Neuroscience Day
Sponsored by the UIC Graduate Program in Neuroscience
Featuring Guest Speaker Nobel Laureate Martin Chalfie
Martin Chalfie is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Biological Sciences and University Professor at Columbia University. He obtained his A.B. and Ph.D. from Harvard University and did postdoctoral research with Sydney Brenner at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology before moving to Columbia in 1982. He uses the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to investigate nerve cell development and function, concentrating primarily on genes used in mechanosensory neurons. His research has been directed toward answering two quite different biological questions: How do different types of nerve cells acquire and maintain their unique characteristics? and How do sensory cells respond to mechanical signals?