From Molecules to Minds: New Frontiers in Understanding Life and Health

I will discuss how we visualize the incredibly tiny, normally invisible movements of molecules. We will learn how molecular machines, such as proteins, function at the cellular level, gain a better understanding of biological processes, and develop antibiotics and novel anticancer treatments.

The human body contains roughly 30 trillion cells that receive instructions from our DNA. However, inside and on our bodies, there are 10x more viruses than human cells, an estimated total of 300 trillion viruses, collectively referred to as the human virome. This talk explores how very large datasets enables studying the virome, transforming virology from the study of acute symptoms to long term impacts on human health.

In many neurodegenerative diseases, the same pattern appears: a protein called TDP-43 is found in the wrong place. Instead of staying in the cell’s nucleus, it leaves and accumulates in clumps that are linked to damage. I use human stem cell-derived “mini-brain” models to understand why this occurs and how it might be prevented. You’ll leave this talk with insight into a shared mechanism that may connect, and eventually help treat, multiple brain disorders.