The rockefeller university

Event Details

Type

Friday Lecture Series

Speaker(s)

Beth Levine, M.D., professor, internal medicine and microbiology; Charles Cameron Sprague Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Science; director, Center for Autophagy Research, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Speaker bio(s)

The Levine laboratory has made fundamental discoveries in understanding the molecular regulation of autophagy and the biological roles of autophagy in development, physiology, and pathphysiology. In this seminar, Dr. Levine will provide a historical overview of her laboratory's discovery of Beclin 1 as Bcl-2-interacting, essential autophagy and tumor suppressor protein; summarize loss-of-function genetic studies that have linked defects in beclin 1 and other autophagy genes to aging, cancer, infection, developmental, and metabolic abnormalities; and describe more recent work characterizing biochemical mechanisms for regulating the autophagy and tumor suppressor function of Beclin 1. In addition, she will discuss their discovery of a physiological mechanism of upregulating autophagy (exercise) and their characterization of a novel autophagy-inducing candidate therapeutic peptide. Finally, she will discuss a new death mechanism associated with excessive autophagy in extreme stress conditions that involves Na+,K+-ATPase. Together, Dr. Levine will address how the combination of genetic, biochemical, cell biological, and in vivo physiological approaches focused on the mammalian autophagy protein, Beclin 1, can lead to an understanding of how the autophagy pathway can be regulated and exploited to benefit human health.

 

Dr. Levine is internationally recognized as a leading authority in the field of virus-host interactions and in the field of autophagy. Dr. Levine received an A.B. from Brown University, an M.D. from Cornell University Medical College, and completed her postdoctoral training in infectious diseases/viral pathogenesis at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In 1993, she joined the faculty at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons as associate professor of medicine. In 2004, she became the Jay P. Sanford Professor and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. In 2011, she became the director of a newly created Center for Autophagy Research at UT Southwestern and the Charles Cameron Sprague Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Science. Since 2008, she has been a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.

 

Dr. Levine’s laboratory has made fundamental discoveries that have helped to open up a new field of biomedical research – the role of autophagy in human health and disease. Her laboratory identified the mammalian autophagy gene, beclin 1, and defined a role for beclin 1 and the autophagy pathway in tumor suppression, antiviral immunity, development, cell death regulation, lifespan regulation, and exercise-induced metabolic effects. Dr. Levine has received numerous awards for her research including the 2008 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Medicine from The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas, election to the National Academy of Sciences in 2013, and the 2014 American Society of Clinical Investigation Stanley J. Korsmeyer award.

Open to

Public

Host

Sohail Tavazoie, M.D., Ph.D.

Reception

Refreshments, 3:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m., Abby Lounge

Contact

Linda Hanssler

Phone

(212) 327-7144

Sponsor

Linda Hanssler
(212) 327-7144
lhanssler@rockefeller.edu

Readings

http://librarynews.rockefeller.edu/?p=3881