Event Detail (Archived)
Enemy Within — Immune and Autoimmune Responses to Cytosolic DNA and RNA
The Ernst A. H. Friedheim Memorial Lecture
Event Details
- Type
- Friday Lecture Series
- Speaker(s)
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Zhijian "James" Chen, Ph.D., George L. MacGregor Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Sciences, director, Center for Inflammation Research, professor, department of molecular biology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- Speaker bio(s)
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The presence of DNA and aberrant RNA in the cytoplasm is a danger signal that alerts the host immune system to eliminate microbial infections, but inappropriate activation of these pathways can also lead to autoimmune diseases such as lupus. Dr. Chen will summarize his lab’s work on the biochemical dissection of the RIG-I pathway, which detects microbial RNA in the cytoplasm, and focus on the recent discovery of a new innate immune sensor called cGAS that detects cytosolic DNA, and a novel second messenger called cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) that triggers the production of type-I interferons and other inflammatory cytokines. He will also discuss the potential of targeting the cGAS-cGAMP pathway in the development of vaccines and therapies of human diseases such as lupus.Dr. Chen received his Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo and did postdoctoral work at the Salk Institute. He worked as a scientist at Baxter Healthcare Corporation in Irvine, California, and at ProScript, Inc., in Cambrdige, Massachusetts, before joining the faculty of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas in 1997. Dr. Chen has received numerous honors including the National Academy of Science Award in Molecular Biology (2012) and the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Merck Award (2015). He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2014. He has been an HHMI investigator since 2005.
- Open to
- Public
- Reception
- Refreshments, 3:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m., Abby Lounge
- Contact
- Alena Powell
- Phone
- (212) 327-7745
- Sponsor
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Alena Powell
(212) 327-7745
apowell@rockefeller.edu - Readings
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http://librarynews.rockefeller.edu/?p=3530