Genome Sciences Seminar Wednesday, 3.1.17 | 3:30

Genome Sciences Seminar Wednesday, 3.1.17 | 3:30 | Foege Auditorium Dr. Laura Landweber Profesessor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics and Biological Sciences, Columbia University http://biology.columbia.edu/people/landweber “RNA‐guided Large‐Scale Genome Rearrangement in the Ciliate Oxytricha” Landweber Lab: I study the origin of novel genetic systems in microbial eukaryotes, bringing a strongly mechanistic approach to understanding evolution and genome diversity. My lab has shown that the surprisingly sophisticated variations on DNA and RNA processing in microbial eukaryotes create an imaginative playground for genome architecture and genetic systems. Some of their pathways erode the notions of a gene (e.g. scrambled genes and RNA editing) and even Mendelian inheritance, reminding us that a genome sequence can be a far cry from knowledge of its products. Genome‐wide DNA rearrangements occur in diverse organisms, and contribute to many human diseases, but their extreme exaggeration in ciliates, particularly Oxytricha, makes it an ideal model system to study epigenetic phenomena. My laboratory is currently focused on the mechanism and evolutionary origin of this remarkable RNA‐mediated process in Oxytricha. Refreshments served outside the Auditorium at 3:20pm Questions? Contact Brian Giebel at [email protected] or visit the Seminar website at http://www.gs.washington.edu/news/seminars.htm The University of Washington is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodations in its services, programs, activities, education and employment of individuals with disabilities. To request disability accommodations contact the Disability Services Office at least ten days in advance at: 206.543.6450/V,206.543.6452/TTY, 206.685.7264 (FAX), or e‐mail at [email protected].

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GENOME BIOLOGY and EVOLUTION (Online ISSN 1759-6653)
GENOME BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION (Online ISSN 1759-6653) Founding Editor: Takashi Gojobori Editor-in-Chief: William Martin Editorial Assistant: Alison Bentley Editorial Board Names and full contact details for members of the editorial board are available at: www.oxfordjournals.org/our_journals/gbe/editorial_board.html. Information for Authors Information on preparing and submitting manuscripts and a Manuscript Submission Checklist are available at www.oxfordjournals.org/our_journals/gbe/for_authors/. SOCIETY FOR MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION www.smbe.org COUNCIL Michael Lynch, President Department of Biology, Indiana University, 1001 E. Third Street, Bloomington, IN 47405 USA. E-mail: [email protected]. Jody Hey, President-Elect Department of Genetics, Rutgers University, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA. E-mail: [email protected]. Paul Sharp, Past President Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Ashworth Laboratories, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT UK. E-mail: [email protected]. Jianzhi George Zhang, Secretary Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 1075 Kraus Natural Science Building, 830 N. University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048 USA. E-mail: [email protected]. John Archibald, Treasurer Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 1X5 Canada. E-mail: [email protected]. Laura Landweber, Councillor (2007–2009) Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544-1003 USA. E-mail: lﬂ@princeton.edu. Ziheng Yang, Councillor (2008–2010) Department of Biology, University College London, Darwin Building, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK. E-mail: [email protected]. Dan Graur, Councillor (2009–2011) Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204-5001 USA.
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The Lamarckian Chicken and the Darwinian Egg Yitzhak Pilpel1* and Oded Rechavi2*
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Laura Landweber
Laura Landweber Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics (212) 305-3898 Department of Biological Sciences [email protected] th Columbia University 701 W 168 St, New York, NY 10032 FIELD OF SPECIALIZATION Molecular evolution and RNA-mediated epigenetic inheritance. EDUCATION Princeton University, A.B. in Molecular Biology, summa cum laude, June, 1989. Harvard University, M.A. in Biology, November, 1991. Harvard University, Ph.D. in Biology from the Department of Cellular and Developmental Biology, June, 1993. Topic of doctoral dissertation: “RNA editing and the evolution of mitochondrial DNA in kinetoplastid protozoa.” (Graduate advisors: Walter Gilbert and Richard Lewontin) POSITIONS HELD Columbia University, Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics and of Biological Sciences, July 2016 – present. Princeton University, Professor, July 2009 – June 2016. Princeton University, Visiting Senior Research Scholar, July 2016 – present. Columbia University, Visiting Professor, May 2015– June 2016. Princeton University, Associate Professor with Tenure, July 2001 – 2009. California Institute of Technology, Visiting Associate in Chemical Engineering, Sept. 2001 – Jan. 2002. Princeton University, Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB), 1994 – 2001. Princeton University, Associate Faculty, Department of Molecular Biology (Mol), 1994 – 2016. Harvard University, Junior Fellow of the Society of Fellows, 1993 – 1994. Massachusetts General Hospital, Assistant in Molecular Biology, 1993 – 1994 (sponsor: Jack Szostak). Harvard University, Parker Graduate Fellow in Cellular and Developmental Biology, 1992 – 1993. Harvard University, Teaching Fellow (year long tutorial) and Resident Tutor, Eliot House, 1991 – 1992. HONORS & AWARDS President, Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution, 2016 (SMBE Council 2016-2018). Division R Lecturer, American Society of Microbiology, 2014. Guggenheim Fellow, 2012. The New York Academy of Sciences, 2008 Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists.
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Russian Doll Genes and Complex Chromosome Rearrangements in Oxytricha Trifallax
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