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SUMMARY:Chemotaxis. Do we understand it all? - Orkun Soyer\, CoSBi
DTSTART:20090512T130000Z
DTEND:20090512T140000Z
UID:TALK14755@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Fabien Petitcolas
DESCRIPTION:*Abstract*: Chemotaxis behavior in microbes constitutes a simp
 le form of behavior\, making it an interesting model system to understand 
 molecular basis of decision-making. More than 30 years of research in Esch
 erichia coli has allowed a very detailed understanding of chemotaxis in th
 is species and how it is mediated at molecular level. However\, it is not 
 clear how applicable these findings are for our understanding of taxis beh
 avior in diverse bacteria. Results from few other bacteria show that both 
 response dynamics and molecular mechanisms can differ from the E. coli par
 adigm. The talk will illustrate how an evolutionary approach could help ac
 hieve a more global understanding of taxis behavior in bacteria. In partic
 ular\, we will explore the use of in silico evolution combined with detail
 ed mathematical modeling to unravel the possible molecular mechanisms invo
 lved in taxis behavior of diverse bacteria.\n\n*Biography*: Orkun S. Soyer
  was born in Istanbul\, Turkey on 5 July 1975. After studying Chemistry at
  Bogazici University\, he received a PhD from the University of Michigan u
 nder the mentorship of Prof. Dr. Richard A. Goldstein. During his PhD thes
 is\, Orkun co-developed a site-class model of protein evolution and applie
 d this model to the analysis of protein sequences\, specifically G-Protein
  Coupled Receptors and Transporters. From April 2004 until September 2006\
 , Orkun was a postdoctoral researcher in the Theoretical Biology Group of 
 Prof. Dr. Sebastian Bonhoeffer at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technolog
 y (ETH) in Zürich. His work during this period concentrated on the modeli
 ng of biological pathways\, with a specific emphasis on questions related 
 to their evolution. Orkun expanded on this line of research since joining 
 CoSBi in September 2006. He publishes in internationally recognized journa
 ls and regularly acts as a reviewer.
LOCATION:Small public lecture room\, Microsoft Research Ltd\, 7 J J Thomso
 n Avenue (Off Madingley Road)\, Cambridge
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