Abstract:
Epilepsy affects 3 million Americans each year, and about one-third of patients are drug-resistant. Therefore, we need to understand the causes and mechanisms of both acquired and genetic epilepsies to translate into better treatment options. Dr. Hsieh will discuss two topics: (1) the role of adult-generated neurons in epileptogenesis, and (2) the use of human induced pluripotent stem cells and 3D orgnaoids to model childhood epilepsies.

Speaker:
Jenny Hsieh received her B.S. in biochemistry at University of California, San Diego. She then obtained a Ph.D. in biology at the Johns Hopkins University, where she studied context-dependent gene silencing in C. elegans under the mentorship of Andrew Fire. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute of Biological Sciences, working with Fred Gage. Jenny joined the faculty of UT Southwestern Medical Center in 2005 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2012. She received the NIH K02 Independent Science Award in 2012.

Boxed lunch will be provided.