Building an adaptation: 300 million years of toxin resistance evolution Joel McGlothlin Department of Biological Sciences Virginia Tech https://www.mcglothlin.biol.vt.edu/ Wednesday, January 9, 2019 - 4:00pm Coverdell, S175 Seminars Read more about Building an adaptation: 300 million years of toxin resistance evolution Departmental Host or Contact: Jill Anderson
Evolution at the intersection of dietary adaptation and sex in East African cichlid fish Reade Roberts Department of Biological Sciences North Carolina State https://bio.sciences.ncsu.edu/people/rbrober2/ Wednesday, March 27, 2019 - 4:00pm Life Sciences, B118 Seminars Read more about Evolution at the intersection of dietary adaptation and sex in East African cichlid fish Departmental Host or Contact: Michael White
Centromere organization and evolution in Drosophila Amanda Larracuente Department of Biology University of Rochester http://blogs.rochester.edu/larracuente/home-2/ Wednesday, April 17, 2019 - 4:00pm Life Sciences, B118 Seminars Read more about Centromere organization and evolution in Drosophila Departmental Host or Contact: Kelly Dyer
Genetic and Epigenetic Bases for Polyploidy and Hybrid Vigor Jeff Chen Department of Molecular Biosciences University of Texas https://polyploidy.biosci.utexas.edu/ Wednesday, September 26, 2018 - 4:00pm Coverdell, S175 Seminars Read more about Genetic and Epigenetic Bases for Polyploidy and Hybrid Vigor Departmental Host or Contact: Jeffrey Bennetzen
Molecular insights into Hedgehog signaling pathway Xiaochun Li Molecular Genetics / Biophysics University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center https://profiles.utsouthwestern.edu/profile/171926/xiaochun-li.html Wednesday, September 19, 2018 - 4:00pm Coverdell, S175 Seminars Read more about Molecular insights into Hedgehog signaling pathway Departmental Host or Contact: Pengpeng BI
Patterning Morphogenesis via the Planar Cell Polarity Pathway Danelle Devenport Department of Molecular Biology Princeton University https://scholar.princeton.edu/devenportlab/people/danelle-devenport Wednesday, November 28, 2018 - 4:00pm Coverdell, S175 Seminars Read more about Patterning Morphogenesis via the Planar Cell Polarity Pathway Departmental Host or Contact: Jonathan Eggenschwiler
Guardians of the Germline: apoptosis and transposon regulation in developing germ cells Diana Laird Ob/Gyn, Reproductive Sciences University of California San Francisco https://lairdlab.ucsf.edu/ Wednesday, January 30, 2019 - 4:00pm Life Sciences, B118 Seminars Read more about Guardians of the Germline: apoptosis and transposon regulation in developing germ cells Departmental Host or Contact: Jonathan Eggenschwiler
Control of muscle development and regeneration by the fusogenic micropeptide Myomixer Center for Molecular Medicine & Department of Genetics University of Georgia Wednesday, October 10, 2018 - 4:00pm Coverdell, S175 Seminars Read more about Control of muscle development and regeneration by the fusogenic micropeptide Myomixer Departmental Host or Contact: Nancy Manley
Pengpeng BI Assistant Professor Positions Held 05/2015–05/2016 Postdoc Purdue University 05/2016–07/2018 Postdoc University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center 08/2018–Assistant Professor, Department of Genetics, Center for Molecular Medicine, University of Georgia Accomplishments Among several seminal discoveries, we found that 1) Notch signaling is one of the few pathways that actively enforces the quiescence of muscle stem cells; 2) the context-dependent and versatile function of Notch signaling along multiple stages of myogenesis; 3) Notch activity improves myotube’s function as a niche for muscle stem cells; 4) Notch signaling and miR-133 are key regulators of adipocyte plasticity and energy metabolism; 5) discovered the oncogenic function of Notch signaling in driving liposarcoma development and created the first tissue-specific mouse model of liposarcoma by activating Notch signaling in mature adipocytes; 6) discovered the micropeptide myomixer in mouse and zebrafish that is indispensable for myoblast fusion and muscle formation; 7) discovered a family of myomixer genes in lower vertebrate species that control myoblast fusion. Collectively, these studies were reported at least 15 times by media outlets including Science Daily and R&D. In addition, these works were cited 900+ times though several papers were just published recently. Awards: 2012 W.R. Featherston Early Graduate Career Award, Purdue University 2014 W.R. Featherston Outstanding Ph.D. Award, Purdue University 2015 Outstanding Ph.D. Award for Students Abroad, Chinese Government 2017 Distinguished Reviewer Award, Diabetes, American