PhD Thesis Defence on Michael’s Domain

PhD thesis defense about hepsin's role in breast cancer

Sun, 24 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Last Saturday, Denis Belitškin defended his Ph.D. thesis. The topic was The role of type II serine protease hepsin in breast cancer signaling . I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion with the opponent Karin List , which happened over Zoom with only a small real-life audience. Proteases have slowly become one of my favorite protein classes. In the old days, they mostly were appreciated for their degradation function, but it is meanwhile clear that they are much more complex. My own interest is their role in the activation of signaling molecules. In this context, proteases are signaling molecules, playing at the same level as hormones, cytokines, and growth factors. Thanks, Denis for a convincing performance and the karonkka!

Dr. Sawan K. Jha: Mechanism of VEGF-C Activation […]

Mon, 01 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

My first Ph.D. mentee successfully defended his thesis on the topic Mechanism of VEGF-C Activation and Effect on Lymphatic Growth and Regeneration . Due to the COVID-19 situation, we organized the event remotely and used the Zoom virtual meeting software. The opponent was Prof. Jonathan Sleeman from the University of Heidelberg. Both the defendant and the opponent did a fantastic job, and the discussion brought to light several new directions for future research, which I had not been thinking about before. VEGF-C is a tricky protein and I am sure it still holds some surprises for the diligent researcher. Unfortunately, there was no reception, no dinner, and no karonkka (after-dinner graduation party), but we are planning to have a party later this year when the COVID-19 situation permits!

PhD Defence (November 29, 2002): Lectio praecursoria

Mon, 07 Apr 2003 00:00:00 +0000