Neurobiology expert Zoghbi set for next Discovery Lecture
Huda Zoghbi, M.D., a leader in identifying and studying the genetic mutations that cause several neurological disorders, will deliver the next Discovery Lecture on Thursday, March 24.
Huda Zoghbi, M.D.
Her lecture, “Rett Syndrome and MECP2 Disorders: Linking Epigenetics to Neurobiology,” will begin at 4 p.m. in 208 Light Hall.
Zoghbi, a professor of Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, left her native Lebanon in the midst of a civil war after completing one year of medical school. She earned her M.D. at Meharry Medical College in Nashville.
During her residency training in pediatric neurology, Zoghbi became intrigued by Rett syndrome, a disorder that affects mostly girls and causes repetitive hand movements, gastrointestinal symptoms, seizures and loss of verbal and motor skills.
Zoghbi and her colleagues found that mutations in the methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 gene (MECP2) cause Rett syndrome. MECP2 mutations also cause autism, mild or severe retardation and even psychosis.
The investigators have developed mouse models with MECP2 mutations to explore the gene's function in neurobiology and in Rett syndrome and related disorders.
Zoghbi is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine. Her lecture is sponsored by the Department of Pediatrics and the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center.
For a complete schedule of the Discovery Lecture series and archived video of previous lectures, go to www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/discoveryseries.