Keynote Speakers 2023

---

 Dr. Tamas Balla is a Senior Investigator leading the Section of Molecular Signal Transduction, as part of the Program for Developmental Neuroscience within the NICHD, NIH. Dr. Balla received his M.D. degree in 1979 from Semmelweis University Medical School in Budapest, Hungary and his Ph.D and D.Sc. degrees from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1987 and 2009, respectively. His research has been primarily concerned with the roles of phosphoinositides in cellular trafficking and signaling with particular emphasis on phosphoinositide 4-kinases. His group was one of the first to report on live cell imaging of PtdIns(4,5)P2 and PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 and continues to focus on improving methods by which to visualize and manipulate phosphoinositides and other lipids in specific cellular compartments in intact living cells. The ultimate goal of Dr. Balla’s research is to understand how eukaryotic cells create and maintain the unique lipid composition of their organelle membranes. Dr. Balla is a member of the American Society of Cell Biology, the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Hungarian Physiological Society. He is an external member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

For more information: https://www.nichd.nih.gov/research/atNICHD/Investigators/balla

 Dr. Tatyana Igumenova received her Ph.D. (with Distinction) in Physical Chemistry from Columbia University and obtained postdoctoral training at UPenn and later at Columbia University Medical School. In 2008, she joined the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Texas A&M as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Full Professor in 2023. The research focus of her laboratory is structural biology and biophysics of proteins involved in signal transduction at the membrane surface. Dr. Igumenova has raised $4.2 million in external research funding from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation (including the CAREER award), Welch Research Foundation, and Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement award. Dr. Igumenova taught 8 different courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels, with educational content ranging from genetics to quantum mechanics; trained award-winning graduate students; and served on 38 graduate student committees. As the faculty director, Dr. Igumenova developed state-of-the-art $5.0 million Biomolecular NMR resource at Texas A&M. Her recent national contributions include service as a member of the Journal of Biological Chemistry editorial board, and member of the site visit team assembled by the National Science Foundation to evaluate the operation of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.

For more information: http://www.igumenova-lab.com/