March 13th, 2:30pm

Sarah-Maria Fendt is since 2013 a Principal Investigator at the VIB Center for Cancer Biology and Professor of Oncology at KU Leuven, Belgium. Sarah’s lab is specifically interested in elucidating general regulatory principles in metabolism, and understanding cancer metabolism during metastasis formation as well as during altered whole body physiology. To perform novel research in her fields of interest her group exploits their expertise in metabolomics and fluxomics. The research of Sarah’s lab is currently funded by multiple (inter)national grants and industry, which include an ERC consolidator grant. Sarah received several awards such as the EMBO Gold Medal.

Title: “Nutrient dependencies of metastasis formation”

Abstract:

Metastasis formation is the leading cause of death in cancer patients. We find that metabolic rewiring is a liability of metastasizing cancer cells. For example, we discovered that extracellular remodeling of the metastatic niche, a process essential to metastasis formation, requires a transcriptional- independent regulation via the metabolites. Moreover, we provide knowledge on intratumor heterogeneity of metabolism and its role in metastasis formation. Specifically, we discovered that heterogeneity in the metabolic enzyme phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH) predicts in cancer patients the risk for metastasis formation. Strikingly, loss of PHGDH protein expression drives early dissemination of cancer cells due to a novel mechanism leading to the posttranslational modification of cell surface integrins. More recently, we have investigated the nutrient dependencies of metastasis and find a strong organ specific pattern. Thus, we study the metabolism of metastasizing cancer cells with the goal to define novel therapeutic strategies.

This talk will be given by Zoom. (Please contact Thomas Pradeu for the link).

Monday, April 3rd, 2023, 5pm-6:30pm (CET+1); Zoom only

Steven Frank is Donald Bren Professor & Distinguished Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
School of Biological Sciences at University of California Irvine (USA)

His main research interests concern evolutionary genetics and host-parasite interactions.

URL: stevefrank.org

Title: “Robustness and complexity: how evolution builds precise traits from sloppy components”

Abstract:

The first part of the talk describes the paradox of robustness. When a system robustly corrects errors in its components, the direct selective pressure on those components declines. Weakened selection on components causes them to become less reliable, maintain more genetic variability, or change in design. Loosened constraint on component-level design allows complexity to creep in arbitrarily, without natural selection to remove unnecessary elaboration. New forms of organismal complexity appear, seemingly without any clear logic. In the second part, I link the paradox of robustness to similar ideas developed by others, such as the theory of constructive neutral evolution. In the third part, I unify previous ideas into a more general perspective. I then link the paradox of robustness to the observation that, in evolution, intermediate stages in development tend to be more strongly constrained than earlier or later stages. This leads us to John Doyle’s discussion of the universal architecture of complex robustly designed systems in engineering and in biology, in which there is an important distinction between hardware and software layers. I link the observations about evolutionary constraints in development to Doyle’s hardware vs software distinction. Finally, I argue that constructive neutral evolution is mainly about genomic hardware, in which neutrality likely dominates, whereas the broader paradox of robustness also includes functional components in the software layer, in which nonneutral economic costs and benefits likely dominate.

This talk will be given via Zoom. Link: Steven Frank’s seminar Zoom Link.

More info: https://www.philinbiomed.org/event/steven-Franck/