RNA Binding Networks in Development and Disease

Guest Speaker: Gene Yeo, M.D., UC San Diego Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine Date: February 11th, 2010 Time: 11:00am-Noon Location: Fung Auditorium, Powell-Focht Bioengineering Hall, UC San Diego

DESCRIPTION/ABSTRACT: RNA binding proteins are key players in the post-transcriptional regulation of RNAs in a variety of cellular processes, and are implicated in many human diseases.  However very little is known about the endogenous RNA targets of RNA binding proteins.  I will present our work on the generation of RNA binding protein-RNA maps in human stem cells, model organisms and neurodegenerative diseases. This seminar is part of the Frontiers in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Colloquium oranged by the UCSD Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Graduate Program, and Calit2's Center for Algorithmic and Systems Biology (CASB). SPEAKER BIO: Gene Yeo received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering and B.A. in Economics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 1998 before returning to Singapore to serve in the military as a Naval Officer until 2000. In 2001, Gene returned to the United States for graduate school, and completed his Ph.D. in Computational Neuroscience in 2004 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the guidance of Dr. Tomaso Poggio and Dr. Christopher Burge.  Using comparative genomics and statistical learning theory Gene had pioneered new computational approaches to attack the problem of splicing and splicing-mediated regulation. In 2005 Gene was appointed the first Junior Fellow at the Crick-Jacobs Center at the Salk Institute under the mentorship of Dr. Fred Gage and Dr. Sean Eddy.  Gene’s work as a Fellow encompassed neurogenesis with Dr. Fred Gage; small RNA biology in stem cells in collaboration with Dr Phillip Sharp and in planarians in collaboration with Dr. Brent Graveley; alternative splicing and RNA binding protein-RNA interaction maps in stem cells; and new molecular and analysis tools in conjunction with high-throughput sequencing with Dr Xiang-dong Fu.  In Oct 2008, Gene was appointed an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, UCSD.  Currently, Gene’s research is focused on (i) the roles of RNA binding proteins in human genetic and infectious diseases, (ii) microRNA pathways in the specification of pluripotency and fate choice, (iii) the systematic elucidation of RNA binding protein-RNA maps in cancer cells, and (iv) engineering approaches to stem cell fate choices. Website: http://yeolab.ucsd.edu/yeolab/Home.html