Faculty

SUNY Upstate Visiting Lecture Series

Contact: Sandi Tillotson, Graduate Recruitment Coordinator
Address: College of Graduate Studies
SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY 13210
Phone: 315 464-7655
E-mail: tillotss@upstate.edu

Upstate Medical University is pleased to announce a visiting lecture series to bring undergraduates a lively and informative lecture with one of our faculty members. The professors in our series are published, funded investigators who are acknowledged by their peers to be doing excellent research in their fields.

They will conclude each lecture with a brief presentation on the biomedical graduate degree programs and student research offerings at SUNY Upstate.

This free, innovative program is designed to spark interest in the biomedical sciences and to further awareness of opportunities at SUNY Upstate. To schedule one of our lecturers to come to your campus, please complete the visiting scholar request form .

Please see our brochure for
full lecture descriptions.

SUNY Upstate Visiting Lecturers 2012–2013

	Jeffrey Amack, PhD Cell & Developmental Biology Heart Development in the Zebrafish Embryo Congenital heart disease is the most common birth defect. My lab uses the zebrafish embryo as a model system to find genes that control heart development and disease.		Eric C. Olson, PhD Neuroscience & Physiology Putting Neurons In Their Place: The Role of the Reelin-Signaling Pathway In Organizing Brain Structure Covers the basic cellular processes that underlie cortical development as well as puzzling disorders of brain development. Concludes with our studies of Reelin, a secreted ligand that seems to orchestrate precise neuronal positioning.
	David C. Amberg, PhD Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Genomic Modeling of How Genetic Complexity Influences Phenotype A presentation on my laboratories research will focus on our genome level screens to map how combinations of loss of function alleles contribute to genetic disease. In addition, Dr. Amberg will discuss the process of obtaining a PhD in biomedical research.		David W. Pruyne, PhD Cell & Developmental Biology From Yeast to Muscles — Using Model Systems to Understand How Cells Build Their Cytoskeleton A cytoskeleton of actin filaments provides a framework for the body's cells. We have developed a model for how the highly ordered actin arrays in muscle cells are assembled through study of successively more complicated systems.
	Peter Calvert, PhD Ophthalmology and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Watching cell signaling live: what we are learning about biochemistry by imaging active cells. Work in my lab is aimed at understanding signaling and behavior at the molecular level in living cells. Protein dynamics, measured with multiphoton and confocal microscopy, is changing our understanding how cell sensitivity to environmental stimuli is controlled.		Mark E. Schmitt, PhD Biochemistry & Molecular Biology All Ribosomes are Not Created Equal Ribosomes are extremely ancient RNA-based enzymes that catalyze protein synthesis in all organisms. Discusses how some ribosomes differ in their RNA and protein composition and how these subtle differences confer different functions that control and regulate the translation process.
	Xin Jie Chen, PhD Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Mechanism of Mitochondrial Genome Maintenance Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell and the maintenance of mitochondrial DNA is critical for energy homeostasis. We are interested in studying how damaged mitochondrial DNA is repaired and how mitochondrial damage contributes to cell aging.		Vladimir Sirotkin, PhD Cell & Developmental Biology Endocytosis by the Numbers: Investigation of the Mechanisms of Endocytosis by Quantitative Live Cell Imaging The actin cytoskeleton dynamics are responsible for changes in cell shape. By counting the numbers of molecules in live cells, we investigatehow cells control the actin filament assembly driving membrane deformation during endocytosis.
	Thomas Duncan, PhD Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Spinning and Stopping the Rotary Motor Mechanism of ATP Synthases ATP synthases are key enzymes in cellular energy metabolism, and work as rotary nanomotors. Inhibitory proteins act by ‘throwing a wrench’ in the rotary gears.		Steven M. Taffet, PhD Microbiology & Immunology Minding the Gap: The Gap Junction Protein Cx43 in Autoimmune Heart Disease Studies of the alterations in cell-cell interaction that takes place in the heart during immune mediated heart disease.
	Stephen J. Glatt, PhD Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Neuroscience & Physiology Biomarkers for Neuropsychiatric Disorders Unlike many medical conditions, neuropsychiatric disorders are currently diagnosed based only on behavioral reports and clinical observation rather than biomarkers. The presentation will summarize the latest efforts to identify biologically valid biomarkers for these disorders, which should facilitate quicker diagnosing, better treatment choices, and earlier intervention.		Dan Tso, PhD Neurosurgery The Mind's Eye: The Neuroscience of Vision An idiosyncratic look at how the eye and the brain yield vision, and results from recent studies that reveal the underlying neural mechanisms.
	Steven Goodman, PhD Dean, College of Graduate Studies; Vice President for Research; Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, and Pediatrics Developing Personalized Medicine for Sickle Cell Disease Protein profiling studies utilizing proteomic technologies has allowed my laboratory to identify bio-markers of sickle cell severity. Changes in these proteins early in life will allow pediatric hematologists, in the future, to tailor therapeutic choices to predicted levels of sickle severity.		Richard Wojcikiewicz, PhD Pharmacology Protein degradation in mammalian cells: the intriguing case of IP3 receptor processing via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway Covers the importance of protein degradation to cell function, the role of the ubiquitination and the proteasome in protein degradation, and our work on cell signaling and IP3 receptor degradation.
	Steven Hanes, PhD Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Using Model Organisms to Study Development & Disease This introduction to model organisms in biomedical research includes how we study how information is decoded from the DNA to switch genes on and off during embryonic development.		Steven Youngentob, PhD Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Does Mother Nature Always Know Best? Fetal Ethanol Experience and Chemosensory Plasticity: Its Contribution to Adolescent Alcohol Abuse Human studies point to a relationship between fetal alcohol exposure and adolescent abuse. Our studies reveal that fetal exposure alters development of smell and taste so the aversive odor and flavor of alcohol become more acceptable, thereby enhancing intake.
	Stewart Loh, PhD Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Designing Protein Switches For Biology, Biotechnology, and Medicine Switchable proteins constitute a unique platform for designing biosensors, functional switches, and ‘smart’ biomaterials. Our goal is to develop general mechanisms by which ordinary proteins can be converted into switches.