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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Colly Mitchell - Events Manager
Summary Sentence: “50 Years of Solitude: Lessons in Evolution from a Neglected Strain of C. elegans” - Patrick McGrath, Ph.D. - Georgia Tech
Full Summary: The Petit Institute Breakfast Club seminar series was started with the spirit of the Institute's interdisciplinary mission in mind and started to feature local Petit Institute faculty member's research in a seminar format. Faculty are often asked to speak at other universities and conferences, but rarely present at their home institution, this seminar series is an attempt to close that gap. The Petit Institute Breakfast Club is open to anyone in the bio-community.
Breakfast Club Seminar SeriesPatrick McGrath, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
School of Biological Sciences
Georgia Tech
“50 Years of Solitude: Lessons in Evolution from a Neglected Strain of C. elegans”
Most biological traits have a strong genetic, or heritable, component. Understanding how genetic variation influences these phenotypes will be important for understanding common, heritable diseases like autism. However, the genetic architecture controlling most biological traits is incredibly complex – hundreds of interacting genes and variants combine in unknown ways to create phenotype. The McGrath lab is interested in using fundamental mechanistic studies in C. elegans to identify, predict, and understand how genetic variation impacts the function of the nervous system. We are studying laboratory adapted strains and harnessing directed evolution experiments to understand how genetic changes affect development, reproduction, and lifespan. We combine quantitative genetics, CRISPR/Cas9, genomics, and computational approaches to address these questions. We believe this work will lead to insights into evolution, multigenic disease, and systems biology.
The Petit Institute Breakfast Club seminar series was started with the spirit of the Institute's interdisciplinary mission in mind and started to feature local Petit Institute faculty member's research in a seminar format. Faculty are often asked to speak at other universities and conferences, but rarely present at their home institution, this seminar series is an attempt to close that gap. The Petit Institute Breakfast Club is open to anyone in the bio-community.
