Kshitij Mohan, RKMV 2007

About the Speaker:

Kshitij is working as a postdoctoral researcher in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Oxford where he is studying the molecular mechanisms that control heart development and regeneration. Before joining University of Oxford, he completed his PhD from the International Max Planck Research School in Tübingen where he studied age-associated changes in expression of genes and epigenetic mechanisms in the vascular cells in the brain that lead to increased incidents of cerebral hemorrhages with age. He completed his Bachelor and Master of Science from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali with a major in Biological Sciences.

About the Adda:

When life starts, it starts as a single cell in the mother's womb. In addition to dividing into trillions of cells, that cell also differentiates into several hundred different types of cells with specific functions. Despite exactly the same genetic code, why is a heart cell that beats different from a cell in the liver that helps in processing chemicals in our blood? Similarly, two identical twins have the same genetic blueprint and yet they significantly differ from each other in many biological aspects. What drives these differences despite the exact similarity in genetics? Kshitij will be discussing epigenetics - the changes that switch a gene "on" or "off", and affect the way genes work. He will also explore other aspects of epigenetics and the role it plays in everyday lives.