NIH Director’s Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series

Advancing Therapies for Children and Adults with Rare Tumors or Genetic Tumor Predisposition Syndromes

Dr. Widemann is the Chief of the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI’s) Pediatric Oncology Branch. Trained as a pediatric oncologist with expertise in drug development and early clinical trials for children with refractory cancers she applied her expertise to study genetic tumor predisposition syndromes (GTPS), in particular neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and very rare pediatric and adult solid tumors.

CFTR, the Odd ABC Transporter Responsible for Cystic Fibrosis

We study ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, a diverse group of membrane proteins integral to almost every biological process. In prokaryotes, these proteins are critical for survival. In humans, ABC transporters make up one of the largest gene families, and more than a dozen genetic diseases have been traced to ABC transporter defects. ABC transporters are also central to multidrug resistance in many pathogenic bacteria and in tumor cells.

On the Design of Bionic Limbs: The Science of Tissue-Synthetic Interface

Professor Herr's research program seeks to advance technologies that promise to accelerate the merging of body and machine, including device architectures that resemble the body’s musculoskeletal design, actuator technologies that behave like muscle, and control methodologies that exploit principles of biological movement. His methods encompass a diverse set of scientific and technological disciplines, from the science of biomechanics and biological movement control to the design of biomedical devices for the treatment of human physical disability.