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William J. Larsen, Ph.D., was a gifted scientist, consistently producing research at the forefront of cell, developmental, and reproductive biology. Early in his career, he published a landmark paper that conclusively established mitochondrial fission as the mechanism of mitochondrial biogenesis. He went on to become the first to demonstrate the endocytosis of gap junctions. Moreover, his work on the hormonal regulation of gap junction formation and growth culminated in an authoritative review article in Tissue and Cell, "Structural Diversity of Gap Junctions (1988)," which became a Citation Classic. Throughout his career, his sixty-seven peer-reviewed publications—not to mention numerous invited reviews, abstracts, and book chapters—covered a wide range of research areas including adrenal cortical tumor cells, human ovarian carcinomas, preterm labor, cumulus expansion, oocyte maturation, ovulation, folliculogenesis, and in vitro fertilization.
In addition to his many contributions to basic research, Bill loved to teach and was much appreciated by his students. His exceptional ability was reflected in the four teaching awards he received as a professor at the University of Cincinnati. Notably, he was the author of Human Embryology, a textbook for medical students that was the first to incorporate modern experimental research into a subject that had traditionally been taught in a strictly descriptive style. On its initial publication in 1998, it was hailed as "a magnificent book" by the European Medical Journal. With the release of the fourth edition in 2008, the book was renamed, "Larsen's Human Embryology," in recognition of Dr. Larsen's place as the originator of this revolutionary text.
This annual seminar takes place to honor Dr. Larsen's memory. Each year, the invited speaker is a leader in the field of developmental biology. The details of the next lecture are as follows:
February 6, 2025Ralph J. DeBerardinis, M.D., Ph.D.Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteProfessor, Children's Research InstituteRobert L. Moody, Sr. Faculty ScholarJoel B. Steinberg, M.D. Distinguished Chair in PediatricsUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
March 28, 2024Liqun Luo, Ph.D.Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAnn & Bill Swindells Professor of Humanities & Sciences Stanford University
April 27, 2023Sean Morrison, Ph.D.Professor and DirectorChildren's Medical Center Research Institute | Pediatrics Kathryne and Gene Bishop Distinguished Chair in Pediatric ResearchMary McDermott Cook Chair in Pediatric Genetics UT Southwestern Medical Center
May 19, 2022Yang Shi, Ph.D.Professor of Epigenetics Ludwig Cancer Research Center, University of Oxford
March 25, 2021Lewis C. Cantley, Ph.D.Professor of Cancer Biology in MedicineMedicine/Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City, New York
March 28, 2019Beth Levine, M.D.ProfessorCharles Cameron Sprague Distinguished Chair in Biomedical ScienceUT Southwestern Medical Center
September 13, 2018Benjamin G. Neel, M.D., Ph.D.Professor of MedicineLaura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer CenterNYU Langone Health
March 9, 2017Joan S. Brugge, Ph.D.Professor Department of Cell BiologyHarvard Medical School
May 19, 2016Stephen J. Weiss, M.D.Upjohn Professor of Medicine and OncologyResearch Professor, Life Sciences Institute University of Michigan
February 19, 2015 David C. Chan, M.D., Ph.D.HHMI Investigator California Institute of Technology
February 13, 2014Roel Nusse, Ph.D.Virginia & Daniel K. Ludwig Professor of Cancer Research Professor of Developmental Biology HHMI InvestigatorCalifornia Institute of TechnologyInstitute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Stanford University School of Medicine
January 24, 2013Eric Wieschaus, Ph.D.Squibb Professor in Molecular BiologyNobel Laureate/HHMI InvestigatorPrinceton University
November 3, 2011Allan C. Spradling, Ph.D.Director, Department of Embryology HHMI InvestigatorCarnegie Institution of Washington
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