[Seminar] What transcriptomes tell us about disease

Seminar

This Seminar is part of the PhD Programs Plants for Life and Molecular Biosciences

Title: What transcriptomes tell us about disease

Speaker: Nuno Morais

Affiliation: Unit Director, IMM, University of Lisbon, Portugal

Abstract:

Most molecular pathogenic mechanisms involve strong transcriptional responses. Next-generation sequencing enables us to characterise the transcriptomes of biological samples beyond the mere quantification of gene expression and therefore to explore them as molecular portraits of cells' transcriptional states. Our group is interested in the systems-level transcriptional dysregulation underlying human disease and, in this talk, I will outline some of our most recent findings. For instance, I will discuss how single-cell transcriptomes can help us to unveil the functional interplay between brain cell types along the progression of Parkinson's disease. I will also describe an alternative mRNA splicing event that may be at the core of a prognostic molecular signature in colorectal cancer, as well as our efforts to unveil its functional role in the disease's progression.