Journey from clinic to laboratory

Huda Zoghbi to present her research findings in three cities

Huda Zoghbi

In her three-city lecture series titled, ‘A Journey from the Clinic to the Laboratory,’ paediatric neuroscientist Huda Zoghbi will present her path-breaking research findings on neurological disease and their implications on treatments for disorders such as autism and Parkinson’s disease, as part of the Cell Press-TNQ India Distinguished Lectureship Series 2014 next week.

Prof. Zoghbi, who started out as a neurological paediatrician, moved on to research following her encounters with children suffering rare neurological disorders. She is currently Professor of Paediatrics, Neurology, Molecular and Human Genetics and Neuroscience, at the Baylor College of Medicine and Director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Texas, U.S.).

Discovery of the gene ‘Math 1’

Her investigations have provided vital insights into genetic and molecular mechanisms of neurological disorders such as Rett syndrome, Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 1 and Huntington Disease. Prof. Zoghbi’s work in neurodevelopment led to the discovery of the gene ‘Math 1,’ which governs the development of several components of the proprioceptive, balance, hearing, and vestibular pathways, and is critical for the central regulation of respiratory rhythm.

She is a recipient of the 2013 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize, the 2013 Dickson Prize in Medicine, and the 2011 Gruber Prize in Neuroscience.

The series of open lectures will be held in Bangalore on Monday, 4.30 pm, at the JN Tata Auditorium, Indian Institute of Science; in Chennai on Wednesday 4.30 pm, at the Music Academy, Royapettah and in New Delhi on Friday 4.30 pm, at the Teen Murti Auditorium, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.

The Cell Press-TNQ India Distinguished Lectureship Series, co-sponsored by Cell Press and TNQ Books and Journals, is aimed at bringing internationally renowned scientists face to face with the Indian scientific community.

Earlier speakers

Speakers featured previously as part of the series were Nobel winners David Baltimore, whose key contributions have been to immunology, cancer research and recombinant DNA research; Elizabeth Blackburn, who explored the telomere and its link with aging, and Shinya Yamanaka whose specialisation is stem cell research.