School of Biomedical Sciences is pleased to invite you to join the following seminar:

Date: 23 November 2023 (Thursday)
Time: 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Venue: Lecture Theatre 3, G/F, William M.W. Mong Block, 21 Sassoon Road

Speaker: Professor Guojun Sheng, International Research Center for Medical Sciences (IRCMS); Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University
Talk Title: Gastrulation and mesoderm differentiation in birds

Biography

Professor Sheng obtained his Ph.D. in developmental genetics from the Rockefeller University in 1997, under the supervision of Professor Claude Desplan. He received his postdoctoral training in molecular embryology in the laboratory of Professor Claudio Stern at Columbia University and University College London. Before joining the IRCMS in late 2015, Professor Sheng had directed the Laboratory for Early Embryogenesis at RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology (CDB) in Kobe, Japan. Professor Sheng is currently a Professor at the IRCMS and the Graduate School of Medical Sciences in Kumamoto University. His laboratory uses the avian animal model and studies cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating cell fate changes during early embryonic development. His research focuses on epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and mesoderm cell differentiation.

Abstract
My lab is interested in understanding how pluripotent epiblast cells differentiate into three germ layers (the ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm) with spatial and temporal coordination. In this talk, I will use the chick model and discuss about the ontogeny of primitive streak, traditionally viewed as the main morphogenetic manifestation of gastrulation in amniotic vertebrates. I will provide evidence that the primitive streak is not an essential morphogenetic feature for gastrulation to proceed either in vivo or ex vivo. I will also talked about molecular, cellular and evo-devo mechanisms regulating the differentiation of post-gastrulation mesoderm into several extraembryonic lineages, including the blood and endothelial cells covering the yolk sac endoderm and the mesothelial cells associated with the allantois and chorion. Implications of our findings in mammalian stem cell and placental biology will be discussed.  

ALL ARE WELCOME

Should you have any enquiries, please feel free to contact Miss Angela Wong at 3917 9216.