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Past Lectures

Past Lectures

2023


Atul Butte

Atul J. Butte, M.D., Ph.D.

Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg Distinguished Professor Departments of Pediatrics
Bioengineering and Therapeutics Sciences and Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Director of Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute Chief Data Scientist
University of California Health System, San Francisco, CA

"Precisely Practicing Medicine from 700 Trillion Points of Data"

There is an urgent need to take what we have learned in our new data-driven era of medicine, and use it to create a new system of precision medicine, delivering the best, safest, cost-effective preventative or therapeutic intervention at the right time, for the right patients. Dr. Butte’s teams at the University of California build and apply tools that convert trillions of points of molecular,  clinical, and epidemiological data -- measured by researchers and clinicians over the past decade and now commonly termed “big data” -- into diagnostics, therapeutics,  and new insights into disease. Dr. Butte, a  computer scientist and pediatrician, will highlight his center’s recent work on integrating electronic health records data from over 8 million patients across the entire University of California, and how analytics on this “real world data” can lead to new evidence for drug efficacy, new savings from better medication choices, and new methods to teach intelligence – real and artificial – to more precisely practice medicine.

Monday, April 10, 2023 at 2:15PM

Auditorium of Class '62 (G-9425)

Welcome by Mark Taubman, M.D.
Introduction by Thomas Mariani, Ph.D.

2022


Lynn Maquat

Lynne E. Maquat, PhD

J. Lowell Orbison Endowed Chair and Professor
Departments of Biochemistry & Biophysics, Oncology, and Pediatrics
School of Medicine and Dentistry
Founding Director, UR Center for RNA Biology: From Genome to Therapeutics, Founding Chair, UR Graduate Women in Science, University of Rochester

"Nonsense-mediated mRNA Decay and Human Disease"

Despite a long appreciation for the role of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) in destroying faulty, disease-causing mRNAs and maintaining normal, physiologic mRNA abundance, additional effectors that regulate NMD activity in mammalian cells continue to be identified. Recently, we defined a protein kinase, AKT, and the protein missing in Fragile X Syndrome, FMRP, as new NMD effectors. Our mechanistic studies of each effector have revealed two surprising mechanisms by which NMD influences normal and disease-associated metabolism, possibly opening new avenues for the development of therapeutics.

Monday, December 12, 2022, 4:00PM

Ryan Case Method Room, 1-9576

Welcome by Mark Taubman, M.D.
Introduction by Jeff Hayes, Ph.D.


Jim Palis

Jim Palis, M.D.

Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
University of Rochester Medical Center

"Making Blood: Lessons from the Mouse Embryo"

Monday, October 10, 2022, 4:00PM

Auditorium of Class '62 (G-9425)

Welcome by Mark Taubman, M.D.
Introduction by Rick Waugh, Ph.D.

2021


Phillip Sharp

Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D.

Institute Professor and Professor of Biology Member
Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
MIT

"Science of RNA Biology - Advances to New Therapeutic Modalities"

Interventions targeting RNA processes and RNA-based therapeutics employing short double-stranded RNA and mRNA represent an important new class of therapeutic modalities. These were developed by translation of earlier fundamental science and engineering research, including genome sequencing, and have created new opportunities to meet major challenges in healthcare. This history will be discussed briefly, then new insights shared about another possible step in this journey—the role of RNA in regulation of transcription and gene expression.

Monday, March 14, 2021, 4:00PM

Auditorium of Class '62 (G-9425)

Welcome by Mark Taubman, M.D.
Introduction by Paul Boutz, Ph.D.


Vera Gorbunova

Vera Gorbunova, Ph.D.

Doris Johns Cherry Professor of Biology and Medicine
Co-director of the University of Rochester Aging Research Center

"Mechanisms of Longevity: Lessons from Long-Lived Mammals"

Monday, December 6, 2021, 4:00PM

Auditorium of Class '62 (G-9425)

Welcome by Mark Taubman, M.D.
Introduction by Dirk Bohmann, Ph.D.

2020


Johnathan M. Samet

Johnathan M. Samet, M.D., M.S.

Pulmonary physician and epidemiologist
Dean and Professor of the Colorado School of Public Health
Aurora, Colorado

"Science, Policy, and the Environment: Reflections from 1970-2020"

The fifty-year span, 1970-2020, covers a half-century of science-driven progress in improving the quality of the environment. Health has benefited in the United States and beyond as a result. This presentation considers how scientific evidence has fueled the progress, covering the ways that evidence serves as the foundation for action and the roles of researchers in these translational processes. This long-standing paradigm is now under threat. In this presentation, I draw on my experience over these 50 years as a physician/researcher, using such examples as tobacco control, air pollution, and chemical risk assessment. I speak to “lessons learned” as to how a researcher may or may not “make a difference”.

Tuesday, March 3, 2020, 12:00PM

Auditorium of Class '62 (G-9425)

Welcome by Mark Taubman, M.D.
Introduction by Mark Utell, M.D.