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Pharmacology & Chemical Biology Seminar Series
4/6/2023 - 12:00 PM-1:00 PM
“mTOR Signaling and Cancer”

 

Steven Zheng, PhD 
University Professor
Department of Pharmacology
Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Chief, Cancer Pharmacology and Co-Leader
Cancer Pharmacology Research Program
The Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey

This seminar will explore some basic mechanisms of mTOR signaling and how it contributes to the development and progression of cancer. It will further discuss how alterations in these signaling mechanisms impact mTOR-targeted therapies for cancer treatment and potential therapeutic strategies.

 

Pharmacology & Chemical Biology Seminar Series
4/13/2023 - 12:00 PM-1:00 PM
“More than target practice: Resurrecting old data & orphaned drugs for an orphan cancer”


 

Gary Hammer, MD, PhD 
Millie Schembechler Professor of Adrenal Cancer
University of Michigan
Rogel Cancer Center


Pharmacology & Chemical Biology Seminar Series
4/20/2023 - 12:00 PM-1:00 PM
“Metabolic Control of Quiescence”

Allison Sharrow, PhD 
Research Assistant Professor
University of Pittsburgh


Pharmacology & Chemical Biology Seminar Series
4/27/2023 - 12:00 PM-1:00 PM
“DNA strand break repair and links to human disease”

 

Stephen West, FRS, FMedSci 
Principal Group Leader
The Francis Crick Institute

DNA instability is a major cause of inheritable human diseases, such as cancers or neurological disorders, and is also responsible for many aspects of the ageing process. Fortunately, our cells possess a large repertoire of DNA repair processes that maintain our DNA in perfect condition.
Steve West’s laboratory has pioneered the study of enzymes that promote the intricate DNA interactions necessary for the recombinational repair of DNA strand breaks. Using biochemistry, structural biology and molecular genetics, his lab has determined mechanisms of DNA repair that act to prevent tumourigenesis, in particular focusing on the BRCA2 protein that is defective in inheritable breast and ovarian cancers.
In this lecture, Steve will present new cryo-EM studies that define the structure and mechanism of action of the human RAD52 and RAD51 paralog complexes, and will provide new insights into novel therapeutic approaches that aim to kill BRCA-defective cancers.
 
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