Blue Skies and Fruit Flies: Patterns in Biology

At the new Francis Crick Institute in Kings Cross, London, scientists are working at the cutting edge of curiosity-driven or ‘blue skies’ research. The hope is that their fundamental discoveries will provide insights into major questions of human health and disease. Crick scientists Jean-Paul Vincent and Sophie Herszterg are working to uncover patterns in biology that could affect human health in the future by studying the incredible complexity of the fruit fly wing.

U3A members are invited to discover how insights from the humble fruit fly could affect the future of human health in this special talk, followed by refreshments and a chance to view the Crick’s new exhibition, Deconstructing Patterns. There will be plenty of opportunity for questions.

Programme

13.30

Doors Open

14.00

Jean-Paul Vincent, Group Leader - Epithelial Cell Interactions Laboratory

14.40

Sophie Herszterg, Postdoctoral Researcher - Epithelial Cell Interactions Laboratory

15.00

Q&A session

15.30

Refreshments in the Manby Gallery and a chance to view the exhibition Deconstructing Patterns

About the speakers

Jean-Paul Vincent, Group Leader - Epithelial Cell Interactions Laboratory

Jean-Paul Vincent is Group Leader of the Epithelial Cell Interactions Laboratory at the Crick. He trained at the University of Louvain in Belgium, the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, San Francisco. He has run his own lab since 1993 and for much of that time was based at the former National Institute for Medical Research at Mill Hill (one of the institutes that became the Crick in 2015). Using the fruit fly Drosophila, his lab investigates the coordination of growth and patterning during the development of the living organism. He hopes that this research will help identify molecules and processes that are relevant to human disease, such as cancer or neurodegeneration.

Sophie Herszterg, Postdoctoral Researcher - Epithelial Cell Interactions Laboratory

Sophie Herszterg studied Biomedicine at the University of Rio de Janeiro. She then joined Yohanns Bellaiche’s laboratory in Paris and obtained her PhD in 2013. She began her Post-Doctoral research in Jean-Paul Vincent’s laboratory at the Crick in November 2015 studying how cell signalling pathways work together to create patterns in tissues. She uses the Drosophila (fruit fly) wing as a model system in which the development of the veins – specialized tubular structures – can be seen in the living tissue. She hopes her research will lead to better understanding of how tissues acquire complex architecture, form and function.

Getting to the Crick

The Crick’s main entrance is on Midland Road, opposite St Pancras station. You can find full directions and public transport information here.

Please note that this event is exclusively for U3A members.