April 21 @ 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
The annual Michael Smith Distinguished Lecture is organized in partnership between the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Michael Smith Laboratories. This event honours Nobel Laureate Dr. Michael Smith, whose academic career was deeply rooted at UBC and where his legacy continues to inspires young generations of scientists. The first Michael Smith Distinguished Lecture was held in 2005. Since then, many prestigious researchers have been invited to UBC to share their research with eager students, faculty, and staff.
Speaker: Dr. Sarah Teichmann
Chair in Stem Cell Medicine – Department of Medicine & Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge
Talk title: Mapping the Human Body One Cell at a Time
Abstract: The 37 trillion cells of the human body have a remarkable array of specialised functions and must cooperate in time and space to construct a functioning human. Harnessing cutting edge single cell and spatial genomics, my lab has been attempting to understand this cellular diversity and in particular how distinct tissue microenvironments regulate cell identity. Our spatial atlas of the adult human heart includes the first comprehensive map of the conduction system, and we harnessed the unique molecular signature of the very rare pacemaker cells to make predictions about potential drug activities. Moving from the single organ to the systems level, we revealed the context-specific and context-agnostic features of the vasculature across the body. Finally, we have taken cell atlases into 3D and 4D with our thymus atlases. Studying thymus development uncovered the rules of T cell identity, which we then harnessed in the dish to engineer T cells from thymic organoids. We also used advanced spatial and computational methods to map T cell development to a continuous tissue axis, identifying the key spatial and temporal features of this crucial developmental trajectory.
The lecture will be presented in a hybrid format. The in person talk will be hosted in the Michael Smith Laboratories lecture theatre (room 102). If MSL 102 is full, MSL 101 will be set up as an overflow space with a live stream of the lecture. Audience members are welcome to attend either in person or via the Zoom link. Those connecting via Zoom and the overflow space will be able to ask questions during the Q&A session using the chat function.
Zoom registration: https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/mxP075FdT-eZ2RG7XEJnjw
Hosted by: Dr. Martin Hirst
Co-presented by: The Michael Smith Laboratories and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology