Research Seminar: “Lysophospholipid Receptors in CNS Diseases: Etiology and Therapeutics”
Presented by:
Jerold Chun, MD, PhD
Professor and Senior Vice President
Neuroscience Drug Discovery
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
Talk Summary:
Lysophospholipids are bioactive lipids derived from cell membranes which have extracellular signaling properties mediated by a growing family of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Two lysophospholipid forms also identify their cognate receptors: lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P). The history, receptor-ligand signaling, and disease aspects of lysophospholipid receptors will be presented. In particular, emphasis on the neurodevelopmental disease known as post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus, along with multiple sclerosis, will be discussed from the perspective of lysophospholipid receptor signaling relevant to both etiology and therapeutics.
About the Speaker:
Jerold Chun, MD, PhD, is Professor and Senior Vice President of Neuroscience Drug Discovery at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP). He received his MD and PhD (Neuroscience) degrees through the Medical Scientist Training Program at Stanford University School of Medicine. He moved east as a Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellow at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, MIT. Dr. Chun then joined the faculty at the UCSD School of Medicine, where he became Professor of Pharmacology and Neurosciences and directed the Neurosciences Graduate Program. He subsequently became Department Head of Molecular Neuroscience at Merck Research Laboratories before returning to academia as Professor at The Scripps Research Institute and adjunct Professor at UCSD, leading to his current position. He has made important contributions to our understanding of the brain and its diseases, including the discovery of genomic mosaicism and somatic gene recombination in the brain and its involvement in the most common forms of Alzheimer’s disease with relevance to other brain diseases. In separate work, he identified the first lysophospholipid receptor, which is part of a growing class of lipid receptors that underlie new neuroscience medicines (e.g., fingolimod & siponimod for Multiple Sclerosis) and understanding of other diseases, including hydrocephalus, schizophrenia, neuropathic pain and fibrosis. Dr. Chun has authored more than 300 scientific publications, has been recognized in Thomson Reuters’ World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds citation list, and is a member of numerous advisory, review, and editorial boards in both academia and industry.
Hosted by:
Pat Levitt, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer, Vice President, and Director, The Saban Research Institute
Simms/Mann Chair in Developmental Neurogenetics, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
WM Keck Professor in Neurogenetics
Department of Pediatrics
Keck School of Medicine of USC
Editor-in-Chief, Mind, Brain and Education
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