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SUMMARY:Plagues\, Populations & Survival - Professor Stephen J O'Brien\, S
 t Petersburg State University
DTSTART:20140214T173000Z
DTEND:20140214T183000Z
UID:TALK46747@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Janet Gibson
DESCRIPTION:Abstract\n\nThe gold rush of whole genome sequences spurred by
  the human genome project\, is heralding a new way to study the previously
  unanswerable from pre-history\; allowing us to now mine the genomic footp
 rints of ancient defining events of humankind and other mammals. As early 
 paleontologists conjured up extinct forms based on fossil remains\, geneti
 c archaeologists reconstruct the origins of genomic patterns derived from 
 ancient demographic episodes. Modern scourges that clog the world's hospit
 als represent a major challenge to human health and a historic selective r
 egulator. Past interactions between constantly adapting pathogens and fine
 ly-tuned\, ever-evolving immune defenses represent a biological puzzlement
  that is only beginning to be deciphered. In my presentation I will illust
 rate how we learn hidden lessons of survival\, adaptation and genome evolu
 tion referred from current views of natural history with new insights from
  genomes of wildlife species and ourselves. I will provide an early glimps
 e of the coming discipline of genomic archaeology giving   illustrative ex
 amples (from the plague\, SARS\,  HIV-AIDS)\, and will describe how scient
 ists track the emergence and progression of deadly outbreaks revealing unf
 athomed threats to their very existence. How these non-traditional approac
 hes can ablate extinctions and unlock medical secrets will be the lessons 
 learned from this presentation. \n\nBiography\n\nDr. Stephen J. O'Brien is
  a world leading molecular biologist and dedicated conservationist whom us
 es the tools of molecular biology to help protect endangered species and u
 nderstand devastating diseases such as cancer and AIDS. He received his Ph
 D in Genetics from Cornell University\, USA in 1971. He then joined the pr
 estigious National Cancer Institute\, National Institutes of Health as a p
 ost-doc in 1971 and there\, served as Founder and Chief of the Laboratory 
 of Genomic Diversity from 1986-2011. In December 2011\, he joined the Theo
 dosius Dobzhansky Center for Genome Bioinformatics\, St. Petersburg State 
 University as Chief Scientific Officer. Convinced of the utility of explor
 ing diverse species to advance our understanding of the human genome\, Dr.
  O’Brien and his team have assembled over 62\,000 animal and 424\,000 hu
 man tissue/DNA specimens\, facilitating wide-ranging studies of disease ge
 ne associations\, species adaptation and natural history. His research int
 erests and expertise span human and comparative genomics\, genetic epidemi
 ology\, HIV/AIDS\, retro-virology\, bioinformatics biodiversity and specie
 s conservation. Dr. O’Brien is best known for documenting the remarkable
  genetic uniformity of African cheetahs\, resolving the mammalian tree of 
 life\, describing heretofore unrecognized species of orangutans\, African 
 forest elephants and Bornean clouded leopards. He is credited with the dis
 covery of CCR5 delta 32\, the first of 20 human AIDS restriction genes\, w
 hich imparts natural immunity to HIV. He is the one of the founders of the
  Genome 10K initiative\, has published over 750 leading research papers\, 
 written multiple books and is adjunct professor in over 12 international l
 eading universities. He is considered a ‘National Treasure’ by many le
 ading scientists in the US.
LOCATION:LMH\, Lady Mitchell Hall
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