Columbia University in the City of New York

Dec 7, 20183:30 pm
Seminar

Zuckerman Institute Postdoctoral Seminar: December

Featuring Arun Asok, PhD, (Kandel lab) and Laura Pereira, PhD (Hobert lab)

December 7th, 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm at the Jerome L. Greene Science Center (9th floor lecture hall)

This seminar will begin at 4:00 pm at the Jerome L. Greene Science Center on Columbia University’s Manhattanville campus (L7-119). Light refreshments will be available starting at 3:30 pm.

 

This month's speakers:

Arun Asok (Kandel lab): "A Hippocampal Circuit for gating High-Intensity Aversive Experiences"

The neural circuits that control the transition from trauma to pathology in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSC) are poorly understood. My research has identified a hippocampal-hypothalamic connection which preferentially regulates high-intensity aversive events and influences the strength of long-term fear memories. This connection may serve as an important therapeutic target or modulating the intensity of traumatic events and the emergence of PTSD.

Laura Pereira (Hobert lab): "Timing Mechanisms of Nervous System Sexual Differentiation"

In all animals, sexual differentiation of somatic tissue is precisely timed, yet the molecular mechanisms that control the timing of sexual differentiation, particularly in the brain, are poorly understood. I have found that the evolutionarily conserved genes lin-28, let-7, and lin-41 are required for the correct timing of nervous system differentiation in C. elegans. I identified lin-29a as a critical target of LIN-41 in controlling sexually dimorphic neurotransmitter switches, sensory receptor expression, neurite anatomy and adult behaviors.

 

This seminar is part of the Zuckerman Institute Postdoctoral Seminar series. For questions about this or future seminars, please contact series organizers Chris Rodgers, PhD, or Amy Norovich, PhD.

Venue: the Jerome L. Greene Science Center (9th floor lecture hall)
3227 Broadway, New York, NY 10027

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