Please join us for our second guest speaker in our Women in Cancer Research Fall Mini Seminar Series, Aikaterini Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos, and her talk, “Giant Obscurins: Novel Tumor and Metastasis Suppressors in Breast Epithelial Cells.”
Abstract: Obscurins, encoded by the single OBSCN gene, are giant (720-860 kDa) cytoskeletal proteins with scaffolding and regulatory roles. The OBSCN gene is highly mutated and/or epigenetically modified in multiple types of cancer, including breast cancer. Consistent with this, Kaplan-Meier-Plotter data sets have indicated that low OBSCN levels correlate with significantly reduced survival and relapse-free survival in breast cancer patients. Our research focuses on interrogating the impact of obscurins’ loss from normal breast epithelial cells, the delineation of the molecular alterations that take place downstream of obscurins’ loss, and the development of novel and effective ways to restore obscurin expression and/or functionality.
Biography: Aikaterini Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos research focuses on the elucidation of the roles of cytoskeletal and membrane-associated proteins as structural and signaling mediators. Using the muscle and epithelial cell as model systems, my laboratory has pioneered the molecular and functional characterization of the obscurin subfamily and its binding partner Myosin Binding Protein-C slow in health and disease.
In 2007, she joined the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine as Assistant Professor in the tenure track. Using the muscle and epithelial cell as model systems, her laboratory has pioneered the molecular and functional characterization of major cytoskeletal and membrane-associated proteins as structural and signaling mediators in health and disease.
From Polymers to DNA: Self-Assembled Nanomaterials that Target Cancer
Self-assembly of polymers or biological molecules is an attractive method for engineering supramolecular biomaterials for biomedical applications. Kokkoli’s research focuses on the design and characterization of novel amphiphilic molecules that have the tendency to self-assemble spontaneously in different structures in water. She will discuss two examples, the design and characterization of a new thermosensitive and biodegradable polymer that can be used for the local delivery of targeted nanoparticles or different therapeutics, and the assembly of ssDNA-amphiphiles into nanotubes used to target glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), in vitro and in vivo in an orthotopic mouse model of GBM, in the absence of any targeting moiety.
Efie Kokkoli, a targeted drug delivery specialist, is a professor in the Chemical and Biomolecular Department at the Whiting School of Engineering. Her research focuses on the areas of DNA nanotechnology, multi-targeted gene and drug delivery, and the design of biopolymers and responsive hydrogels. With the goal of directing nanoparticles capable of carrying cancer drugs to tumor sites while sparing non-cancerous areas, her group concentrates on designing biomaterials ranging from polymeric nanoparticles to DNA nanotubes that respond best under certain conditions, like temperature or pH, and have specificity for cancer cells.
The INBT and PS-OC is encouraging the community to participate in the Vernon Rice Memorial Turkey Program, which supports Baltimore families. For every $25 raised, a basket with a fresh turkey and vegetables from a local farm will be provided to a family in need. Learn more about Vernon Rice, the program, and how to donate.
Donations for the Thanksgiving holiday are due November 13, 2020. Donations for the December holidays are due December 11, 2020.
20th Annual William Wallace Scott Sr. Memorial Lectureship. Collaborating Across Disciplines for Prostate Cancer Discover and Translation with Elizabeth A. Platz, ScD, MPH
Elizabeth A. Platz, ScD, MPH Professor and Martin D. Abeloff, MD Scholar in Cancer Prevention, Professor of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg, School of Public Health, Department of Urology, and the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Center at Johns Hopkins will be delivery the 20th Annual William Wallace Scott Sr. Memorial Lectureship. The title of her presentation is Collaborating across disciplines for prostate cancer discovery and translation.
View the flyer here.
Agenda
2:00 pm – 2:04 pm Welcoming remarks: Shawn Lupold, Ph.D.
2:04 pm – 2:05 pm Introduction of Speaker: Kenneth J. Pienta, M.D.
2:05 pm – 3:15 pm 20th Annual William Wallace Scott Memorial Lectureship: Collaborating across disciplines for prostate cancer discovery and translation. Elizabeth A. Platz, ScD, M.P.H.
3:15 pm Meeting Adjourned
Zoom Meeting information
https://jhjhm.zoom.us/j/92629057963?pwd=amE5Q1doaGl3bUwzWkhnUjZ2WjJxdz09
Meeting ID: 926 2905 7963
Passcode: 446732
Join other women researchers for a discussion on the challenges women in STEM experience, and how to overcome them. Share your experiences, network, and learn from one another.
This is your chance to asked established women researchers questions you always wanted to ask in a safe and non-judgemental atmosphere. Claire Hur, Daniele Gilkes, and Karen Eisinger will share their experiences, advice, and challenges facing women in STEM. Come with question or listen to the discussion.
About the speakers
- Soojung Claire Hur is the Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and associate faculty member at the INBT.
- Daniele Gilkes is an assistant professor in the Oncology Department, under the Breast and Ovarian Cancer Program, at Johns Hopkins. She is also an associate faculty member at the INBT and a researcher at the Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences-Oncology Center.
- Tzipora Sarah Karin Eisinger is the Ann B. Young Assistant Professor in Cancer Research University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. She is also a researcher in the Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences-Oncology Center.
Registration
Register for the event on Eventbrite. Registration closes 11/17/2020 at 4:30 pm. A Zoom link and passcode will be emailed to registrants the day before the event. Anonymous questions, comments, and experiences can be submitted prior to the event.
