Research Seminar: “Bench to Bedside: Using Rare Mutations to Understand Development and Disease"
Presented by
Senta K. Georgia, PhD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Developmental Biology & Regenerative Medicine Program
The Saban Research Institute of CHLA
Keck School of Medicine of USC
Talk Summary
The Georgia Lab focuses on the differentiation, regeneration, function, and survival of insulin-secreting pancreatic beta cells. This talk will describe how studying the rare mutation of one patient has led to a novel discovery in pancreatic differentiation and may lead to new clinical guidance for treatment of other patients with the same disorder.
About the Speaker
Senta Georgia is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at USC. She is a member of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at CHLA, the Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine Research Program, and the Diabetes and Obesity Program at The Saban Research Institute at CHLA. She attended Stanford University, earning her BS in Biological Sciences, a minor in Philosophy, and dual departmental honors in Biological Sciences and Ethics in Society. She earned her Ph.D. at UCLA in Molecular Biology. Her dissertation focused on the role of cell cycle molecules in the establishment, expansion, and maintenance of insulin cells. She was a postdoctoral fellow and Assistant Adjunct Professor at the Hillblom Islet Research Center at UCLA, where her research focused on how DNA methylation restricts progenitor cell differentiation during pancreatic organogenesis and maintains insulin cell identity in adulthood. Her lab at CHLA focuses on three approaches to insulin-cell regeneration: (1) by inducing replication of existing insulin cells; (2) using epigenetic manipulation to induce cellular reprogramming into an insulin cell fate; and (3) understanding mechanisms that govern human insulin cell differentiation to make new insulin cells for patients that have diabetes. She is a wife and a mom of 4 happy kids. She enjoys being a purveyor of fine spirits, an enthusiast of thriller/horror films, and a casual gastronomist.
Additional Information
Lunch will be provided to seminar guests; first come, first served
Help us save plastic! Bring your own water bottles. Water will be available to fill your bottles.
Brought to you by TSRI Office of Training, Education, Career Planning & Development (TECPAD)
RSVP is required to tecpad@chla.usc.edu