Biological Sciences Colloquium: Dr. Claire de la Cova

Dr. Claire de la Cova, assistant professor of biological sciences at UWM, will present a talk about her work entitled, “The very elegant patient: How the worm C. elegans provides insights into Raf signaling in disease.”

The summary is as follows:

“Raf protein kinases act as Ras-GTP sensing components of the ERK signal transduction pathway in animal cells, influencing cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival. In humans, somatic and germline mutations in the genes BRAF and RAF1 are associated with cancers and developmental disorders. Our approach to investigate Raf signaling uses the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans, which has a single Raf ortholog termed LIN-45. I will share our insights into how Raf kinase activity, protein localization, and degradation are controlled in animals, and how these mechanisms may impact human diseases.”

The presentation will begin at 4:00 PM in Lapham Hall N101, preceded by an informal reception from 3:45 – 4:00 PM.