The cytoskeleton is essential for viability in all eukaryotic cells. It is composed of two major proteins, actin and tubulin, which can polymerize and depolymerize on a time scale of seconds-to-minutes, allowing rapid adaptation to changing cellular conditions. Actin filaments and microtubules contribute to cellular processes by providing force for cellular motility, deforming intracellular membranes during the dynamics of organelles, and by acting as tracks for motor proteins which serve to deliver cargo to specific cellular locations. Defects in cytoskeletal function are important factors in cancer and neurodegeneration. This year's Life Sciences Symposium will explore the mechanisms underlying cellular organization and how these mechanisms are subverted in disease.<\/p>\n
Admission is free, and refreshments and lunch will be provided. We welcome the attendance of all faculty, physicians, researchers, post-docs, graduate students and undergraduate students from Dartmouth and other universities and institutes across New England. Interested community members are also welcome<\/p>\n
Michael K. Rosen, Ph.D.<\/b><\/p>\n
Professor and Chair of Biophysics, Mar Nell and Andrew Bell Distinguished Chair in Biochemistry, UT Southwestern Medical Center
\nInvestigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute<\/i><\/p>\n
Henry N. Higgs, Ph.D.<\/b><\/p>\n
Professor of Biochemistry, The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth<\/i><\/p>\n
Rong Li, Ph.D.<\/b><\/p>\n
Investigator, Stowers Institute for Medical Research
\nAffiliated Professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, The University of Kansas School of Medicine<\/i><\/p>\n
Elizabeth Smith, Ph.D.<\/b><\/p>\n
Professor and Chair of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College<\/i><\/p>\n
Erika L. F. Holzbaur, Ph.D<\/b><\/p>\n
Professor of Physiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine<\/i><\/p>\n
Larry Goldstein, Ph.D.<\/b><\/p>\n
Distinguished Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Neurosciences, Director, UC San Diego Stem Cell Program, Scientific Director, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, UCSD School of Medicine<\/i><\/p>\n