Weekly Colloquium on Problems in the Biology of Complex Diseases

Friday, February 23, 2018 - 9:00am to 11:00am
Event Location: 

University of Arizona BIO5 Institute, Keating Building Rm. 103
1657 E. Helen St.
Tucson, AZ 85719

Brought to you by the UA's Arizona Center for the Biology of Complex Diseases (ABCD):

TOPIC: "Mechanisms of Gene Regulation"
SPEAKER: Casey E. Romanoski, PhD -- Assistant Professor, Cellular and Molecular Medicine, UA College of Medicine - Tucson; BIO5 Fellow, UA BIO5 Institute; Faculty, Genetics Graduate Interdisciplinary Program, University of Arizona; and Member, UA Health Sciences Center for Applied Genetics and Genomic Medicine
WHEN: Friday, Feb. 23, 2018 | 9-11 a.m.

Weekly Colloquium, Spring 2018 - Problems in the Biology of Complex Diseases
(CMM, MCB, GENE, IMB, PCOL 595H)
Fridays, 9-11 a.m., Keating/BIO5 Room 103, Jan. 12-April 27

SPEAKERS SCHEDULE: Click here [PDF] for a printable schedule for the entire series.

About the Speaker
After earning her bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona in 2004, Dr. Romanoski completed a doctorate in Human Genetics in 2010 at University of California, Los Angeles. Under mentorship from Jake Lusis, her studies identified genetic variants that, in part, determine how individuals respond differently to the same pro-inflammatory stimulus. Next, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship under mentorship from Christopher Glass at the University of California, San Diego. There, she utilized genetic variation among laboratory mice to identify mechanisms by which regulatory elements called enhancers establish cell type-appropriate gene regulatory programs.

Dr. Romanoski received the prestigious K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the NIH Heart Lung and Blood Institute that has supported her transition from trainee to independent principal investigator. She joined the UA faculty as an assistant professor in 2016.

The goal of her research program is to leverage the interconnected relationship between genetic variation, transcriptional regulatory networks, and disease susceptibility to identify mechanisms that drive inflammatory disease.

About the Lecture Series
Human complex diseases such as asthma, cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, are major biomedical challenges, because they are common but difficult to decipher. The complexity of these diseases is reflected by their phenotypic heterogeneity and likely results from intricate interactions among genetic, environmental and developmental factors that modify disease susceptibility and severity.

Understanding complex diseases is urgent, because these conditions impose a burden on our society. Yet, this goal cannot be achieved by isolated research disciplines. Rather, it requires a novel paradigm that successfully integrates basic and clinical research across multiple fields and translates mechanisms into phenotypes and phenotypes into treatments. This novel paradigm provides the underpinning for this Colloquium.

This colloquium features speakers who are nationally and internationally renowned for their work on environmental biology, immunological and clinical phenotyping, microbiota, developmental biology, epigenetics, genetic epidemiology, population genetics, functional genomics of human and animal models. The series' theme and vision are unique in that the discussion focuses particularly on the biological components shared by ostensibly distinct complex diseases (for instance, asthma, neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases).

The underlying assumption, supported by much emerging evidence, is that these shared components are features that define the mechanistic architecture of complex diseases as a group. The goal of the Colloquium is to provide a platform that will catalyze broad, expert discussions on these foundational topics, thereby fostering the emergence of a new experimental and conceptual paradigm in complex disease biology.

For further information, contact ABCD Director Donata Vercelli, MD, colloquium organizer: donata@email.arizona.edu