Nobel Laureate Roger Tsien, Ph.D., to Deliver Sayer Vision Research Lecture, March 10

Roger Y. Tsien, Ph.D., winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2008, delivered the fourth annual Sayer Vision Research Lecture, hosted by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health. His talk was titled: “Breeding and Building Molecules to Spy on Cells and Tumors.”

Dr. Tsien, an investigator and professor at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the University of California, San Diego, was awarded the Nobel Prize for his contribution toward the discovery and development of green fluorescent protein (GFP). His work has developed GFP into a tool used by researchers worldwide to analyze the movements, positions, and interactions of tagged proteins within cells. Recently, fluorescent proteins have been used to visualize synaptic circuits, allowing researchers to map glial territories and follow glial cells and neurons over time in vivo.

Dr. Tsien’s research is at the interface of organic chemistry, cell biology, and neurobiology. He is best known for designing and building molecules that either report or perturb signal transduction inside living cells. Dr. Tsien is currently designing imaging and therapeutic molecules that specifically target cancer cells.

The Sayer Vision Research Fund supports the annual Sayer Lecture, which is delivered by an investigator in the area of vision research. The Fund also supports the Sayer Vision Research Award, a grant-in-aid to a promising independent investigator in the early stage of his or her research career in the Division of Intramural Research at NEI. Dr. Jane Sayer, a research scientist at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, established the Fund at the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health in 2006 to honor her family and the memory of her parents, Winthrop and Laura Sayer.
 

What:   Fourth Annual Sayer Vision Research Lecture
Who:    Roger Tsien, Ph.D., winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2008
When:  Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 1:00 p.m.
Where: Masur Auditorium, Building 10
              National Institutes of Health Campus
              10 Center Drive
              Bethesda, MD 20892
http://www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/visitor/maps/south_masur_auditorium.pdf

More Info:  http://www.nei.nih.gov/news/special/sayer.asp or contact the NEI Office of Communication at 301.496.5248 or neinews [at] nei [dot] nih [dot] gov

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The National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, leads the federal government’s research on the visual system and eye diseases. NEI supports basic and clinical science programs that result in the development of sight-saving treatments. For more information, visit www.nei.nih.gov.

The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health was established by the United States Congress to support the mission of the National Institutes of Health – improving health through scientific discovery. The Foundation identifies and develops opportunities for innovative public-private partnerships and collaborations and brings together industry, academia, and the philanthropic community in support of the efforts of the NIH. As a non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation, the Foundation raises private-sector funds for a broad portfolio of unique programs that complement and enhance NIH priorities and activities. The Foundation’s Web site address is www.fnih.org.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) - The Nation's Medical Research Agency - includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov