Spring 2019

Biochemistry Seminars are held on Fridays in Room 147, Nanaline Duke Building at 12:OO noon.

Our Memorial and Distinguished Lectures* are held at 103 Bryan Research Building at the indicated times, followed by an afternoon social hour. Coffee will be available 15 minutes before each event.

January 10
Peter Dervan PhD , California Institute of Technology                        
“Molecular Recognition of DNA: From Discovery to Oncology”
Hosted by Drs. Amanda Hargrove​ and Paul Modrich 
Please note time and location: 4:00 pm, 147 Nanaline Duke     

January 11
Jacqueline Barton PhD, California Institute of Technology                  
“DNA Signaling”                            
Hosted by Drs. Paul Modrich and Amanda Hargrove 

January 18     
Elizabeth Heller PhD, University of Pennsylvania                       
“Epigenetic Editing for the Study of Neuropsychiatric Disease”
Hosted by Dr. Kate Meyer

February 15
Andrei Korostelev PhD, University of Massachusetts Medical School                             
“Visualizing the Translating Ribosome by Ensemble Cryo-EM”
Hosted by Dr. Bettie Sue Masters

February 22
Thomas Silhavy PhD, Princeton University              
“Building a Membrane on the Other Side of the Wall”
Hosted by Dr. Meta Kuehn
*Kamin Memorial Lecture, 103 Bryan Research Building, 12:00 pm

March 8
Kiyoshi Nagai PhD, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge
"CryoEM Snapshots of the Spliceosome Provide Insights Into the Molecular Mechanism of Pre-mRNA Splicing"
Hosted by Drs. Homme Hellinga and Richard Brennan
*Hsieh Memorial Lecture, 103 Bryan Research Building at 12:00 pm

March 15
Tracy Handel PhD, University of California, San Diego                                  
“What Structure Tells Us About Chemokine Receptor Activation and Inhibition”
Hosted by Dr. Sudar Rajagopal

March 22
Christine Mayr PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
“Regulation of Protein Functions by 3’UTRs”
Hosted by Dr. Kate Meyer

March 29
Thomas Cech PhD, University of Colorado Boulder 
“Shedding some Light on the Dark Matter of the Genomic Universe”
Hosted by Dr. Richard Brennan
*Modrich Distinguished Lecture, 103 Bryan Research Building at 12:00 noon

April 5
Eric Kool PhD, Stanford University                            
“Small Molecule Strategies for Studying and Controlling RNA”                                                           
Hosted by Drs. Amanda Hargrove and Hashim Al-Hashimi

April 12
Laura Kiessling PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Title: TBA
Hosted by Dr. Amanda Hargrove

April 19 
David Silver PhD, Duke-NUS Medical School 
“Brain Lipid Transport”
Hosted by Dr. Richard Brennan

April 26
Kim Orth PhD, UT Southwestern Medical Center
“Black Spot, Black Death, Black Pearl: The Tales of Bacterial Effectors”
Hosted by Dr. Meta Kuehn

May 3
Jin Billy Li PhD, Stanford University 
“ADAR1 RNA Editing Mediated dsRNA Sensing in Innate Immunity”
Hosted by Dr. Kate Meyer                                                         

May 17
Pieter Dorrestein PhD, University of California, San Diego
“Finding the Chemicals Produced by the Microbiome in Health and Disease”
Hosted by Dr. Ken Yokoyama

About our Named Lectures

The Henry Kamin Memorial Lecture
Henry Kamin’s scientific prowess was recognized by two five year appointments to the Editorial Board of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Membership on the National Science Foundation Panel on Metabolic Biology, and the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences. The Henry Kamin Memorial Lecture honors his 42 year career at Duke University, his steadfast integrity, and his many contributions to nutritional biochemistry.

In 1997 his wife, Mrs. Dottie Kamin, initiated the lecture in to honor her husband using monies provided by the Henry and Dorothy Lingle Kamin Endowment Fund of Triangle Community Foundation.

The Hseih Memorial Lecture
Established in memory of Tao-Hseih, PhD, who was known as a highly regarded mentor and teacher and researcher with accolades including an American Cancer Society Junior Faculty Award. This lecture is made possible by a generous gift from his lifelong friends, Yan-Tsong Chen, MD, PhD and Mrs. Alice Chen through the Chenzyme Foundation.

The Modrich Distinguished Lecture
This lecture honors the myriad contributions Paul Modrich has made to the field of nucleic acid biochemistry during his illustrious career at Duke University. A number of generous gifts from former graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and friends of Paul, as well as members of the Department of Biochemistry have made this lecture series possible.  

The Nozaki Memorial Lecture
Yas Nozaki spent four decades at Duke doing painstaking work in pure compounds and precise measurements as the basis of solid progress in scientific knowledge. He had a love of learning and science and was great friend and approachable colleague. His daughter Yoko Nazaki Ax and her husband Emanual Ax (the noted concert pianist) have made this lecture possible through their generous donation.

The Philip Handler Lecture
This lecture is in remembrance of Philip Handler, who has been described as a legendary instructor, with a talent for taking the most difficult medical school subjects and turning them into unique learning experiences.