{"674220":{"#nid":"674220","#data":{"type":"event","title":"PhD Defense by Chris Johnson","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDoctor of Philosophy in Biology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EChris Johnson\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWill defend his dissertation\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInvestigating the Mechanisms Underlying Metamorphosis in the Chordate \u003Cem\u003ECiona robusta\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E18, 4, 2024\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E2:30 PM\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EKrone Engineered Biosystems Building (EBB)\u0026nbsp;CHOA\u0026nbsp;Room 1005\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gatech.zoom.us\/j\/93986623573?pwd=eURpcHRrcXFwUENmcWNXRFBKZlpFUT09\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/gatech.zoom.us\/j\/93986623573?pwd=eURpcHRrcXFwUENmcWNXRFBKZlpFUT09\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EThesis Advisor:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAlberto Stolfi, Ph.D.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECommittee Members:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAnnalise Paaby, Ph.D.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBrian Hammer, Ph.D.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWilliam Ratcliff, Ph.D.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EPengpeng Bi, Ph.D.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDepartment of Genetics and Center for Molecular Medicine\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EUniversity of Georgia\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EABSTRACT:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETunicates are our closes living invertebrate relative, and as such, have given us tremendous insight on tunicate\/vertebrate development and evolution. For this presentation, I discuss two projects that are tied together and contribute to the ongoing investigation underlying metamorphosis in tunicates.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe first chapter discusses our work on the transcriptional regulation governing the pattering of cells comprising the three sensory adhesive papillae of the \u003Cem\u003ECiona robusta \u003C\/em\u003Elarva. Through the discovery and use of novel genetic markers and reporter constructs, we visualized and tracked the differentiation of various papilla cell types which range from collocytes responsible for secreting adhesive material, to ciliated neurons initiating metamorphosis and axial columnar cells potentially possessing chemosensory and contractile properties. Using CRISPR\/Cas9, overexpression, and pharmacological perturbations, we identified the molecular mechanisms underlying the specification of these cell types and their contributions to metamorphic processes.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe second chapter describes the transcriptional regulation of adult \u003Cem\u003ECiona \u003C\/em\u003Emuscle cell fusion. In vertebrates, all skeletal muscles form multinucleated myofibers through myoblast fusion. In tunicates like \u003Cem\u003ECiona,\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;only adult muscles form multinucleated fibers through cell fusion, while larvae have mononucleated muscles instead. I show that this is achieved through combinatorial regulation that activates the expression of a key myoblast fusion factor only in adult muscles.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EInvestigating the Mechanisms Underlying Metamorphosis in the Chordate \u003Cem\u003ECiona robusta\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Investigating the Mechanisms Underlying Metamorphosis in the Chordate Ciona robusta"}],"uid":"27707","created_gmt":"2024-04-16 18:59:59","changed_gmt":"2024-04-16 19:00:33","author":"Tatianna Richardson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2024-04-18T14:30:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2024-04-18T16:00:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2024-04-18T16:00:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2024-04-18 18:30:00","gmt_time_end":"2024-04-18 20:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2024-04-18 20:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"Krone Engineered Biosystems Building (EBB) CHOA Room 1005","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"100811","name":"Phd Defense"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1788","name":"Other\/Miscellaneous"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78771","name":"Public"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}