A better understanding of the molecular basis of aging will have important implications for the management of age-dependent functional decline, as well as the prevention and treatment of many crippling age-dependent diseases. The overall research objective of the speaker is to elucidate the evolutionarily conserved molecular pathways important for longevity determination, mainly using C. elegans as a model system. One aspect of her research focuses on the molecular basis of how partial mitochondrial dysfunction affects longevity. She has recently uncovered a new link between the key metabolic sensor AMP kinase (AMPK) and the transcription factors CEH-23 and CEP-1 in mediating the altered lifespans of several mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) mutants. Her working model is that this signaling cascade elicits compensatory responses that cope with the mitochondrial stress and also modulate lifespan. Another aspect of her research focuses on how epigenetic regulation, in particular chromatin regulation, impacts longevity. She is studying the mechanistic details of how the SET-9 and SET-26 proteins, two putative methyltransferases, normally restrict lifespan. She is also using a genomic approach to probe how the global patterns of several key histone modifications change with age. Together, these investigations will provide molecular insights into how altered chromatin structure modulates longevity.
About the speaker
Prof Sylvia Lee received her BA in Biochemistry from Rice University in 1995 and PhD from Baylor College of Medicine in 1999. She received her postdoctoral training at the Department of Molecular Biology of Massachusetts General Hospital & the Department of Genetics of Harvard Medical School, where she was awarded a Damon Runyon Cancer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship. She joined the faculty at Cornell University in 2003, and is currently a Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics.
Prof Lee's research focuses on using the powerful genetic model round worm Caenorhabditis elegans to identify and functionally characterize the evolutionarily conserved genetic determinants important for longevity.
For attendees’ attention
The lecture is free and open to all. Seating is on a first come, first served basis.
