the number of afflicted patients. The precise mechanisms of the disease processes are still not clear, and current treatments do not reverse the progression of joint destruction.
Host:Troy Randall
Monday - February 8 2010**4:00 - 5:00 PM**Location TBA
Sponsored by the Pathogenesis Training Grant and UR Developmental Center for AIDS Research (D-CFAR)
William E. Goldman, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair of Microbiology & Immunology
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Host: Martin Pavelka
Monday - February 15, 2010 **4:00 - 5:00 PM** Location TBA
Andrea Cooper, Ph.D.
Trudeau Institute
Research Interests: Initiation of cellular responses in the lung; Control of inflammatory responses in the lung; Chronic infection in the elderly.
Hosts: Deborah Fowell & Minsoo Kim
Monday - February 22, 2010**4:00 - 5:00 PM**Location TBA
Sponsored by the HIV Training Grant and UR Developmental Center for AIDS Research (D-CFAR)
Rosemary Rochford, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair of Microbiology and Immunology
Upstate Medical University, Syracuse NY
Research Interest: Etiology of viral-associated malignancies, gammaherpesvirus pathogenesis
Host: Paige Lawrence
Monday - March 1, 2010**4:00 - 5:00 PM**Location TBA
Co-Sponsored by the Pathogenesis Training Grant
David H. Walker, M.D.
Professor and Chair of Pathology
University of Texas Medical Branch - Galveston
Research Interest: Are broadly in the area of obligately intracellular bacteria that are transmitted by arthropod vectors.
Host: Sanjeev Sahni
Monday - March 15, 2009**4:00-5:00 PM**Location TBA
Lynne Maquat, Ph.D.
J. Lowell Orbison Distinguished Service Alumni Professorship
Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics
Title: Why mRNA Decay Matters
Abstract: In mammalian cells, two different messenger ribonucleoproteins (mRNPs) serve as templates for protein synthesis. Newly synthesized CBP80/20-bound mRNPs initially undergo a pioneer round of translation. One purpose of this round of translation is to ensure the quality of gene expression, as exemplified by nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD). NMD largely functions to eliminate mRNAs that prematurely terminate translation – although NMD also contributes to proper gene control – and targets CBP80/20-bound mRNPs (for recent publications, see Sato et al., 2008; Isken et al., 2008). CBP80/20-bound mRNPs are subsequently remodeled to eIF4E-bound mRNPs, which support the bulk of cellular protein synthesis and are the primary targets of mRNA decay mechanisms that conditionally regulate gene expression. One example of an mRNA decay pathway that largely targets eIF4E-bound mRNPs is Staufen (STAU)1-mediated mRNA decay (SMD). SMD degrades mRNPs that contain a STAU1 binding site within their 3’-untranslated regions (Gong et al., 2009, and references therein). We have found that NMD and SMD are competitive pathways: both involve the RNA helicase UPF1, which data indicate can bind either the NMD factor UPF2 or the SMD factor STAU1 (Gong et al., 2009). Mechanistic aspects of NMD and SMD will be discussed as well as how newly synthesized mRNP is remodeled to steady-state mRNP (Sato and Maquat, 2009).
Monday - March 29, 2010**4:00-5:00 PM**Location TBA
Sponsored by the Allergy/Rheumatology Division
David Allman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Department: Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Research Interests: Early B cell development and peripheral B cell differentiation
Host: Troy Randall
Monday - April 19, 2010 **4:00 - 5:00pm**Location TBA
Sponsored by the UR Developmental Center for AIDS Research
Nancy L. Haigwood, Ph.D.
Professor of Pathobiology & Microbiology
University of Washington
Director, Viral Vaccines Program, Seattle
Biomedical Research Institute
Research Interest: The Haigwood laboratory studies the immunological control of the primate lentiviruses, including HIV-1, SIV, and SHIV. The primary focus of the laboratory is on understanding the role that humoral immunity, especially neutralizing antibodies (NAbs), plays in blocking and limiting infection.
Host: James Kobie
Monday - April 26, 2010**4:00-5:00 PM**Location TBA
Sponsored by the Allergy/Rheumatology Unit
Ann Marshak-Rothstein, Ph.D.
Professor of Microbiology
Boston University School of Medicine
Research Interest: Dr. Marshak-Rothstein’s laboratory is primarily interested in factors regulating T and B lymphocyte activation, function, longevity, and apoptosis, especially in animal models of systemic autoimmune disease. Particular attention has focused on the kinds of antigen that can activate potentially autoreactive B cells.
