[CCoE Notice] Lecture: Protein Folding, Link between Misfolding and Diseases and Role of Molecular Chaperones

[Lewis, Lindsay R]

The 2012 El Paso Corporation Lecture Series
Protein Folding, Link between
Misfolding and Diseases and Role of
Molecular Chaperones
Professor Devarajan Thirumalai
Institute for Physical Science and Technology
University of Maryland
5:00-6:30pm April 25th, 2012 (Wednesday)
Refreshment starts at 4:30pm
Science and Research Building 1, Room 634
University of Houston
4800 Calhoun Road, Houston, Texas
Free and open to the public

Proteins are workhorses in almost all cellular functions.
To carry out multitude of tasks proteins have to fold in
a finite time. Nature utilizes elaborate machinery to
ensure that after synthesis proteins fold, execute their
functions, and are then degraded. Despite the evolution
of these checkpoints proteins sometimes misfold and
aggregate. Protein aggregation is linked to a number of
neurodegenerative diseases. Popular examples are mad
cow disease and Alzheimer's disease. How do proteins
fold to avoid aggregating most of the time? If they tend
to misfold they are rescued by molecular chaperones.
How does molecular chaperone, a biological machine,
function? I will describe theoretical concepts that
provide a framework for answering these questions.

Professor Thirumalai is a Distinguished University Professor and the Founding Director of the Biophysics
Program at the University of Maryland. His current research interests focus on soft matter science, biophysics,
and condensed matter science. His research on "Topics in Protein Folding and Dynamics" has been funded by the
National Science Foundation since 1986. One of his research topics on amyloid aggregates associated with
neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's, has greatly impacted the biomedical science community.

Sponsored by The University of Houston College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and the Department of Physics.
Hosted by Dr. Margaret Cheung (713-743-8358)
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