Nobel-Prize winning head of HHMI to deliver Perspectives in Science seminar June 22 in Pelton

Brief

Dr. Thomas Cech, president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), will speak at the final 2006 New Perspectives in Science seminar on Thursday, June 22, at 4:30 p.m. in Pelton Auditorium. His presentation addresses "Big Science, Small Science and Some Recent Science."

Cech, also a distinguished professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Colorado at Boulder, will describe HHMI's approach to funding "big science" by highlighting HHMI's new Janelia Farm Research Campus. The Virginia facility provides the setting for interdisciplinary, collaborative research focused on two areas: identifying the general principles that govern how information is processed by neuronal circuits; and developing imaging technologies and computational methods for image analysis. In discussing "small science," Cech will explain HHMI's investigator program.

In the second half of the talk, Cech will describe recent work from his lab, which explores the yeast telomerase RNA discovered by the Hutchinson Center's Dr. Dan Gottschling. Cech is working to understand the structure and function of catalytic RNA molecules and the activity and regulation of telomerase.

Cech has led HHMI since 2000 and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. His previous honors include the Lasker Award, the National Medal of Science, the Gairdner International Award and the 1989 Nobel Prize in chemistry.

While the seminars are open to all, the content is often scientifically technical. Pre-registration is not required.

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