Our next set of Demystifying Medicine presentations will journey back to the origin of life on Earth and explore how conditions then, so dependent on solar energy, set the stage for circadian rhythm and its relationship to health and disease. Our speakers are Matthew Powner, Ph.D. (University College London) and Samer Hattar (NIH NIMH). The presentations are on Tuesday, March 3, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. ET, remote-only and viewable at the time of the event via https://videocast.nih.gov (and subsequently archived).

Our first speaker in this session is Dr. Powner, Professor of Organic Chemistry at University College London. Powner studies the chemical origins of life, demonstrating that key building blocks such as RNA and peptides could have formed simultaneously on early Earth. He has demonstrated that thioesters and RNA likely worked together, providing a unified model for the emergence of genetic code and metabolism.

Our second speaker is Dr. Hattar, Chief of the Section on Light and Circadian Rhythms on the National Institute of Mental Health. Hattar aims to understand how ipRGCs detect light and send information to the brain to regulate physiology and behavior. His lab has shown that ipRGCs target many visual centers in the brain including the circadian pacemaker and the area responsible for pupil constriction and are critical for the influence of light on circadian rhythms, sleep, and mood.

The Demystifying Medicine Series, jointly sponsored by FAES and NIH, includes presentations on pathology, diagnosis, and therapy in the context of major disease problems and current research. Primarily directed toward Ph.D. students, clinicians and program managers, this series is designed to help bridge the gap between advances in biology and their application to major human diseases. Each session includes clinical and basic science components presented by NIH staff and invitees. All students, trainees, fellows, and staff are welcome to participate. For more information go to https://demystifyingmedicine.od.nih.gov/