Dr. Francois Spitz | Spitz Lab

Bio:

PhD from Université Paris 6 (France)

Group Leader at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (2006-2015) (Heidelberg, Germany)

Head of Research Unit at the Institut Pasteur (2015-2019) (Paris, France)

Professor, The University of Chicago (2019-.)

Abstract:

The mechanisms that regulate the efficiency and specificity of interactions between distant genes and cis-regulatory elements such as enhancers play a central role in shaping the specific regulatory programs that control cell fate and identity. In particular, the (epi)genetic elements that organize the 3D folding of the genome in specific loops and domains have emerged as key determinants of this process. I will discuss our current views on how 3D genome architecture is organized, how it influences gene regulatory interactions and illustrate how alterations of the mechanisms and elements that organize genomes in 3D could contribute to genomic disorders and genome evolution.

This weekend celebration is a collaboration with the Office of Institutional Diversity, the College of Arts & Sciences/Commonwealth Institute on Black Studies (CIBS), the UK Alumni Association, and the UK Office of Philanthropy. We are looking forward to welcoming alumni back to campus for a fun-filled weekend. 

Click here for the schedule of events and to register.

The 28th Annual Black Women's Conference, "Excavating the Lives of Black Women," will take place virtually on March 24, 2023.

Please register for each event here:

10 a.m. | Panel with Whitney Baptiste Battle & Ayana Omilade-Flewellen | Register Here

2 p.m. | Keynote with Dr. Afua Cooper | Register Here

Saturday, March 25, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Cemetery clean-up at African Cemetery No. 2. (419 E 7th Street, Lexington)

Community volunteer event will assist with headstone cleaning and minor landscape clearing in this historic cemetery. A brief tour of the cemetery, including a focus on the graves of notable women buried in the cemetery who contributed locally to the thoroughbred industry, social safety nets, education, and politics.

Parking is in the cemetery itself. Participants should drive in through either of the two gates and park far enough to one side to leave a driving lane. We will assemble at the center garden

Henry D. Fetter is a graduate of Harvard Law School and a member of the California and New York Bars. He holds degrees in History from Harvard College and the University of California, Berkeley and has written about the Jewish Justices of the Supreme Court and antisemitism in American law schools. He is currently working on a book about Louis D. Brandeis’s appointment to the Supreme Court in 1916.

Zoom link for registration: https://uky.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_K8yI0T-ETJqiy-cuitMLvA

Abstract: Recent research has revealed the essential role that microbial metabolites play in host-microbiome interactions. Although statistical and machine-learning methods have been employed to explore microbiome-metabolome interactions in multiview microbiome studies, most of these approaches focus solely on the prediction of microbial metabolites, which lacks biological interpretation. Additionally, existing methods face limitations in either prediction or inference due to small sample sizes and highly correlated microbes and metabolites. To overcome these limitations, we present a transfer-learning method that evaluates microbiome-metabolome interactions. Our approach efficiently utilizes information from comparable metabolites obtained through external databases or data-driven methods, resulting in more precise predictions of microbial metabolites and identification of essential microbes involved in each microbial metabolite. Our numerical studies demonstrate that our method enables a deeper understanding of the mechanism of host-microbiome interactions and establishes a statistical basis for potential microbiome-based therapies for various human diseases.