Kyoto Laureate/ Molecular Biologist to Lecture at UC San Diego March 19, 2009

February 18, 2009

By Pat JaCoby

An explanation of “How Human Cells Talk to Each Other, and What Goes Wrong in Disease” will be advanced by Anthony James Pawson, 2009 Kyoto Prize winner in Basic Sciences, at 3:30 p.m. March 19 at the University of California, San Diego.

Anthony James Pawson

Dr. Pawson’s talk in Price Center West, Ballrooms A&B, is free and open to the public. Reservations may be made at www.kyotoprize.org.

The distinguished investigator is one of three Kyoto Prize Laureates honored this year by the Inamori Foundation for lifetime achievements. Other winners and their host universities are Richard M. Karp, computer scientist from the University of California, Berkeley, presenting the Advance-Technology talk at 9:30 a.m. March 19 at SDSU, and Charles Margrave Taylor, professor emeritus from McGill University, presenting the Arts and Philosophy lecture at 10:30 a.m. at the University of San Diego.

Pawson notes: “We all started life as a single cell that grew and divided to form the many different types of cells that make up our bodies. But how did cells with very distinct properties, such as those that comprise the nervous system or the blood, arise and how do they form complex tissues such as the brain? One answer,” Pawson says, “is that human cells participate in a constant molecular conversation in which they exchange chemical information that dictates their behavior.”

In his talk Pawson will discuss how this cellular dialogue works, what goes wrong with the communication process in diseases such as cancer, and the possibilities for new therapies opened by this understanding. In particular, he will talk about the way information is conveyed within the cell, how cells are reorganized in disease and the importance of scientific research for the future.

Mark H. Thiemens, dean of the Division of Physical Sciences, will welcome the speaker on behalf of UC San Diego. Susan S. Taylor, professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, will serve as Invited Scholar.

Pawson was born in Maidstone, England, and is now a citizen of both the United Kingdom and Canada. He is Distinguished Investigator at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital and a professor at the University of Toronto.

 

Media Contact: Pat JaCoby, 858 534-7404