Events Calendar

Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Seminar - Distinguished Lecture Series

Speaker: Prof. Matthew Lazzara, Departments of Chemical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia

Talk Title: Applications of mechanistic and data-driven models to problems in cell signaling

Abstract: Cells are signaled to proliferate, migrate, differentiate, and die through the action of receptors, membrane-spanning proteins that translate extracellular ligand binding events into cellular decisions by initiating networks of intracellular biochemical reactions. The complexity of these problems is ideal for, and often requires, application of computational modeling approaches to interpret data, predict system performance, and generate new hypotheses. However, the specific modeling approach must be tailored to the type and scope of problem at hand. While some problems are sufficiently circumscribed for use of familiar mechanistic governing equations, others are more easily tackled by first seeking statistical inferences from large data sets for which mechanistic governing equations are unknown. This seminar will cover examples of both types of problems. In the first part of the talk, I will describe our lab s efforts to develop experimentally validated mechanistic models of the regulation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling by protein tyrosine phosphatases, focusing on the coupling between receptor endocytosis and dephosphorylation and on phosphatase-mediated regulation of the persistence of EGFR-driven signaling protein complexes. In the second part of the talk, I will describe our recent efforts to apply data-driven modeling approaches for the rational design of combination therapies for pancreas and brain cancers.

Biography: Matthew Lazzara received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering (with highest honors) from the University of Florida and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he trained in the lab of William Deen. He remained at MIT for postdoctoral studies in the lab of Douglas Lauffenburger and was the recipient of an NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Postdoctoral Fellowship. Dr. Lazzara is presently Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Work in the Lazzara Lab employs a combination of experimental and computational methods to study problems in cell signaling, the complex biochemical process cells use to make decisions. Current projects focus on the rational (model-driven) identification of combination therapies for cancer and on fundamental studies of the spatiotemporal regulation of cell signaling by phosphatases and receptor trafficking. The lab's work is funded by grants from the American Cancer Society, National Science Foundation, and National Institutes of Health. Dr. Lazzara is also the recipient of several teaching awards, including the S. Reid Warren, Jr. Award and the Outstanding Faculty Award of the AIChE Delaware Valley, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, FL.

Host: Prof. Nicholas Graham

Location: John Stauffer Science Lecture Hall (SLH) - 200

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Karen Woo/Mork Family