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Harvard professor to present final lecture in 'New Frontiers' series

Apr 4, 2014 | Applied and Natural Sciences, Engineering and Science, Research and Development

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Dr. Konrad Hochedlinger, professor of stem cell and regenerative biology at Harvard University and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, will present a lecture titled “Understanding Cellular Reprogramming and Pluripotency” at 4:00 p.m. April 14 in University Hall on the campus of Louisiana Tech University.

Dr. Konrad Hochedlinger

Dr. Konrad Hochedlinger

Hochedlinger’s presentation will be the final session in Louisiana Tech’s year-long “New Frontiers in Biomedical Research” series and is sponsored by the College of Applied and Natural Sciences and its School of Biological Sciences.  Throughout the year, the series has brought top researchers to Louisiana Tech to help build the university’s research programs and collaborative research networks.

The presentation is free and members of the campus and local communities are cordially invited to attend.

“The New Frontiers in Biomedical Research seminar series this year has provided our faculty, students, and the community with exceptional opportunities to hear updates on a range of important topics from national and international experts,” said Dr. Bill Campbell, associate dean for research and professor of biological sciences in Louisiana Tech’s College of Applied and Natural Sciences.  “We are very excited to welcome Dr. Hochedlinger to Tech’s campus to deliver the concluding seminar in this series.  Dr. Hochedlinger is an internationally recognized scientist whose research focuses on the biology of stem cells, and the importance they have in biomedical applications.”

Hochedlinger has been at the cutting edge of research in the area of stem cell biology since he began his academic career at the Whitehead Institute at MIT, as a graduate student working with Dr. Rudolph Jaenisch.  Since completing his Ph.D. in 2003 and a postdoc in 2006, Hochedlinger has been quickly promoted at Harvard University, achieving the ranking of full professor in 2012.  Along the way, he has received some of the most prestigious awards for young researchers, including the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Early Career Scientist Award.

Hochedlinger’s work focuses on understanding stem cell self-renewal and differentiation with a particular interest in the biology of embryonic stem cells and the generate of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).  iPSCs are at the forefront of research related to personalized medicine and their characterization is fundamental to their success as a future therapeutic for a number of degenerative diseases.  Hochedlinger’s work has been published in some of science’s most prestigious journals including Science, Nature, and Cell.

“By interacting with leaders in biological research and biomedical engineering, the seminar series has continued to highlight and increase Louisiana Tech’s impacts on science through everyday advances in technology and through new discoveries that expand the knowledge of biology and the treatment of human disease,” said Dr. Jaime Newman, assistant professor of biological sciences at Louisiana Tech and coordinator of the seminar series.

Seminars during the “New Frontiers in Biomedical Research” series have been sponsored by the Lincoln Health Foundation, ADVANCE Faculty Program, Louisiana Tech’s College of Engineering and Science and its Center for Biomedical Engineering and Rehabilitation Science (CBERS), and the College of Applied and Natural Sciences and its School of Biological Sciences.

To register for the free event, please visit http://coes.latech.edu/about-the-college/events.php and click the “Register to Attend” link.