NIH Director’s Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series Resumes

Dr. Joan Steitz of Yale University

The 2020-2021 NIH Director’s Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series (WALS) kicks off a new season on Wednesday, Sept. 23 with Dr. Joan Steitz, Sterling professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Yale University. Her talk is titled “Viral Noncoding RNAs: Approaching Answers.” Noncoding ribonucleic acids (RNAs) play pivotal roles in the regulation of gene expression but exhibit a diversity of functions whether encoded by cellular or viral genomes. For her lecture, the most recent high-resolution X-ray structures will be discussed.

Additional talks this fall include the annual William E. Paul Lecture with Dr. Michel C. Nussenzweig on Oct. 7 and the annual Rolla E. Dyer Lecture with Dr. Lisa Cooper on Oct. 28.

Nussenzweig, the Zanvil A. Cohn and Ralph M. Steinman professor at the Rockefeller University, will discuss his work that’s leading to new antibody-based therapies for infections by HIV, the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and other viruses.

Dr. Michel Nussenzweig of the Rockefeller University

Cooper directs the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity, where she and her team work with stakeholders from health care organizations and communities in the United States and Africa to implement rigorous clinical trials and identify interventions that alleviate racial and income disparities in social determinants and health outcomes.

The fall WALS lectures will be held most Wednesdays, 3-4 p.m., and can be viewed live online at videocast.nih.gov. The lectures will also be archived for later viewing.

To view the full list of speakers this year, visit http://wals.od.nih.gov. You can see the entire 2020-2021 Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series schedule there, as well as download the season’s poster.

For any questions or requests, contact Jacqueline Roberts at robertsjm@od.nih.gov.