Host: Troy Randall
Monday - May 3, 2010**4:00-5:00 PM**Location TBA
Sponsored by the Allergy/Rheumatology Unit
Anne Davidson, M.D.
Investigator
Center for Autoimmunity and Musculoskeletal Diseases
Adjunct Professor Microbiology and Immunology
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Research Interests: The current interests of the laboratory are focused on pathogenesis and therapy of SLE, an autoimmune disease affecting women of childbearing years. Production of autoantibodies directed against ubiquitous cellular components, such as DNA and other nuclear antigens, results in formation of immune complexes that can deposit in target tissues, such as skin, joints, kidney and brain, and initiate an inflammatory process that causes organ damage. Other immune cells also become activated and contribute to the inflammatory process. SLE is currently treated with immune suppressing drugs that are themselves toxic. In addition, these drugs are not sufficiently efficacious at inducing long-term disease remission, and disease often recurs once the drugs are withdrawn.
Host: Troy Randall
Monday - May 10, 2010**4:00 - 5:00 PM**Location TBA
Sponsored by the Immunology Training Grant
Andrew D. Luster, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief - Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology
Director - Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases
Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University
Research Interest: Dr. Luster’s laboratory studies basic biology and pathobiology of chemokines (chemotactic cytokines) and lipid chemoattractants. Chemokines are the largest family of cytokines and control the movement of leukocytes in development, homeostasis, and response to infection and inflammation by binding to specific G protein-coupled seven transmembrane cell surface receptors (GPCRs) on leukocytes.
Host: Minsoo Kim
Monday - September 13, 2010**4:00 - 5:00 PM**Location TBA
Sponsored by the HIV Training Grant and UR Developmental Center for AIDS Research (D-CFAR)
Jenny P.Y. Ting, Ph.D.
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Co-Director, Inflammatory Diseases Institute
Director, Center for Translational ImmunologyProgram Leader, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
UCRF Program Planning Committee, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Research Interests: CIITA and the plexin-A1 gene; CATERPILLER (CLR) or NOD-LRR genes: A Family of New Inflammatory and Apoptotic Genes
Host: Minsoo Kim
Monday - October 4, 2010**4:00-5:00 PM**Location TBA
Ralph R. Isberg, Ph.D.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator
Professor of Microbiology
Tufts University
Research Interest: Analysis of Bacterial Uptake & Growth within Mammalian Cells; Intracellular growth of Legionella pneumophila; Cellular uptake of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis.
Host: Barbara Iglewski
Monday - October 18, 2010**4:00-5:00 PM**Location TBA
Dana J. Pilpott, Ph.D.
Howard Hughes Medican Institute International Scholar
Assistant Professor of Immunology
University of Toronto
Research Summary: Dana Philpott's research aims to understand how the innate immune system of mammals recognizes and responds to bacterial pathogens and how defects in these sensing systems affect the development of autoinflammatory diseases in humans.
Hosts: Sanjeev Sahni & Martin Pavelka
Monday - October 25, 2010**4:00-5:00 pm**Location TBA
Sponsored by the Allergy/Rheumatology Unit
Jeffrey V. Ravetch, M.D., Ph.D.
Theresa and Eugene M. Lang Professor
Leonard Wagner Laboratory of Molecular Genetics and Immunology
Rockefeller University
Research Interest: Dr. Ravetch dissects the cellular and molecular mechanisms that govern the generation of antibody specificity and the translation of that specificity into cellular responses. By identifying the genetic components that cause immune system cells to respond to specific antibodies, Dr. Ravetch hopes to gain a better understanding of how a functioning immune system protects organisms from invaders, and how a dysfunctional immune system attacks the body’s own tissues.
Host: Troy Randall
Monday - November 15, 2010**4:00-5:00 PM**Location TBA
Gisela Storz, PH.D.
Head
Section of Environmental Gene Regulation, Cell Biology and Metabolism Branch,
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Research Interests: Characterization of small, noncoding RNAs, Characterization of small ORFs
Host: Scott Butler
This listing includes selected seminars sponsored by other Departments/Centers which may be of interest to Microbiology students and faculty. Seminars hosted by the Department of Microbiology and Immunology are supported in part by a generous donation from Lederle-Praxis Biologicals, as well as by the indicated additional sources.
Events Calendar
To view upcoming events on the URMC Scientific Events Calendar, please click here.
