Assistant Professor
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
SUNY Upstate Medical University
Will present a talk titled:
Actin and microtubules in neurodegeneration: choose your own adventure zoom!
Abstract
Choose your own adventure (CYOA) books, movies, or video games allow the audience to assume the role of the story protagonist, making choices that ultimately determine the fate of the main character. Just like CYOA, scientific experimentation does not usually occur following a linear path. In this presentation, the audience will choose the details of scientific story about the dynamics of actin and microtubule cytoskeletal proteins that are essential for nearly every process and behavior displayed by eukaryotic cells. While the dynamics of these proteins are linked, actin and microtubules do not interact on their own. Instead, cytoskeletal coordination is executed through a plethora of additional regulatory proteins. Several actin and microtubule regulation proteins and our studies of their dynamics can be chosen. Classic biochemistry, advanced single-molecule approaches, and several super resolution microscopy techniques are covered. Each path ends with how disruptions to actin and microtubule dynamics manifests in neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; Lou Gerhig’s disease).
Date: 11 March 2022
Time: 2:00 pm
Zoom Link: Please contact adavid@clarkson.edu for zoom information
