https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-rss/?title=Meet%20Our%20Speakers&orgId=108792&keywordId=1465 A selection of the latest research, academic, and other newsworthy developments at Cell Biology en-us Copyright 2026 Yale School of Medicine Mon, 09 Mar 2026 13:00:54 Z https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-dr-jonathon-ditlev-assistant-professor-from-the-hospital-for-sick-childrenuniversity-of-toronto/ https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-dr-jonathon-ditlev-assistant-professor-from-the-hospital-for-sick-childrenuniversity-of-toronto/ The Yale Cell Biology Department is excited to welcome Dr. Jonathon Ditlev as an upcoming seminar speaker on February 10th. Dr. Ditlev is a professor in the University of Toronto Department of Biochemistry and a Scientist in the Molecular Medicine Program at the SickKids Research Institute. His research focuses on understanding how biological phase separation regulates signal transduction in neuronal and immune cells, using a combination of biophysical analysis, biochemical reconstitution, and cell biology. In this interview, Dr. Ditlev shares the scientific questions currently driving his lab, what inspired his path into research, his interests outside of science, and his vision for the future of his lab. Wed, 04 Feb 2026 05:00:00 Z https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-rebecca-voorhees-phd-professor-of-biology-and-biological-engineering-hhmi-freeman-hrabowski-scholar-california-institute-of-technology/ https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-rebecca-voorhees-phd-professor-of-biology-and-biological-engineering-hhmi-freeman-hrabowski-scholar-california-institute-of-technology/ Cell Biology Department Seminars-Meet Our Speaker: Rebecca Voorhees, PhD, Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering , HHMI Freeman Hrabowski Scholar, California Institute of Technology Mon, 02 Feb 2026 05:00:00 Z https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-dr-taekjip-ha/ https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-dr-taekjip-ha/ Professor Taekjip Ha is a world-renowned biophysicist whose pioneering work in single-molecule fluorescence and force spectroscopy has transformed how scientists visualize and understand molecular mechanisms. He is the George D. Yancopoulos in Honor of Frederick W. Alt Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and a Senior Investigator in the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital, where he also serves as Director. A Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator since 2005, Prof. Ha is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His career has been marked by both technological innovation and biological discovery, earning him numerous accolades—including the Kazuhito Kinosita Award and the Gregory Weber Award—and establishing him as one of the leading figures in modern biophysics. Wed, 19 Nov 2025 05:00:00 Z https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-dr-edwin-chapman/ https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-dr-edwin-chapman/ Edwin Chapman is a professor of Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an HHMI Investigator. The Chapman lab has spent the last 28 years studying the molecular mechanisms that mediate calcium-triggered exocytosis and their effects on synaptic function, as well as a variety of associated membrane trafficking events. Ahead of his talk on Tuesday, April 29th, I had the opportunity to chat with Dr. Chapman about his work, his approach to science, and what he takes away from all his years in the lab. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Wed, 07 May 2025 04:00:00 Z https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-dr-roberto-zoncu/ https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-dr-roberto-zoncu/ As a scientist, starting from my postdoc and continuing in my own lab, we have helped redefine the role of the lysosome. Historically, it was considered a “boring organelle,” just the endpoint of degradation—a cellular trash can. But we’ve demonstrated that the lysosome is actually a sophisticated signaling center. We now call it the “metabolic computer” of the cell because it integrates information from other organelles and nutrient signals, particularly through mTOR kinase. The lysosome and mTOR communicate to make key metabolic decisions, balancing anabolism and catabolism. This has far-reaching implications for various cell types, including neurons, immune cells, and cancer cells. Thu, 17 Apr 2025 04:00:00 Z https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speaker-professor-dario-alessi/ https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speaker-professor-dario-alessi/ Professor Dario Alessi is a distinguished British biochemist whose groundbreaking research on protein kinases has significantly advanced our understanding of cellular signalling in health and disease. Born in Strasbourg, he earned his PhD from the University of Birmingham before joining the Medical Research