Diabetes Association 2017 Travel Award, Postdoctoral Association, UT Southwestern Medical Center Professional Memberships and Association 2017 – Present American Society for Cell Biology 2018 – 2021 Editorial Board, Diabetes, American Diabetes Association Education Education: B.S. 2010 Ocean University of China Ph.D. 2015 Purdue University Research Research Areas: Developmental Biology Genomics and Bioinformatics Molecular Genetics Research Interests: We are interested in the molecular control of myogenesis. Skeletal muscle is the largest tissue in human body. Its formation requires the activation and expansion of muscle stem cells, and subsequent differentiation, fusion and maturation of their progenies. Understanding the mechanisms that drive these cellular events is not only essential to unravel the molecular basis of skeletal muscle diseases, but also will provide a roadmap for improving skeletal muscle function, for example exercise performance. We utilize the versatile genetic mouse models and cell culture approaches to understand the molecular regulation of muscle development and regeneration, and explore the translation value of our discoveries toward better therapeutics of muscle diseases. Selected Publications Selected Publications: Bi P, McAnally JR, Shelton JM, Sánchez-Ortiz E, Bassel-Duby R and Olson EN. The fusogenic micropeptide Myomixer is essential for satellite cell fusion and muscle regeneration. PNAS. 2018; 115(15):3864-3869. Shi J*, Bi P*, Pei J, Li H, Grishin NV, Bassel-Duby R, Chen EH, Olson EN. Requirement of the fusogenic micropeptide myomixer for muscle formation in zebrafish. PNAS. 2017; 114(45):11950-11955. *Equal Contributions. Bi P, Ramirez-Martinez A, Li H, Cannavino J, McAnally JR, Shelton JM, Sánchez-Ortiz E, Bassel-Duby R, Olson EN. Control of muscle formation by the fusogenic micropeptide myomixer. Science. 2017; 356(6335):323-327. Bi P, Yue F, Karki A, Castro B, Wirbisky SE, Wang C, Durkes A, Elzey BD, Andrisani OM, Bidwell CA, Freeman JL, Konieczny SF, Kuang S. Notch activation drives adipocyte dedifferentiation and tumorigenic transformation in mice. J Exp Med. 2016; 213(10):2019-37. First and corresponding author. Bi P*, Yue F*, Sato Y, Wirbisky S, Liu W, Shan T, Wen Y, Zhou D, Freeman J, Kuang S. Stage-specific effects of Notch activation during skeletal myogenesis. eLife. 2016; e1735 *Equal Contributions. Bi P, Shan T, Liu W, Yue F, Yang X, Liang XR, Wang J, Li J, Carlesso N, Liu X, Kuang S. Inhibition of Notch signaling promotes browning of white adipose tissue and ameliorates obesity. Nat Med. 2014. 20(8):911-918. Liu W*, Bi P*, Shan T, Yang X, Yin H, Wang YX, Liu N, Rudnicki MA, Kuang S. miR-133a regulates adipocyte browning in vivo. PLoS Genet. 2013; 9(7):e1003626. *Equal Contributions. Bi P, Kuang S. Notch signaling as a novel regulator of metabolism. Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2015; 26(5):248-55. First and corresponding author. Invited review. Bi P, Kuang S. Meat Science and Muscle Biology Symposium: stem cell niche and postnatal muscle growth. J Anim Sci. 2012; 90(3):924-35. Invited review. Read more about Pengpeng BI
Human genetic polymorphisms, alternative transcripts, and fatty acid nutrition Tom Brenna Department of Pediatrics, Dell Medical School University of Texas https://dellmed.utexas.edu/directory/tom-brenna Wednesday, October 24, 2018 - 4:00pm Coverdell, S175 Seminars Fatty acid nutrition is a major determinant for the predisposition to health, and acute and chronic disease. Human populations fall into a continuum between the extremes of those subsisting on exclusively terrestrial plant foods ("vegans") and those consuming exclusively meat and seafood. While all mammals exclusively subsist on an animal food from birth, milk, dietary niches drive metabolic and hence genetic differences between humans just as they drive differences in vegan terrestrial animals (e.g. rabbits) and nearly exclusive carnivores (e.g. cats). We discovered a human genetic polymorphism, an indel, in the FADS (fatty acid desaturase) gene cluster that determines the circulating levels of the major signaling precursors, arachidonic acid, in free-living humans, as well as all polyunsaturates along the downstream and upstream biochemical pathways. FADS alternative transcripts control fatty acid abundance, and abnormal fatty acid structures are found in some cancers. Genetic variation in endogenous fatty acid metabolism and its interaction with diet interact to yield personal dietary requirements for proper development and healthy aging. Read more about Human genetic polymorphisms, alternative transcripts, and fatty acid nutrition Departmental Host or Contact: Kaixiong (Calvin) Ye