Title: Decoding the gene regulatory logic of neuronal cell type specification

Speaker: Prof. Oliver Hobert, Columbia University

Time: 13:00-14:30, October 19, 2018

Location: Deng Youcai Hall, New Life Science Building

Abstract:

How are the many distinct cell types that characterize a mature nervous system genetically specified? For a terminally differentiating neuron this questions boils down to a gene regulatory question: how is the expression of the distinct batteries of genes that define the terminal, functional properties of distinct neuron type induced and maintained? Through the decoding of cis-regulatory elements and forward genetic screens in the nematode C.elegans, my laboratory has begun to uncover what appear to some simple, phylogenetically conserved principles that underlie the generation of diverse neuronal identities.