Pub Lecture Series: Moira Glerum

Mitochondria and Microfluidics

 

Abstract:

Mitochondria, which are essential components of most cells in our body, house a very small but essential bit of DNA. While mitochondria are better known as cellular power plants, contributions of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to human disease are increasingly being recognized. From common neurodegenerative diseases to a wide variety of cancers, the reporting of mtDNA mutations has mushroomed. However, detection and identification of mtDNA mutations is currently very challenging using standard approaches in molecular diagnostics. We are harnessing the power of microfluidic, so called "lab-on-chip", technologies to develop new ways of purifying and analyzing mtDNA mutations. Our goal is to allow identification of mtDNA mutations in a wide variety of human pathologies, providing an important new diagnostic avenue that currently does not exist. 

 

In this informal talk, I will provide some background on mitochondria and their genomes, describe the microfluidic technologies we are working with and discuss potential impacts of our work. I hope to illustrate why mitochondria are so important and why we should all care about how our mitochondria and mtDNA are doing!

March 26th: Catherine Burns- CANCELLED

April 2nd: Dawn Parker

 

Details to come!