Alex K. Shalek, PhD
Pfizer-Laubach Career Development Associate Professor
Institute for Medical Engineering & Science
Department of Chemistry and Koch Institute
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract: While several methods exist for sampling tissues in clinical contexts, without high-fidelity tools for comprehensively profiling them, we are both limited in our capacity to understand how constituent cells and their interactions impact prognosis, and to select and develop precision therapeutics. Recent years have witnessed transformative and intersecting advances in nanofabrication and molecular biology that now enable deep profiling of low-input samples. Collectively, these afford new and exciting opportunities to study cellular heterogeneity, starting from the level of the single cell, and may unlock the diagnostic, prognostic, and discovery potential of clinical isolates. Illustratively, I will introduce how we can leverage single-cell genomic approaches – and, in particular, single-cell RNA-Seq – to explore the extensive functional diversity between cells, uncovering, from the “bottom-up,” distinct cell states and their molecular drivers. Moreover, I will discuss high-throughput experimental strategies and demonstrate, in the context of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, how they can be leveraged to achieve the statistical power necessary to reconstruct intracellular circuits, enumerate and redefine cell states and types, and transform our understanding of cellular decision-making in health and disease on a genomic scale.
Bio: Alex K. Shalek is currently the Pfizer-Laubach Career Development Associate Professor at MIT, as well as a Core Member of the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES), an Associate Professor of Chemistry, and an Extramural Member of The Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. He is also an Institute Member of the Broad Institute, an Associate Member of the Ragon Institute, an Assistant in Immunology at MGH, and an Instructor in Health Sciences and Technology at HMS. His research is directed towards the development and application of new technologies that facilitate understanding of how cells collectively perform systems-level functions in healthy and diseased states. Dr. Shalek received his bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Columbia University and his Ph.D. from Harvard University in chemical physics under the guidance of Hongkun Park, and performed postdoctoral training under Hongkun Park and Aviv Regev (Broad/MIT). To date, his interdisciplinary research has focused on realizing and utilizing nanoscale manipulation and measurement technologies to examine how small components (molecules, cells) drive systems of vast complexity (cellular responses, population behaviors).
Abstract: Gene editing with CRISPR technology is transforming biology. Understanding the underlying chemical mechanisms of RNA-guided DNA and RNA cleavage provides a foundation for both conceptual advances and technology development. I will discuss how bacterial CRISPR adaptive immune systems inspire creation of powerful genome editing tools, enabling advances in both fundamental biology and applications in medicine. I will also discuss the ethical challenges of some of these applications with a focus on what our decisions now might mean for future generations.
About: MIPS IMAGinING THE FUTURE seminar series is aimed at catalyzing interdisciplinary discussions in all area of medicine and disease. The seminar series is open and free to everyone in the Stanford community, as well as anyone from the surrounding community, companies or institutions. Our next seminar will host Dr. Jennifer Doudna, Professor of Chemistry, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, &Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Professor in Biomedical and Health, University of California, Berkeley; for her presentation on the “World of CRISPR: Editing Genomes and Altering Our Future”.
More Information: http://med.stanford.edu/radiology/imagining-the-future.html
Register: https://www.onlineregistrationcenter.com/JenniferDoudna
Please note this seminar is now cancelled and will be rescheduled for a future date. Please contact Ashley Williams (ashleylw@stanford.edu) with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your understanding!
IMAGinING THE FUTURE: “Journey Through Academia, Government and Industry: Lessons Learned”
Elias Zerhouni, M.D.
Professor Emeritus
John Hopkins University
Dear WMIS trainees, colleagues and friends,
We welcome you to join our upcoming virtual WMIS – Stanford Diversity conference on September 9-11, 2020. We are coming together to reinforce our commitment to diversity and to provide a forum for our team members to engage in meaningful discussions. The conference will provide keynote lectures, scientific presentations and educational lectures from leaders and pioneers in the field, who will discuss important topics related to racial justice, women in STEM and Global Health. We are also offering breakout sessions whereby carefully selected individuals will facilitate a discussion about how to implement more supportive and inclusive practices into our daily professional and personal life. The breakout sessions are designed to enable active involvement of smaller groups where people feel safe to discuss current challenges in the STEM field and actionable solutions.
This conference is free of charge and will provide 9.5 CME credits. Abstracts of all conference presentations and a summary of discussion points and insights provided by all conference participants will be published in Molecular Imaging & Biology. The organizing committee will provide 10 trainee prizes in the form of free WMIS memberships to conference attendants for the 2021 WMIC in Miami.
Website: https://www.wmislive.org
Radiology Department-Wide Research Meeting
• Curt Langlotz, MD, PhD: Overview of the AIMI Center
• Brian Hargreaves, PhD: Research Details from Town Hall, Q&A, and COVID19 Updates
Location: Zoom – Details can be found here: https://radresearch.stanford.edu
Meetings will be the 3rd Friday of each month.
Hosted by: Brian Hargreaves, PhD
Sponsored by: the the Department of Radiology
Radiology Department-Wide Research Meeting
Location: Zoom – Details can be found here: https://radresearch.stanford.edu
Meetings will be the 3rd Friday of each month.
February 19 Speakers:
Bruce Daniel, MD – Center Overview: IMMERS
Jennifer McNab, PhD – Encoding and Decoding Diffusion MRI
Hosted by: Brian Hargreaves, PhD
Sponsored by: the the Department of Radiology