Integrated Calendar

In my talk I will discuss several recent research directions that we have taken to explore the different principles underlying the construction and control of complex human upper arm and gait movements. In these studies we combine experimental recordings of human movements with the development of mathematical models aiming at providing rigorous quantitative descriptions of human movement and investigating the underlying neural control strategies. One important topic I will focus on is motor compositionality, exploring the nature of the motor primitives underlying the construction of complex movements at different levels of the motor hierarchy and the topic of motor coordination and the mapping between different control levels. The second topic I will focus on is motion kinematics and timing, describing a series of behavioral and brain imaging studies demonstrating the strong coupling between motion production and perception. Finally, I will illustrate the application of the new gained understanding in studies of different neurological movement disorders.

ABSTRACT
During development, each cell must resolve its fate, shape and position. Revealing how these decisions are made is critical to understand how embryos form, yet their real time control in mammals is unknown. Because fixed specimens cannot capture in vivo cell dynamics, we use imaging technologies to study single cells directly in live mouse embryos. We recently combined fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and photoactivation to show how the transcription factors Oct4 and Sox2 bind to DNA to determine the first cell fates of the embryo. We also designed methods to study how cells regulate their mechanical properties, and how they reorganize their actin and microtubule cytoskeletons to establish the first forms of tissue architecture. We discovered a new class of filopodia which helps cells to polarize and achieve embryo compaction, a role for cortical tension in driving the formation of the pluripotent inner mass, and a new type of non-centrosomal microtubule organizing center (MTOC) directing intracellular transport and differentiation in the embryo.

Radiotherapy is a highly personalized treatment, where dose distribution is tailored to the patient based on anatomical and clinical information. Advances in particle therapy, image guidance and treatment adaptation will broaden the scope and precision of radiotherapy, while novel prognostic and predictive biomarkers will act as a basis for further individualized treatment. Additionally, a sound understanding of biological radioresistance mechanisms will be essential, for example, to combat relapse after therapy. Future developments in personalized and high precision medicine will depend on comprehensive research networks to collect reliable data from large and homogeneous patient collectives.