TITLE:

REGENERATION IN THE PLANARIAN SCHMIDTEA MEDITERRANEA

DATE:

Friday, November 20th, 2009

TIME:

3:30 PM

LOCATION:

GMCS 214

SPEAKER:

Ricardo M. Zayas, Ph.D.,
Assistant Professor,
Department of Biology,
San Diego State University

ABSTRACT:

Regeneration of missing body parts has long fascinated biologists, yet the mechanisms underlying regenerative processes remain poorly understood. My laboratory uses the freshwater planarian, a classic model of regeneration studies, as a model to examine the molecular mechanisms underlying regeneration. Planarians are able to completely regenerate entire worms and form lost body parts from very small body pieces. These organisms are endowed with a population of adult pluripotent stem cells that supports their capacity for regeneration. One of the truly remarkable properties of planarians is their capability for neural repair, a capacity that is limited in most animal models currently studied. In my talk, I will introduce planarians and discuss our work aimed at understanding how regeneration of the central nervous system is achieved in these organisms. Finally, I will put forward (and invite) ideas of computational approaches that could be applied to advance the study of molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating regenerative processes in planarians.

HOST:

Paul Paolini

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