Biochemistry Seminar:From Atoms to Systems. A Cross-disciplinary Approach

Using complement as a model system we apply ideas and methods embodied in engineering, computer science, physics, chemistry, biomedicine, and other fields to address today's challenges in biosciences. With an ever-increasing wealth of information made available to researchers from expanding genomic sequence and protein structure databases, traditional experimentation and research are being drastically revisited. The unidirectional study of single molecules and pathways is being replaced by a combinatorial and cross-disciplinary platform that investigates interactive biological systems and dynamic networks. The complement system constitutes an ideal paradigm of how this concept is being applied in the field of contemporary immunology.  We have adopted such a cross-disciplinary approach in elucidating key aspects of complement functions and determining the role of several complement proteins in both inflammatory and developmental processes. I will discuss our studies on evasion strategies of microorganisms, our recent findings pertaining to the rational development of complement inhibitors, and our progress in the study of complement protein-protein interactions.  Furthermore, I will discuss our recent studies implicating complement components in complex developmental processes, such as organ regeneration, hematopoietic development, and stem cell engraftment.

Coffee and Tea 11:45 AM

Lecture begins 12:00 PM