Mar 11, 2014
from 02:30 PM to 03:30 PM
|Where||00-002 Pagano Conf Rm, Lineberger|
|Contact Name||Lissa Mohr|
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Dr. Andrei P. Kozlov, Professor of Biology, is Director of Biomedical Center and Chief, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Research Institute of Pure Biochemicals, St.Petersburg, Russia. He is well known as a pioneer of AIDS research in Russia since 1987 when he discovered the first cases of HIV infection in the USSR. He was involved in all major events in the field of HIV/AIDS in Russia. Simultaneously, he continued his research in evolutionary oncology.
In his new book, Evolution by Tumor Neofunctionalization, just published by Academic Press/Elsevier, Prof. Kozlov explores the possibility of the positive role of tumors in evolution of multicellular organisms. This unique perspective goes beyond recent publications on how evolution may influence tumors. Widespread in nature tumors represent a much broader category than malignant tumors only. The majority of tumors in humans and other animals may never undergo malignant transformation. Tumors may differentiate with the loss of malignancy, and malignant tumors may spontaneously regress. Cellular oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes play roles in normal development. Many features of tumors could be used in evolution, and there are examples of tumors that have played a role in evolution. These topics and the author’s experimental data will be discussed during the seminar.