Inaugural lecture: Professor Søren Tvorup Christensen
THE PRIMARY CILIUM: The cellular center of communication, sensation and decision making
Every cell has the capacity to sense and act in response to changes in the extracellular environment. In the human body as well as in other metazoan entities this capacity is maintained by a multitude of different cell surface receptors to control cellular processes during development and in tissue homeostasis. Recent research has shown that cellular signaling and decision making is regulated by primary cilia, which are antenna-like structures on the surface of most cell types in our body. Consequently, defects in formation or sensory function of these organelles lead to a wide variety of genetic diseases and developmental disorders, now commonly known as ciliopathies, including early embryonic death, congenital heart defects, craniofacial and skeletal patterning defects, renal and liver diseases, cognitive disorders, anosmia, obesity and tumourigenesis. In this talk I will outline our research on how signaling is coordinated by primary cilia and how this regulates cellular processes underlying proper organogenesis in tissue homeostasis.
The talk will be followed by a reception.
All are welcome!