UA Evolution Lectureship Series Continues with Biochemist Yousif Shamoo

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The fourth in a series of public lectures on evolution will continue at The University of Alabama with biochemist Dr. Yousif Shamoo. Shamoo will speak on “Thinking Small: Evolution in a World the Size of a Coffee Pot” on Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m. in 127 Biology Building Auditorium on the UA campus.

Shamoo will speak about the molecular basis of evolution – how genes encoding specific proteins change in response to changes in the environment – including insights obtained from recent experiments on real-time evolution of heat-resistant proteins in bacteria.

Shamoo is an associate professor of biochemistry and cell biology at Rice University. His research areas include structural biology, protein-RNA interactions, molecular mechanisms of cancer, and molecular evolution. Shamoo received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Carnegie-Mellon University and his doctorate in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale University.

Using a combination of biochemistry and structural biology (especially X-ray crystallography), Shamoo’s lab works on several important classes of proteins, including RNA-binding proteins involved in cellular regulation and differentiation, and DNA-binding proteins involved in replication of cellular and viral DNA. They have recently started to work on applying these techniques to molecular evolution in bacterial populations.

The UA Department of Chemistry will sponsor Shamoo’s lecture.

The Alabama Lectures on Life’s Evolution (ALLELE) is a series of lectures and will continue with lectures on

• March 22: Dr. Douglas Crews, professor in the department of anthropology and the school of public health at Ohio State University, will speak about the evolutionarily unusual nature of human longevity and aging.

• April 19: Dr. Philip Gingerich, professor of geological sciences and curator of the Museum of Paleontology at the University of Michigan, will speak about the phylogeny and origin of whales, including the discovery and description of the earliest known whale.

The ALLELE series is funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation and by UA’s College of Arts and Sciences and College of Education. The lectures are designed for non-technical audience and are free and open to the public.