BMC-GPMLS distinguished lecture series:
Dr. Detlev Arendt
Group Leader, Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Lab (EMBL)
The evolution of neurons and nervous systems
ABSTRACT: Detlev Arendt studied zoology at the University of Freiburg and obtained his PhD in 1999. He then was a postdoctoral researcer in the laboratory of Joachim Wittbrodt at the EMBL in Heidelberg but then established his own laboratory at the institute in 2003. He established the marine annelid Platynereis dumerilii as a molecular model for evolutionary, developmental and neurobiological research. His major interests involve the evolution of the animal body plan with a particular focus on the nervous system. He has also studied the evolution of photoreceptor cells and in recent years he has pioneered the growing field of cell type evolution in animals. Currently he is using comparative studies based on single cell sequencing in different animals to track the fascinating rise of complexity during evolution. A central question is how the central nervous system came into existence. What did it look like initially and how did it operate?
Time: Monday, March 4th, 11.00-12.00
Location: Fróði, Auditorium, Sturlugata 8