Application for degree due to The Graduate School to receive a degree in Fall

Presented by Dr. Andreas Hielscher, Professor and Chair of Biomedical Engineering at NYU

Vascular Optical Tomographic Imaging (VOTI) is an emerging non-invasive imaging modality that enables real-time, three-dimensional mapping of key physiological parameters. As part of the BME Seminar Series, Dr. Hielscher shares recent clinical results and explores how VOTI is becoming a practical bedside and even at-home tool, thanks to advancements in flexible electronics and textile-integrated optoelectronics.

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Friday, October 30, 2026 @ 12pm CT

Live on Zoom - Registration Is Free Here

Abstract

Gene dosage and epigenetic regulation are fundamental processes that ensure balanced gene expression in health and disease. Research from the Akhtar Lab has focused on lysine acetyltransferases, uncovering previously unrecognized functions of these epigenetic enzymes and their links to human disease. Central to this work is the histone acetyltransferase MOF, an evolutionarily conserved regulator of gene dosage control and housekeeping gene expression from fruit flies to mammals. MOF functions within two distinct chromatin-modifying complexes, MSL and NSL, which determine its substrate specificity and regulatory roles. The lab has demonstrated how MOF, within the MSL complex, regulates X chromosome gene dosage and has revealed the importance of roX long non-coding RNAs in directing the MSL complex specifically to the X chromosome. In parallel, studies on MOF led to the identification of the NSL complex as a key regulator of genome-wide transcription, mitochondrial physiology, and cellular metabolism. Increasing evidence further highlights the pathological significance of the human MSL and KANSL complexes, particularly in disorders associated with intellectual disability. Together, these findings underscore the central role of histone acetylation in coordinating chromatin regulation, dosage compensation, metabolic homeostasis, and disease. The latest advances and emerging insights into the epigenetic and metabolic functions of MSL and KANSL complexes will be presented.

About Asifa Akhtar

Asifa Akhtar received her PhD from the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London in 1997. After a postdoc at the Adolf Butenandt Institute in Munich and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Akhtar started her own research group at EMBL in 2001. In 2009, she moved to the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg, where she was appointed Director of the Department of Chromatin Regulation in 2013. In 2020, Asifa Akhtar became the first international female Vice President of the Biology and Medicine Section of the Max Planck Society. She was re-elected for a second term and will continue to hold this position until 2029. Akhtar has received numerous awards for her scientific excellence, leadership, and contributions to gender equality, including Germany’s highest scientific honor, the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize in 2021. Other top achievements include the 2025 FEBS|EMBO Women in Science Award, election to the Royal Society in 2025, and the Baden-Württemberg Order of Merit in 2026.

Sponsored by the Center for Physical Genomics and Engineering, the Cancer and Physical Sciences Program at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, and NIH Grants T32GM142604 and U54CA268084

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