Living cells are in constant motion. They move around,
change shape, divide and merge. Inside, a host of molecules
carry out their own complex movements in the name of the
cell. The proper orchestration of these cell and molecule
movements is critical for cell survival and function.
Activities including cell division, the relaying of nerve
impulses and pathogen discovery rely on the careful timing
and control of dynamic biochemical reactions within cells.
Tens of thousands of these events occur in living cells
every second, and new technologies are starting to show us
how, when and where these events occur.
The newly established Center for Cell Dynamics in
Development and Disease at Johns Hopkins brings together
experts across many disciplines to advance our
understanding of the control of biochemical reactions in
real time and space and further the available technologies
for them to happen.
To kick off this new multidisciplinary collaboration,
the center has invited leaders in the cell dynamics field
to present their latest findings at an all-day symposium on
Wednesday, May 2. Among the topics to be discussed are the
most recent developments in "biosensors" and live cell
imaging and how these techniques have furthered our basic
understanding of cell biology and immune and nervous system
function.
The Center for Cell Dynamics Inaugural Symposium,
titled Molecules in Motion: The Art and Science of Cell
Dynamics, will be held from 8:15 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the
School of Medicine's Vernon B. Mountcastle Auditorium, East
Baltimore campus. More than 200 key scientists are expected
to attend the event to hear the following presentations:
"Dynamic Intravital
Visualization of Immune Cell Activity Using 2-photon
Microscopy." Ronald Germain, deputy chief, Laboratory of
Immunology, and head, Lymphocyte Biology Section, National
Institutes of Health.
"Quantitative Systems
Analysis of Signaling Networks Governing Cell Behavior."
Doug Lauffenburger, professor of biological engineering,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"Watching Synaptic
Competition in Fluorescent Mice." Jeff Lichtman, professor
of molecular and cellular biology, Harvard University
School of Medicine.
"Insights Into Organelle
Biogenesis and Near Molecular Protein Distribution Using
Photoactivatable Fluorescent Proteins." Jennifer
Lippincott-Schwartz, principal investigator, Cell Biology
and Metabolism, National Institutes of Health.
"Protein Architecture
and Dynamics at Kinetochores." Ted Salmon, professor of
biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
"The Dynamics of
Molecules in Endo & Exocytosis." Sanford Simon, professor
of cellular biophysics, Rockefeller University.
"Regulation of the
Cell's Dynamic City Plan and the Myosin Family of Molecular
Motors." James Spudich, professor of developmental biology,
Stanford University School of Medicine.
"Imaging Signaling in
Single Synapses." Karel Svoboda, group leader, Janelia Farm
Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
"Building Molecules to
Spy on Synaptic Plasticity and Tumors in Vivo." Roger
Tsien, professor of pharmacology, chemistry and
biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute
investigator, University of California, San Diego, School
of Medicine.
For more information about the Center for Cell
Dynamics, go to
www.hopkinsmedicine.org/ibbs/research/ccd/
index.html.
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