Multidisciplinary Research Seminar Series - Andrei Gudkov

Andrei Gudkov

March 9, 2018

The Office of Research created the CSU Multidisciplinary Research Seminar Series to promote an environment that enables, encourages, and rewards multidisciplinary and collaborative risk taking to solve the broad challenges in our increasingly complex world. This month, Dr. Andrei Gudkov, Senior Vice President for Basic Science and the Garman Family Chair of the Department of Cell Stress Biology at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, will present "Retrobiome" and Longevity Clock Mechanisms.

Abstract: Multiple families of endogenous retroelements ("retrobiome") comprise nearly half of mammalian genome. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that cancer origin and progression involves desilencing of retroelements that contribute to overall genomic instability, phenotypic plasticity and adaptability of cancer cells. Our recent studies revealed desilencing of specific components of retrobiome in somatic tissues during normal development and in the course of aging. Importantly, all these processes are "druggable," opening opportunities for novel approaches to treat cancer and aging.

Speaker Bio: Dr. Andrei Gudkov serves as the scientific lead for a broad gene- and drug-discovery program, and has pioneered several technologies in these fields. Dr. Gudkov has authored more than 200 scientific papers, including papers in Nature, Science, Nature Genetics, and Nature Chemical Biology. He is an inventor on 38 issued and 41 pending US patents. His work is funded by multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, biotech industry, and research foundations. More than 25 graduate students and postdocs have been trained in his laboratory, many of whom now hold leadership positions in academia and industry. He serves on the editorial board of several scientific journals, including Oncogene, Cancer Research, Cell Cycle, and Aging. Dr. Gudkov is the co-founder and co-editor-in-chief of the journal Oncotarget.

Dr. Gudkov has founded several biotech companies. He is the Chief Scientific Officer of Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBLI), which develops new agents discovered in his lab into clinically useful drugs for anticancer and biodefense applications. He founded Everon Biosciences in 2010 to develop anti-aging medicine. He founded Incuron in 2010 and Oncotartis in 2011 to develop and translate novel anti-cancer agents discovered in his lab.

Location: Parker Hannifin Hall 104

Time: March 9, 2018 from 12:00-1:15 pm.