Additional Activities, Structural Biology & Signal Transduction

There are numerous scientific meetings and seminar series in the La Jolla area where students can catch up with the most up-to-date information on signal transduction research. The Molecular Pathology Seminar Series is a monthly forum where program faculty from UCSD and institutional affiliates present their lastest laboratory results. Following the talk, students can chat with the seminar speeker over pizza, cookies, chips, and cheeze. The Burnham Institute Seminar Series is a weekly multidisciplinary research series that brings in nationally- and internationally-recognized speakers focused on questions in molecular and cellular biology related to human disease. At UCSD, the Cellular and Molecular Medicine Seminar Series maintains a somewhat broader focus on cellular and molecular biology. The Pathology Minisymposium Series focuses specifically on molecular mechanisms of human disease that can be studied and treated using small animal models. Finally, the annual Mahajani Symposium covers selected topics on molecular and cellular biology in relation to disease processes.

The graduate program also holds an Annual Spring Research Symposium at Scripps Institute of Oceanography, where students present their work, discuss their ideas and hypotheses, and engage in some friendly scientific debate.

There are also a number of meetings held at the Salk Institute that focus on signal transduction research. They include the Protein Phosphorylation and Cell Signaling meeting, the Oncogenes and Growth Control meeting, and the San Diego Cell Biology Meeting. Subjects covered in the Protein Phosphorylation and Cell Signaling meeting include signaling in hematopoietic and neuronal cells, regulation of protein-protein interactions, the role of lipids in signaling, structures of signaling proteins, signaling in model organisms, protein phosphatases, cell adhesion and motility, and regulation of protein degradation. Students can present their own work in poster sessions and sometimes have the opportunity to present short talks. The short talks and poster sessions provide excellent models for students to learn how to present data concisely and logically. The Oncogenes and Growth Control meeting is an international meeting jointly sponsored by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the Salk Institute and brings together diverse and outstanding science in the area of oncogene mechanisms. The meeting immerses students within the world of oncogenes, their impact on normal cell division, differentiation, apoptosis, metastasis, and angiogenesis. This meeting also features both speakers and poster sessions, and alternates between the Salk Institute and Heidelberg, Germany. All participants submitting an abstract are selected as speakers or present in the poster sessions. The San Diego Cell Biology Meeting is a one-day meeting held every year in the spring that features speakers from the San Diego Scientific Community and a poster session. This meeting, which has free registration, offers an excellent opportunity to become familiar with local research work on signal transduction pathways important in cell biology. Information regarding these meetings can be found at the Salk Institute Meetings Website, the EMBL Meetings Website, and the Cold Spring Harbor Meetings Website.

THE ACTIN CLUB. A cell biology conference which brings together groups from UCSD, Scripps, and the Burnham Institute to discuss the cytoskeleton and related matters. The group meets once a month, at the beginning of the month, with the location changing between the three institutions. Please contact Tama Hasson for more information: tama@ucsd.edu

Training for Careers in Biomedical Research

Additional Activities, Structural Biology & Signal Transduction

Training for Careers in
Biomedical Research