Seminar on 'Ligand-Receptor Interactions in Midline Axon Guidance' on Friday

University Relations

Tim Evans

The U of A's Tim Evans will give a virtual seminar titled "Ligand-receptor interactions in midline axon guidance" on Zoom from 4-5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2. The talk is free and open to the public.

Tim received his B.S. in biology in 2001 from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. He earned his Ph.D. in genetics from Indiana University in 2006 studying wing vein patterning in Drosophila with Joe Duffy. He began his studies in developmental neuroscience on axon guidance in the Drosophila embryonic nervous system as a postdoc in Greg Bashaw's lab at the University of Pennsylvania. Tim joined the faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Arkansas as an assistant professor in 2013 and was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 2019.

Evans will speak about the evolutionarily conserved axon guidance signaling pathways that guide growing axons to their synaptic targets during nervous system development. In these pathways, ligand-receptor interactions can signal attraction (leading the axon to grow towards the ligand source) or repulsion (leading the axon to grow away from or avoid the ligand source). Most axons follow a series of attractive and repulsive cues to guide them along their proper path. In animals with bilateral symmetry, one of the most important of these intermediate targets is the midline of the central nervous system. Specialized cells at the midline secrete attractive and repulsive cues to instruct axons when and where to cross the midline to the opposite side of the body.

Evans will introduce the main signaling pathways that regulate midline crossing of axons, and discuss recent work from his lab in deciphering the structural basis for ligand-receptor interactions and repulsive signaling in the Roundabout (Robo) family of axon guidance receptors.

To attend the seminar, please visit the Zoom link.

Meeting ID: 873 4638 0922
Passcode: 8x&W7k)B