IMB Seminar Series - Dr Kelly Smith

Event Details

Date:

Friday, 19 May 2017

Time:

12:30 pm - 1:30 pm

Room:

Queensland Bioscience Precinct Auditorium - Building 80, The University of Queensland

UQ Location:

Queensland Bioscience Precinct (St Lucia)

URL:

http://events.imb.uq.edu.au/seminar.php?id=1173

Event category(s):

Full Description:: The heart is essential for our survival and forms during embryonic development. It begins functioning just 22 days after the human egg is fertilised and function is necessary to support the continued growth of the developing embryo. We have a sound understanding of the major anatomical stages of heart development however our knowledge of the genetic and cellular events orchestrating its morphogenesis is incomplete. Focussing primarily on the early stages of heart development, we utilise the zebrafish model for its genetic tractability to identify novel regulators of cardiac development. By performing detailed phenotypic analyses, investigating the function of affected genes and placing these genes in genetic pathways, new insights into the genetics and cellular remodelling required for heart development can be learned. Whilst exciting for discovery’s sake, this fundamental knowledge is also essential for understanding inherited cardiac disease and is already applied to tissue engineering technologies.