Biochemistry Seminars

*Due to the rapid change and uncertainty of the Coronavirus, the Department of Biochemistry has decided to cancel our March and April seminars and at present will hold two seminars in May. We will update the schedule as needed and will make every attempt to reschedule the canceled seminars during the next academic calendar year.*

Spring 2020

Biochemistry Seminars are held on Fridays in Room 147, Nanaline Duke Building at 12:00 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 9, 2020 at 2:00 PM  (Thursday)
Yasushi Ogasawara, PhD
Hokkaido University​
“Exploring New Enzymes for Peptide Natural Product Biosynthesis"
Hosted by Kenichi Yokoyama, Ph.D.

January 31, 2020
Sina Ghaemmaghami, Ph.D.
University of Rochester
"Global Analysis of Protein Homeostasis by Mass Spectrometry Based Proteomics”
Hosted by Terry Oas, Ph.D.

February 14, 2020      
Joan B. Broderick, Ph.D.
Montana State University 
“Radical Initiation in the Radical SAM Superfamily”               
Hosted by Kenichi Yokoyama, Ph.D.

February 21, 2020         
Rodrigo Maillard, Ph.D. 
Georgetown University
“Mechanism of Allosteric Regulation in Protein Kinases: A Single Molecule Approach”
Hosted by Mike Boyce, Ph.D.

March 6, 2020       
Murali Prakriya, Ph.D.
Northwestern University
"The Molecular Anatomy of CRAC Channel Gating”
Hosted by Seok-Yong Lee, Ph.D.

CANCELED –​ Hsieh Memorial Lecture, 103 Bryan Research Building  – CANCELED
March 20, 2020
Stephen Kowalczykowski, Ph.D.
UC Davis
 "Maintaining Chromosomal Integrity by Recombination: A Focus on Topoisomerase Function"​ 
Hosted by Dick Brennan, Ph.D.

CANCELED – March 23, 2020, 2:00 PM (147 Nanaline Duke) ​– CANCELED
Seth Rubin, Ph.D.
University of California, Santa Cruz
"Proteins and Drugs Controlling Cancer Cell Division”
Hosted by Seok-Yong Lee, Ph.D.

CANCELED – Biochemistry Student-Sponsored Distinguished Lecturer Series – CANCELED
April 3, 2020     
Michael Rapé, Ph.D.
UC Berkeley
“Development Under Stress: Function and Mechanism of Novel Quality Control Systems”    Hosted by BCH Students, Aili Hao, and Brittany Snyder    

CANCELED – Modrich Distinguished Lecture, 103 Bryan Research Building – CANCELED
April 17, 2020
Bruce Stillman, Ph.D.
Cold Spring Harbor Lab
“The Mechanism and Evolution of DNA Replication Origin Specification in Eukaryotic Cells"  
Hosted by Dick Brennan, Ph.D.                 

May 1, 2020      
Christian Kaiser, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University
"Dissecting Multi-Domain Protein Folding with Optical Tweezers"  
Hosted by Terry Oas, Ph.D.

CANCELED – May 5, 2020  12:30 PM  (Tuesday) ​– CANCELED
Thomas Bernhardt, Ph.D.
Harvard University
TBA
Hosted by Jörn Coers, Ph.D., UPGG and Seok-Yong Lee, Ph.D., Biochemistry

May 15, 2020     
Ehud Isacoff, Ph.D.
UC Berkeley
"Optical Quantal Analysis of the Molecularmechanisms That Control Synaptic Strength​"
Hosted by Van Bennett, M.D., Ph.D.

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.