Speaker

Prof Lars Steinmetz, Associated Group Leader and Director of Life Science Alliance, EMBL Heidelberg, Germany | Dieter Schwarz Foundation Professor of Genetics, Stanford University, USA |Co-Director, Stanford Genome Technology Center, Stanford, USA

Lecture: 11:00 – 12:00

Please note that registration is mandatory by sending an email to siu-thinh.ho@lih.lu

Meet & Eat: 12:15 – 14:00

Abstract

My laboratories at EMBL and Stanford University aim to uncover the molecular mechanisms of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a severe disease of the heart for which no effective treatment exists. To this end, we develop novel experimental approaches to read, edit, and write entire genomes across scales. This provides unique insights into the generic basis of complex phenotypes, the mechanisms of gene regulation, and the molecular systems underpinning disease. For example, use novel single-cell technologies, such as single-cell transcriptomics and single-cell phenotyping to dissect the generic networks underlying DCM and identify targets for developing new therapies. We now begin to assign functions to every nucleotide in our genome, an approach that will transform the way we do biomedical research. This will eventually lead us to an era in which we can reliably predict disease risk from generic and environmental information alone, and develop new strategies for preventive medicine.