<div class="gmail_quote"><div class="gmail_quote"><div class="gmail_quote"><div><div><div>It's here, and you don't want to miss it! Come hear about the exciting work Dr. Douglas Melton of Harvard University is doing with stem cells to advance the study & treatment of diabetes. This lecture is <i>for</i> <i>undergrads</i>, so come and take advantage! 4-5pm, Whitehead Auditorium. Today!</div>
<div><br></div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">MacKenzie Outlund</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:moutlund@mit.edu" target="_blank">moutlund@mit.edu</a>></span><br>
Date: Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 11:00 AM<br>Subject: Annual HHMI Lecture & Luncheon 3/18<br>To: <a href="mailto:bioundgrd@mit.edu" target="_blank">bioundgrd@mit.edu</a><br><br><br>Dear Biology Majors,<br><br>Each spring the Biology Undergraduate Student Association (BUSA) hosts the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Lecture as its flagship event of the year. A prominent researcher joins us to share his/her work and interact with the MIT community, especially <i>you</i>, MIT undergraduates. We are excited to announce that Dr. Douglas Melton of Harvard University is the distinguished speaker for 2010.<br>
<br>The BUSA Executive Board would like to extend this invitation for you to join us on <b>Thursday, March 18th at 4:00pm</b> in the Whitehead Auditorium (WI-110) for the 2010 HHMI Lecture. A small reception with Dr. Melton will follow the lecture.<br>
<br><div><br>An introduction to Dr. Melton's talk and brief biographical information are included below:<br><br><span style="text-decoration:underline">Stem cells to create a pancreas and recreate diabetes.</span><br>
Developmental biologists seek an understanding of how specialized cells and organs are made during normal development. This understanding forms the basis for regenerative medicine: the science of repairing and replacing tissues that have been damaged by injury or disease. Recent advances in human stem cell biology have made it possible to pursue this goal and studies on the pancreas and its insulin-producing beta cell represent a clear test case.<br>
<br><div> Dr. Douglas Melton is a developmental biologist. His laboratory studies how cell differentiation is directed during development and the role of stem cells in tissue maintenance. A particular focus is the study of genes and cells that make pancreatic tissue with the goal of the work being to make pancreatic cells for transplantation into people with diabetes. This challenging project involves understanding how cells, including embryonic stem cells, can be directed to make pancreatic beta cells, the cells that make insulin. <br>
Dr. Melton is the Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of the Natural Sciences at Harvard University and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. He is also Co-Chair of the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology and Co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.<br>
Born in Chicago, Dr. Melton earned a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Illinois then went to Cambridge University in England as the recipient of a Marshall Scholarship. He earned a B.A. in history and philosophy of science at Cambridge, and then remained there to earn a Ph.D. in molecular biology at Trinity College and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine and the author of over 150 publications.<br>
<br></div><div><br>We hope to see you March 18th!<br><br>Sincerely,<br><br>BUSA Executive Board<br></div></div>
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