Abstract

Cell identity is determined by a complex interplay between cell-intrinsic, lineage-restricted developmental pathways on the one hand, and cell extrinsic, tissue-specific micro-environmental signals on the other. Functional specialization of macrophages reflects the impact of the local microenvironment onto their intrinsic differentiation programs, which eventually leads to a variety of specialized macrophage types in different tissues and conditions. In this lecture, the speaker will discuss on the players and mechanisms which are acting at the transcriptional and epigenomic levels to enforce macrophage identity while at the same time enabling their functional diversities and responses to acute and sustained stimulation.

About the speaker

Dr Gioacchino Natoli received his MD at Sapienza University of Rome in 1991. He was appointed as the Group Leader in the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Bellinzona, Switzerland in 2000. He then joined the European Institute of Oncology (IEO) in Milan in 2005 and is currently the Principal Investigator in IEO.

Dr Natoli’s research interests focus on epigenetic and transcriptional control of inflammation, transcriptional regulation of inflammatory and cancer-related genes activated by transcription factors of the NF-kB/Rel family, inflammatory cytokine signal transduction, signaling through receptors for bacterial components and viral hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Dr Natoli was elected as a member of European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) in 2013 and awarded the Chiara D’Onofrio Prize in 2009.

For attendees’ attention

The lecture is free and open to all. Seating is on a first come, first served basis.

HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study
Enquiries: ias@ust.hk / 2358 5912
http://ias.ust.hk