Council’s Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit (MRC-PPU) at the University of Dundee, where he now serves as director. His pioneering work has provided critical insights into neurodegeneration, including elucidating key mechanisms of LRRK2, a kinase implicated in Parkinson’s disease, paving the way for targeted therapeutic strategies. Beyond his research, Professor Alessi is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of scientists. As director of the MRC-PPU, he has trained and guided numerous PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, fostering an environment of excellence and innovation. Mon, 17 Mar 2025 04:00:00 Z https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speaker-dr-arun-radhakrishnan/ https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speaker-dr-arun-radhakrishnan/ Arun Radhakrishnan, currently a professor at the Department of Molecular Genetics at UT Southwestern Medical Center, conducts research on the role of membrane cholesterol in regulating cell growth, lipid homeostasis, and immune defense against microbial infections. We had the opportunity to correspond with Arun in advance of his research seminar on Tuesday, January 28th, to gain insights into his scientific journey. Wed, 22 Jan 2025 05:00:00 Z https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-ning-wang/ https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-ning-wang/ Prof. Wang is visiting us on December 10th, and we had a zoom meeting ahead of his visit to talk about his research, his learnings and personal reflections from such an accomplished scientific career. Tue, 26 Nov 2024 17:00:00 Z https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-josh-gendron/ https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-josh-gendron/ We sat down with Dr Joshua Gendron to get a glimpse of his current research, his scientific journey and to learn about how he runs the Gendron Lab. Tue, 23 Jan 2024 05:00:00 Z https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-yuh-min-chook/ https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-yuh-min-chook/ We were fortunate to have Dr. Chook from UTSW visit us. Kerry Larkin sat down with Dr. Chook to discuss her scientific journey. Mon, 11 Dec 2023 05:00:00 Z https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-shixin-liu/ https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-shixin-liu/ Avinash Kumar discusses science and life with our invited speaker Dr. Shixin Liu. Thu, 30 Nov 2023 05:00:00 Z https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-dr-erin-schuman/ https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-dr-erin-schuman/ Dr. Schuman talks about why she is inspired by neuroscience and the obstacles that she encountered along her impressive career. Fri, 16 Jun 2023 04:00:00 Z https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-brian-chait/ https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-brian-chait/ Dr. Brian Chait, the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Professor, at Rockefeller University, will be visiting Yale to give a talk entitled “On Methods for Probing the Protein Interactions” on May 9, 2023. His lab focuses on developing tools, centering around mass spectrometry approaches to study the structure and function of biomolecular assemblies. Caroline Brown had the pleasure of chatting with him prior to his visit to Yale to find out about his personal and scientific journey. Mon, 08 May 2023 04:00:00 Z https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-dr-gillian-griffiths/ https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-dr-gillian-griffiths/ Dr. Gillian Griffiths visited the department a few weeks ago. She sat down with Meg Tian to talk about her lab, her research and her advice for trainees. Sun, 07 May 2023 04:00:00 Z https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-fikadu-tafesse/ https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-fikadu-tafesse/ Jan Parolek, a postdoc in the Burd lab, had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Tafesse before his visit to our department. Tue, 21 Mar 2023 04:00:00 Z https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-heidi-mcbride/ https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-heidi-mcbride/ We're fortunate to have Heidi McBride visit the department. She was interviewed by Amanda Bentley-DeSousa. Mon, 20 Feb 2023 04:00:00 Z https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-jennifer-lippincott-schwartz/ https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-jennifer-lippincott-schwartz/ We sat down with Dr. Lippincott-Schwartz before her seminar to hear about her career, interests, and best advice for early career scientists. Mon, 16 Jan 2023 04:00:00 Z https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-yixian-zheng/ https://medicine.yale.edu/cellbio/news-article/meet-our-speakers-yixian-zheng/ We sat down with Professor Yixian Zheng to hear about her research and mentoring experiences. Fri, 21 Oct 2022 04:00:00 Z