Seminars

Upcoming Seminars / Seminars This Week



Fri 4/20/18 12:30 pm	Gerstenzang 123
Molecular and Cell Biology & Neuroscience Student Seminars
Danielle Gallagher (Haber Lab)
Brian Cary (Turrigiano Lab)
Fri 4/20/18 3 pm	Gerstenzang 124
Special Seminar
Richard Allan Smith (Center for Neurologic Study)
Developing Neurotherapeutics in the Era of Translational Medicine
Refreshments will be served
Mon 4/23/18 11 am	Volen 201
Computational Neuroscience Journal Club
Srinivas Shandilya (Marder Lab)
How neurons can maintain intrinsic dynamics during growth
Pizza will be served
Mon 4/23/18 3:40 pm	Gerstenzang 121
Chemistry Department Colloquium
Anita Mattson (Worcester Polytechnic Institute)
Enantioselective C-C Bond Construction with Silanediol Catalysis
Hosted by Li Deng
Mon 4/23/18 5 pm	Shapiro Science Center Lobby
QBReC Poster Session
QBReC Undergraduates in EL24
QBReC Posters (Session 2)
8 posters (from 16 undergraduate students in EL24) will be on display
Tue 4/24/18 12:30 pm	Gerstenzang 121
M.R. Bauer Colloquium Series
Laura Colgin (University of Texas, Austin)
Gamma Oscillations in the Hippocampal Network
Hosted by Shantanu Jadhav
Tue 4/24/18 3:30 pm	Shapiro Science Center, LL16
Physical Chemistry Seminar
Dr. Klaus Schmidt-Rohr
Where the Energy of Batteries Comes from: Explaining Basic Electrochemistry
Tue 4/24/18 4 pm	Abelson 131
Physics Department Colloquium
Tracy Slatyer (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
The Dark Side of the Cosmic Dawn
Abstract: Dark matter constitutes more than 5/6 of the matter in the universe, but its nature and interactions remain one of the great puzzles of fundamental physics. Dark matter collisions or decays, occurring throughout the universe's past, have the potential to produce high-energy particles; such particles may already have reshaped the history of our cosmos, leaving traces of their existence in ionization and heating of the intergalactic medium. I will discuss possible signatures of new dark matter physics in cosmological observations, from the cosmic dark ages to the epoch of reionization, and future directions in both theory and observation. Speaker Bio: Tracy Slatyer joined the MIT Physics Department in July 2013 after completing a three‐year postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. Dr. Slatyer completed her undergraduate work with honors in theoretical physics at the Australian National University in 2005 and her doctoral work in physics at Harvard in 2010 under the direction of Douglas Finkbeiner.
Wed 4/25/18 5 pm	Goldsmith 317
Directed Reading Program (Math Department Student Presentations)
Yudong Jiang (Graduate Instructor: Abhishek Gupta) (Brandeis Univerisity)
TBA
Yue Cui (Graduate Instructor: Langte Ma) (Brandeis Univerisity)
A Small Talk About The Borsuk-Ulam Theorem
Aaron Goodwin (Graduate Instructor: Job Rock) (Brandeis Univerisity)
TBA
Han Zheng (Graduate Instructor: Ying Zhou) (Brandeis Univerisity)
Yoneda's Lemma: An important lemma in category theory. B
Coco Ding (Graduate Instructor: Tarakaram Gollamudi) (Brandeis Univerisity)
TBA
Brandis Whitfield (Graduate Instructor: Eric Hanson) (Brandeis Univerisity)
TBA
Pizza!
Thu 4/26/18 2 pm	Gerstenzang 124
Career Development Seminar
Cynthia Fuhrmann, PhD (UMass Medical School, Center for Career & Professional Development)
An Introduction to the Individual Development Plan (title subject to change)
Hosted by CDS, Dept. of Biology, Provost's Office
Thu 4/26/18 3:40 pm	Rosenstiel 118
Chemistry Department Colloquium
Jianfeng Cai (University of Southern Florida )
AApeptides: From Structure to Function
Hosted by Bing Xu
Thu 4/26/18 4 pm	Abelson 229
MRSEC: Biological Active Materials (IRG2)
Sean Guo (Goode Lab)
A Novel Actin Filament Sliding and Compaction Mechanism Jointly Catalyzed by Srv2/CAP and its Interacting Partner Abp1
Dynamic remodeling of filamentous actin networks is a critical step in cell migration, cell adhesion, and many other actin-based processes. However, we are only beginning to understand the mechanisms used by cells to reorganize actin network architecture. Here, we describe a new remodeling activity, jointly catalyzed by two conserved actin binding proteins that interact: Abp1 (Actin binding protein 1) and Srv2/CAP (Cyclase-associated protein). In TIRF microscopy assays, these two proteins together induce dynamic crosslinking and sliding of filaments, resulting in filament coalescence and compaction into thick bundles as well as overall coarsening of the actin network. Remodeling depended on direct interactions between Abp1 and Srv2/CAP, and on interactions between Abp1 and F-actin. Structurally, Srv2/CAP self-assembles into a hexameric wheel-shaped hub with six Abp1-binding sites, making the combination of the two proteins a robust actin crosslinker. Using multi-wavelength TIRF microscopy with labeled Abp1 and Srv2/CAP molecules, we directly visualized Abp1-Srv2/CAP complexes gliding diffusively along filaments and accumulating in regions of highest filament overlap, in turn leading to further coalescence. These observations define a new mode of actin network reorganization, driven by the unique molecular architecture of Srv2/CAP hexamers and their interactions with Abp1. We further recapitulated this ATP-free, contractile system into oil-water interface and 3D emulsion system. The prospect of combining a contractile polymer system with an extensile system (microtubule and kinesin) raises exciting new possibilities for observing emergent properties.
Hosted by Greg Hoeprich
Fri 4/27/18 11:15 am	Rosenstiel 118
Biochemistry-Biophysics Friday Lunchtime Pizza Talks
Chuck Sindelar (Yale University)
Structural Studies of Cytoskeletal Machinery by Cryo-EM
Hosted by Doug Theobald
Fri 4/27/18 12:30 pm	Gerstenzang 123
Molecular and Cell Biology & Neuroscience Student Seminars
Julie Klaric (Lovett Lab)
Andrea Stacy (Van Hooser Lab)
Fri 5/4/18 12:30 pm	Gerstenzang 123
Molecular and Cell Biology & Neuroscience Student Seminars
NO PIZZA TALKS: FINALS
Wed 5/9/18 1 pm	Volen 201
Safety Training
Andy Finn
Lab Safety Training
Fri 5/11/18
Chemistry Department Colloquium
Mohammad Seyedsayamdost (Princeton )
Hosted by Liz Hedstrom
Mon 5/14/18 11 am	Gerstenzang 122
Chemistry Department Colloquium
Yong Qin (Sichuan University )
Hosted by Li Deng
Thu 5/24/18 4 pm	Abelson 229
MRSEC Seminar
Paddy Royall (University of Bristol)
TBA
Hosted by John Berezney