Mechanotransduction across scales: genetics, physiology, and structure of PIEZO Channels in C. elegans
Dec
7
2026
Dec
7
2026
Description
Dr. Valeria Vasquez is an Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
PIEZO channels convert mechanical forces into cellular signals and play important roles in physiology and disease. Using C. elegans and its single PIEZO ortholog, pezo-1, our work examines mechanotransduction across scales, from organismal physiology and channel function to genetics and channel structure. We showed that PEZO-1 is a mechanosensitive channel involved in food sensation and the regulation of pharyngeal pumping. Most recently, structural studies of PEZO-1 isoforms revealed unexpected architectural diversity and provided new insight into how alternative splicing may tune mechanosensitivity. Together, these studies uncover both conserved and divergent principles of PIEZO channel function, regulation, and physiology.
Hosted by Dr. Amy Lee
To subscribe to our Seminars Series mailing list, please visit https://utlists.utexas.edu/sympa/info/neu-seminars and click on "Subscribe" in the left-hand column.
Please contact Neuro.Seminar.Series@austin.utexas.edu with any questions.
Other Events in This Series
Jan
26
2026
A Neural Circuit for Economic Decisions
2025-26 Neuroscience Seminar Series
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Speaker(s): Camillo Padoa-Schioppa - Washington University in St. Louis
Feb
2
2026
Synaptic Signaling in Memory and Chronic Pain-Related Disorders
2025-26 Neuroscience Seminar Series
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Speaker(s): Kimberly Tolias - Baylor College of Medicine
Feb
9
2026
Membrane curvature-regulated intracellular signaling
2025-26 Neuroscience Seminar Series
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Speaker(s): Bianxiao Cui - Stanford University
Feb
16
2026
Credit assignment through critical period plasticity
2025-26 Neuroscience Seminar Series
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Speaker(s): David Ehrlich - University of Wisconsin-Madison
Mar
9
2026
The curious case of dopaminergic error signals and learning beyond value….
2025-26 Neuroscience Seminar Series
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Speaker(s): Geoffrey Schoenbaum - NIH
Mar
30
2026
Hypothalamic Supramammillary Glutamatergic Circuits Linking Salience to Mesolimbic Dopamine and Reinforcement
2025-26 Neuroscience Seminar Series
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Speaker(s): Satoshi Ikemoto - NIH
Apr
13
2026
Feeling the force: PIEZO ion channels in interoception
2025-26 Neuroscience Seminar Series
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Speaker(s): Kara Marshall - Baylor College of Medicine
Apr
20
2026
Investigating the Neuronal and Network-Level Mechanisms Underlying Alzheimer’s Disease
2025-26 Neuroscience Seminar Series
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Speaker(s): Andrew George - Virgina Commonwealth University
Apr
27
2026
Neural Mechanisms of Spatial Orientation
2025-26 Neuroscience Seminar Series
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Speaker(s): Mark Brandon - McGill University
Aug
31
2026
A Neural Circuit for Economic Decisions
2026-27 Neuroscience Seminar Series
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm • In Person
Speaker(s): Camillo Padoa-Schioppa - Washington University in St. Louis
