UCMR seminar with Dominique Soldati-Favre and Thierry Soldati

Welcome to a seminar in the UCMR (Umeå Centre for Microbiological Research) seminar series, with two invited speakers. Fika will be served between the talks, and no registration is required!

Associate Professor Thierry Soldati, Department of Biochemistry, University of Geneva, Switzerland

Seminar title: Dictyostelium as a model phagocyte to study cell-autonomous and altruistic defence against (myco)bacteria infection

The research of Thierry Soldati is focused on understanding the evolutionarily conserved cellular and molecular mechanisms of cell-autonomous immunity against pathogens. His research group uses the amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum as a model host organism for investigating, among others, host-pathogen relationships, membrane damage sensing and repair, as well as for screening for anti-infective compounds.

Professor Dominique Soldati-Favre, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Geneva, Switzerland

Seminar title: Evolutionary Insights into the Assembly of Mitoribosomes in Alveolates

The aim of Dominique Soldati-Favre's research is to understand how obligate intracellular parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii cross biological barriers, penetrate host cells and replicate within them. Her research group has focused on developing methods for genetically manipulating this parasite, and more recently they have established an inducible system to study the function of essential parasite genes. Her other major research interests are the molecular mechanisms involved in parasite motility, host cell attachment and invasion, and the strategies allowing intracellular survival.