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The Diversity in Biology Speaker Series: Looking for Unknown Unknowns in Specialized Metabolism

March 17, 2022 at 11:00 am - 12:30 pm

Free

The Diversity in Biology Speaker Series invites you to attend a talk by Dr. Mehran Dastmalchi.

Plants produce a diverse array of specialized metabolites, contributing to or inspiring many medicines in use today. The study of plant metabolism has revealed their secrets—such as opium poppy and Madagascar periwinkle—responsible for a host of analgesic and anti-cancer drugs.

The first step in leveraging plant biochemistry is knowledge of the genes, enzymes, and auxiliary components required to convert simple compounds to complex drugs. Attempts to reconstitute such pathways in heterologous systems have encountered “carbon loss” in the form of unexpected by-products.

Dr. Dastmalchi will discuss what auxiliary features in plants circumvent, or even preclude, branching pathways.

Register now

About the Speaker

Dr. Mehran Dastmalchi joined McGill University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Plant Science in the Fall of 2020. He is setting up a research program to study metabolism in legume species (Fabaceae), with interest in pathways producing defense and health compounds. He received his PhD from Western University in 2015.

Details

Date:
March 17, 2022
Time:
11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Cost:
Free

Additional Info

Registration/RSVP Required
Yes (see event description)
Event Type
Talk/Lecture
Topic
Culture and Diversity, Science, Technology and Engineering
Audiences
Alumni, Community, Faculty, Staff, Students