1) BRIEF CV:
Howard Lipshitz is Professor and Chair of the Department of Molecular Genetics
at the University of Toronto and Senior Scientist in the Program in
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology at the Hospital for Sick Children Research
Institute, Toronto. He received B.Sc. (1976) and B.Sc.(Hons) cum laude (1977)
degrees from the University of Natal, South Africa; M.Phil. (1980) and Ph.D.
(1983) in Biology from Yale University; and then carried out postdoctoral work in
the Biochemistry Department at Stanford University (1983-1986), where he
elucidated the first long non-coding RNAs produced by the bithorax complex in
Drosophila. He was Assistant (1986-1992) and then Associate (1992-1995)
Professor of Biology at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena,
California before moving to Toronto in 1995 as Professor and Senior Scientist.
He served as Associate Director of the Hospital for Sick Children Research
Institute (1997-2001) and as Head of what is now its Program in Developmental
& Stem Cell Biology (2001-2005) before becoming Chair of the Department of
Molecular Genetics at the University. From 2007 to 2010 he also served as
Associate Director of the Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research
at the University of Toronto. Awards and honours include the Damant Science
Prize from the University of Natal (1975), a South African National Scholarship
(1978-1980), an Helen Hay Whitney Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship (19831986), appointment as a Searle Foundation Scholar (1988-1991), as Canada
Research Chair in Developmental Biology (2001-2008), election as a Fellow of
the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1990), receipt of the
Elliot Osserman Award of the Israel Cancer Research Fund (New York) for his
distinguished service in support of cancer research (2008), the Circle of Valour
Award for Academics, Science and Technology, Durban, South Africa (2013),
and appointment as an Honorary Professor of Biochemistry at the University of
Hong Kong (2012-2014). Dr. Lipshitz is an internationally recognized leader in
the field of posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression. His research has
been published in high-impact journals; he has authored review articles and book
chapters; has served as chair or a member of the organizing committee of
multiple international conferences and workshops; has edited/authored three
books; has served on the board of directors of several scientific societies; serves
on the advisory board of several funding agencies; serves on the editorial boards
of several journals; and has served on peer review committees in the USA and
Canada. His current research on post-transcriptional regulation in Drosophila
embryos is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
2) LECTURE OVERVIEW:
Introduction to RNA biology. Post-transcriptional regulation of mRNA translation,
stability and sub-cellular localization. Introduction to the maternal-to-zygotic
transition in animal embryos. Temporal control of post-transcriptional processes
in early embryos. Spatial control of post-transcriptional processes in early
embryos. Gene-by-gene as well as genome-wide strategies for analysis of these
processes will be discussed.
3) REFERENCES:
RESEARCH PAPERS:
Semotok, J.L. et al. (2005) Curr Biol 15, 284-294.
Tadros, W. et al. (2007) Dev Cell 12, 143-155.
Benoit, B. et al. (2009) Development 136, 923-932.
Siddiqui, N. et al. (2012) Genome Biol 13, R11.
Laver, J.D. et al. (2013) Nucl Acids Res 41, 9438-9460.
Heraud-Farlow, J.E. et al. (2013) Cell Rep 5, 1511-1518.
Chen, L. et al. (2014) Genome Biol 15, R4.
REVIEW ARTICLES:
Tadros, W. et al. (2007) Dev Cell 12, 847-849.
Tadros, W., Lipshitz, H.D. (2009) Development 136, 3033-3042.
Walser, C., Lipshitz, H.D. (2011) Curr Op Genet Dev 21, 431-443.