2018 Denkewalter Lecture
The 2018 Denkewalter Lecturer will be Dr. Neal Devaraj from the Department of Chemistry at the University of CA-San Diego. Dr. Devaraj was the recipient of the prestigious ACS Award in Pure Chemistry, for 2017.
| Topic: "Peering into the Lipid World" |
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Lipids remain one of the most enigmatic classes of biological molecules. Lipids were likely one of the first components necessary for life, yet our understanding of how lipid membranes could have arisen spontaneously is a mystery. Human cells produce thousands of unique lipid species, but the purpose for such diversity remains unknown. Dysregulation of lipid metabolism is a key factor in some of the most common diseases that afflict human beings. My lab is using imaging and chemistry to understand the assembly and function lipids. We are watching the formation of artificial cells that consist of synthetic membranes that can continually reproduce. We are designing specific chemical reactions to manipulate and image lipids within living cells during cell death and disease. Our ultimate goal is to answer fundamental questions about the origins of lipid membranes and build a functional understanding of the diverse array of lipids present in life today. |
The Reception & Poster Session
A poster presentation and reception is to take place prior to the Denkewalter Lecture, in the foyer outside Flanner Auditorium at 4:30pm. During the event, Loyola Graduate and Undergraduate students will have an opportunity to share information regarding the Chemistry research they have conducted in their respective labs groups.
Graduate student, Gregory Deye, presenting his research on surface reactivity of organic substrates to peer and fellow doctoral candidate, Susan Phan. (2016)
