SBS Seminar Series 2015 - Dr Alex Shalek

Date: 18 March 2015 Time: 11.00 am

Dr Alex Shalek

Hermann L. F. Von Helmholtz Career Development Professor, Harvard-MIT Health Sciences & Technology

Using single-cell transcriptomics to explore cellular identity and uncover drivers of cellular behaviours

Diversity in the mammalian immune system is essential for protecting the host against a broad range of threats, and is most clearly evident during dynamic processes such as differentiation and antigenic response. Recent years have seen transformative and intersecting advances in nanofabrication and molecular biology that enable deep profiling of low-input samples. These advances afford new and exciting opportunities to study heterogeneity in the immune response, starting at the level of a single cell, and have the potential to fundamentally advance our understanding of immune regulation in health and disease. Illustratively, I will discuss how we can leverage single cell genomic approaches - and, in particular, single cell RNA-Seq - to explore the extensive functional diversity between immune cells, and thus uncover, from the "bottom-up", distinct cell states and their molecular drivers. I will also be highlight emerging high-throughput experimental strategies for achieving the statistical power necessary to reconstruct intracellular circuits, enumerate and redefine cell states and types, and transform our understanding of cellular decision-making on a genomic scale.

For more information about Dr Shalek, click here

For more information, please contact Dr Melanie McConnell on ext. 8136 or melanie.mcconnell@vuw.ac.nz

All undergraduates and interested parties are welcome to attend