Selby Fellowship lecture—The dark genome: impact for cardiac health and disease

About the talk

Almost 18 years ago, scientists celebrated the publishing in the Scientific journal Nature of the first attempt to sequence the human genome. One of the interesting discoveries of the human genome project was that a large section of the human genome was not used to build our bodies or to catalyse chemical reactions within cells. This was presumed useless and so went mostly unexplored. However, further investigations showed that more than 80 per cent of this unexplored genome DNA, called the ‘dark genome’, is transcribed into RNAs, the everyday working copies of DNA—some of which have multiple regulatory activities and control many biological functions in tissue homeostasis and diseases.

This lecture will provide an overview of these exciting explorations into the dark genome, including one of the first studies showing that targeting microRNAs or long non-coding RNAs may provide a therapeutic option for treating patients with cardiac disease. Since cardiovascular diseases are among the leading causes of death, these novel approaches affecting cardiac ageing, repair and regeneration may contribute to improving morbidity and mortality rates.

About the Selby Fellowship

This lecture is one in a series of Selby Fellowship lectures by the 2018 recipient Professor Stefanie Dimmeler. Details of the series will be published on this website as dates and times are confirmed.

Fellowships are awarded to distinguished overseas scientists to visit Australia for public lecture or seminar tours, and to visit scientific centres in Australia.

The Selby Fellowship is financed through the generosity of the trustees of the Selby Scientific Foundation

About the speaker

Professor Stefanie Dimmeler received her undergraduate, graduate and PhD degrees from the University of Konstanz in Konstanz, Germany. She then completed a fellowship in experimental surgery at the University of Cologne and in molecular cardiology at the University of Frankfurt.

She is Professor of Experimental Medicine and Director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Regeneration, Centre for Molecular Medicine at the University of Frankfurt. Professor Dimmeler is author of more than 300 peer-reviewed papers, and has been invited as a speaker to more than 300 national and international meetings and seminars and has presented various keynote lectures. She has also received more than 15 national and international awards. Her research group explains the basic mechanisms underlying cardiovascular disease and vessel growth.

The Shine Dome,15 Gordon Street Australian Capital Territory

Contact Information

5:30 PM February 07, 2019
FOR Public
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Add to Calendar 07/02/2019 5:30 PM 07/02/2019 5:30 PM Australia/Sydney Selby Fellowship lecture—The dark genome: impact for cardiac health and disease

About the talk

Almost 18 years ago, scientists celebrated the publishing in the Scientific journal Nature of the first attempt to sequence the human genome. One of the interesting discoveries of the human genome project was that a large section of the human genome was not used to build our bodies or to catalyse chemical reactions within cells. This was presumed useless and so went mostly unexplored. However, further investigations showed that more than 80 per cent of this unexplored genome DNA, called the ‘dark genome’, is transcribed into RNAs, the everyday working copies of DNA—some of which have multiple regulatory activities and control many biological functions in tissue homeostasis and diseases.

This lecture will provide an overview of these exciting explorations into the dark genome, including one of the first studies showing that targeting microRNAs or long non-coding RNAs may provide a therapeutic option for treating patients with cardiac disease. Since cardiovascular diseases are among the leading causes of death, these novel approaches affecting cardiac ageing, repair and regeneration may contribute to improving morbidity and mortality rates.

About the Selby Fellowship

This lecture is one in a series of Selby Fellowship lectures by the 2018 recipient Professor Stefanie Dimmeler. Details of the series will be published on this website as dates and times are confirmed.

Fellowships are awarded to distinguished overseas scientists to visit Australia for public lecture or seminar tours, and to visit scientific centres in Australia.

The Selby Fellowship is financed through the generosity of the trustees of the

About the speaker

Professor Stefanie Dimmeler received her undergraduate, graduate and PhD degrees from the University of Konstanz in Konstanz, Germany. She then completed a fellowship in experimental surgery at the University of Cologne and in molecular cardiology at the University of Frankfurt.

She is Professor of Experimental Medicine and Director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Regeneration, Centre for Molecular Medicine at the University of Frankfurt. Professor Dimmeler is author of more than 300 peer-reviewed papers, and has been invited as a speaker to more than 300 national and international meetings and seminars and has presented various keynote lectures. She has also received more than 15 national and international awards. Her research group explains the basic mechanisms underlying cardiovascular disease and vessel growth.

The Shine Dome,15 Gordon Street Australian Capital Territory false DD/MM/YYYY

Contact Information

5:30 PM February 07, 2019

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