Chemerda Lectures in Science to be Presented on 2 and 3 February

David P. Bartel, professor of biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will give the 2009 John M. Chemerda Lectures in Science from 2 to 3 February 2009 on the Penn State University Park campus. Bartel will present a public lecture titled "New Roles for Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) in Biology, Biotechnology, and Medicine" at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, 2 February, in 100 Life Sciences Building (Berg Auditorium).

Bartel also will give two specialized lectures as part of this series. The first lecture, titled "Small Regulatory RNAs in Plants and Animals," will take place at 12:00 p.m. on 3 February in 102 Chemistry Building. The second lecture, titled "MicroRNA Target Recognition and Regulatory Functions in Mammals," will take place at 4:00 p.m. on 3 February in 101 Althouse Laboratory. The lectures are sponsored by the Penn State Eberly College of Science.

Bartel has made major contributions toward understanding the roles that ribonucleic acid (RNA) plays within contemporary organisms, as well as the roles that RNA may have played in the early evolution of life. His lab was among the first to report the existence of hundreds of tiny RNAs, known as microRNAs, which regulate gene expression in animal and plant cells. While searching for additional microRNAs, Bartel has discovered and analyzed several other types of small regulatory RNAs in multiple plant and animal species.

In the past few years, Bartel and his colleagues also have developed the methodology needed to identify the genes that are regulated by specific microRNAs. Among other findings, their analyses indicate that microRNAs influence the expression and evolution of most protein-coding genes in humans and other mammals. Bartel's experiments have made major contributions toward understanding the molecular consequences and biological roles of microRNAs, including how microRNAs contribute to plant development and how the interaction between a human microRNA and one of its regulatory targets can help to prevent human cancers.

In addition to his position as professor of biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Bartel is an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. He is a co-recipient of the 2002 American Academy of Arts and Sciences Newcomb Cleveland Prize and a recipient of the 2005 Fondation Louis D. award from the Institut de France Grand Prix Scientifique and the 2005 National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology. He earned a Ph.D. degree at Harvard University.

The John M. Chemerda Lectures in Science are named in honor of John M. Chemerda, a member of the Penn State Class of 1935. For more information or access assistance, contact the Department of Biology at (814) 863-8019.

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