Monday, December 5, 2016

The Saban Research Institute Floyd H. Gilles Lecture in Neuroscience Research presents...

“Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Neuronal Migration”

Pasko Rakic, MD, PhD
Dorys McConnell Duberg Professor of Neuroscience and
Professor of Neurology
Yale School of Medicine

Date: Tuesday, December 6, 2016*
Time: 12 - 1 p.m.*
*Please note SPECIAL SEMINAR TIME
Location: The Saban Research Building, First Floor Auditorium, 4661 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90027

Lunch will be provided to seminar guests, first come, first served.

About the Speaker:
Pasko Rakic, MD, PhD, received his medical and graduate degree from Belgrade University (former Yugoslavia). He immigrated to the US in 1969, and he was on Harvard faculty until 1978 when he moved to Yale, where he created Department of Neurobiology and Kavli Institute for Neuroscience. He presently holds the Duberg Chair in Neuroscience at Yale University.

Rakic’s research interests are in developmental neurobiology, particularly cellular and molecular mechanisms of neuronal proliferation, migration and synaptogenesis during development of the brain. His studies in human, non-human primates and rodents lead to the postulate of the “radial unit” and “protomap” hypotheses of cortical development and evolution that provide the framework for understanding genetic mechanisms of normal and pathological brain development. By manipulating the rate and pattern of neuronal migration using genetic tools and environmental factors, he, with his colleagues, discovered the hidden abnormalities of neuronal positioning that could not be discerned by routine postmortem examination. Rakic also provided the direct evidence for the competitive interactions among neuronal connections before birth, and showed that axons, synapses and neurotransmitter receptors are overproduced before attaining the adult levels by the process of activity-dependent stabilization and selective elimination. The major goal is to help understand pathogenesis of a variety of congenital brain malformations as well as to gain insight into possible developmental origins of disorders of higher brain functions.

Pasko Rakic is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, and foreign member of the Royal Society (London), Norwegian, Serbian and Croatian Academies. He has also been President of the Society for Neuroscience and recipient of many awards including the inaugural Kavli Neuroscience Prize.

Hosted by Marvin D. Nelson J.R., MD, MBA, FACR
Chairman, John L. Gwinn Professor of Radiology
Department of Pediatric Radiology
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Professor of Radiology
Keck School of Medicine
University of Southern California

Please click here to view event flyer and here to view Dr. Rakic’s CV.

Brought to you by the Office of Training, Education, Career Planning and Development (TECPAD).

For questions please contact tecpad@chla.usc.edu.

No comments: