Overcoming Chromatin Barriers to Change Cell Fate

Lecture September 22nd from 11:00-12:00 in Aðlabygging, Hátíðarsalur (Main building, 2nd floor)

Name: Dr. Ken Zaret, Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, U.S., and Director of UPenn’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Title: Overcoming Chromatin Barriers to Change Cell Fate

Dr. Zaret’s academic journey began with graduate studies in yeast genetics at the University of Rochester followed by his postdoctoral research in steroid hormone regulation at the University of California, San Francisco. He later held positions at Brown University Medical School and at the Fox Chase Cancer Center. Dr. Zaret has received numerous awards and serves as a member of many prestigious institutions. Throughout his career, Dr. Zaret has contributed extensively to academia as an editor, serving roles at journals like Molecular and Cellular Biology and Development. He has also served on many grant review panels and boards. Dr. Zaret leads a laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania, where the goal of his laboratory is: “to understand ways that genes are regulated in order to allow one type of cell to change into another type of cell. Such “cell type control” occurs in embryonic development and tissue regeneration when embryo or adult stem cells become specialized for tissue function. Understanding cell type control is crucial to being able to generate new cells at will for therapeutics and for generating experimental models to unveil the basis of, and cures for, human disease.