Keynote Speakers

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Dr. Alex Toker is a Professor in the Department of Pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Chief of the Division of Signal Transduction and Associate Director of the Cancer Research Institute in the Cancer Center. The lab has membership in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences PhD Program, the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, and the Ludwig Center at Harvard.    Our research focuses on the cell and molecular biology of cancer. We are investigating the mechanisms by which signaling pathways impact tumor cell survival, invasion and metastasis. We are also studying metabolic alterations in tumor cells and how these lead to vulnerabilities that can be used to target tumors with specific therapies.  Our goal is to decipher the complex mechanisms by which these pathways impact cancer progression, with the ultimate goal of developing drugs that interfere with malignancy.

For more information: http://www.tokerlab.com/

 Dr. Alyssa Hasty earned her Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University in the laboratory of Dr. Sergio Fazio and then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Tokyo University in the laboratory of Dr. Hitoshi Shimano. She was recruited back to Vanderbilt as a faculty member in the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics (MPB), and is now a Full Professor. Dr. Hasty is particularly interested in career development and is the Associate Dean for Faculty in the Basic Sciences within the School of Medicine. Dr. Hasty is a leader in the field of immunometabolism, primarily studying the role of macrophages in obesity and metabolic disease. She developed one of the first mouse models to study obesity-related hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis. She is also interested in the nutritional aspects of metabolic disease including a focus on the impact of various dietary fatty acids on metabolism. Her current work focuses on macrophage iron handling as well as on immune changes in adipose tissue in weight gain, weight loss, and weight cycling. Dr. Hasty has received funding from the Veteran’s Administration, American Heart Association, and National Institutes of Health. She has published over 100 original papers and review/book chapters. 

For more information: https://lab.vanderbilt.edu/hasty-lab/person/alyssa-hasty-phd/