School of Biomedical Sciences is pleased to invite you to join the Seminar Series on Human Embryonic Development, Stem Cells & Developmental Genomics as follows: 

Date: Thursday, October 21, 2021

Time: 9:00 am

Format: Conduct via ZOOM

ZOOM Link: https://bit.ly/3i4sBTD

Meeting ID: 974 9855 1706

Passcode: 503774

Professor Joanna Wysocka
Lorry Lokey Professor of Chemical and Systems Biology and of Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, Stanford University, USA

Title: “Making faces: Transcriptional enhancers and regulatory underpinnings of human facial variation in health and disease”

Abstract: The face is at the center of our physical identity, both as humans and as individuals. Although facial shape is a highly heritable trait, relatively little is known about molecular mechanisms underlying enormous diversity of craniofacial form seen in the human population. To address origins of human facial variation in health and disease we are combining modeling of human facial development and disease in vitro, functional assays in cells and mice, and facial shape GWAS. Our results show that regions harboring genetic variants predictive of differences in facial shape in humans are enriched in enhancers active in cranial neural crest cells (CNCCs), an embryonic cell population which gives rise to the majority of craniofacial structures. I will illustrate how, despite redundancies in complex mammalian regulatory landscapes, even small alterations in gene expression caused by enhancer sequence divergence can lead to reproducible changes in facial morphology.

Biography: Joanna Wysocka, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Chemical and Systems Biology and the Department of Developmental Biology at Stanford University. Joanna was born and grew up in Poland, and she moved to the US for her PhD work at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory with Dr. Winship Herr. After graduating in 2003, she has done postdoctoral training at the Rockefeller University with Dr. David Allis. Research Dr. Wysocka’s laboratory is focused on understanding how the genetic instructions encoded by cis-regulatory elements are interpreted in the context of a cellular state and signaling milieu to establish chromatin states either permissive or restrictive for gene expression during embryogenesis. She has a particular interest in the molecular basis underlying cellular plasticity, commitment and differentiation, as well as human development and evolution. Dr. Wysocka is a recipient of numerous awards, including the Searle Scholar Award, W.M. Keck Foundation Distinguished Young Scholar Award, 2010 International Society for Stem Cell Research Outstanding Young Investigator Award, and 2013 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise.

ALL ARE WELCOME

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