The cytoskeleton to be explored at Professor Carolyn Moores's inaugural lecture
Inaugural lecture will reveal how cellular cytoskeletons impact health and disease.
Recent discoveries in the study of cytoskeletons will be the focus of an inaugural lecture by Professor Carolyn Moores - a newly appointed professor from Birkbeck's Department of Biological Sciences.
On Monday, June 1, Professor Moores will present on the topic of Microtubules and microscopes: studies of the cytoskeleton in health and disease
Just as human bodies have a skeleton providing support and strength, so also do the cells of our bodies; this framework is called cytoskeleton. It is involved in many cell functions - movement, definition of architecture, and multiplication.
Professor Moores’s research team studies the three-dimensional shape of the cytoskeleton (called microtubules) using an electron microscope, a powerful tool ideally suited to visualising these nano structures.
Her inaugural lecture, which will be held at Room B01 at the Clore Management Centre at 5pm, has been created for a general audience. During the hour-long presentation, she will describe some of her team’s recent discoveries that shed light on how healthy cells work, but also how malfunctions of the cytoskeleton cause disease.
Professor Moores said: "I’m honoured to have the opportunity to highlight fundamental research about the machinery in the cells of our bodies, and how that research sheds light on human health and disease. “I came to Birkbeck because it is a national centre of excellence for electron microscopy, an important technique for studying cellular machinery. Electron microscopy is currently undergoing a ‘resolution revolution’: this means that our microscopy images now provide us with close-up views of how cellular machinery works and how malfunction can lead to disease. “It is a very exciting time for our work, so I hope that people who attend the lecture will share our excitement at the future possibilities that can impact our understanding of diseases ranging from cancer to malaria to deafness."
Free places at Professor Moores’s inaugural lecture can be booked through Eventbrite.
Professor Moore’s inaugural lecture is part of a programme of presentations throughout June delivered by Birkbeck’s newly-appointed professors - see the full programme for Birkbeck's June inaugural lectures
Find out more:
Microtubules and microscopes: studies of the cytoskeleton in health and disease.
More science lectures from June inaugural lecture programme:
Spatial Distortion in Perception and Cognition (Professor Matthew Longo) Thursday June 4, 5pm, Room B01, Clore Management Centre.
Extreme Recycling: The Challenges of Understanding Global Element Circulation (Professor Karen Hudson-Edwards) Monday June 15, 5pm, Room B01, Clore Management Centre.
Modelling Cognitive Function and Dysfunction (Professor Rick Cooper) Thursday June 18, 6pm, Room B01, Clore Management Centre.