Research Events

KEYNOTE
The Class of 1966 Endowed Lecture

Aimee L. Edinger, VMD, PhD

Redirecting Cellular Traffic: Translating Cell Biology into Therapeutic Opportunities

Abstract

Using sphingolipids as an entry point, my laboratory has uncovered evolutionarily conserved mechanisms that redirect intracellular traffic to reprogram cellular physiology under stress. We have shown that small molecules modeled on natural sphingolipids reroute vesicular and nuclear trafficking pathways to modulate nutrient access, mitochondrial function, and growth-associated transcription and signaling. In animal models, these compounds suppress pathological growth programs, overcome drug resistance, restore mitochondrial health, disrupt viral entry, and even enhance delivery of nucleic acid–based therapeutics. By integrating cell biology, chemistry, and a focus on unmet needs in medicine, our work illustrates how cell biologists can produce drugs that are both safe and effective by copying nature.

About Dr. Edinger

Aimee L. Edinger, VMD, PhD, is a professor of developmental and cell biology in the Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences at UC Irvine (UCI), with an adjunct appointment in pharmaceutical sciences. She received a BS in animal physiology from UC Davis and then completed her VMD/PhD at the University of Pennsylvania from 1992–1999. After a postdoctoral fellowship in Craig Thompson’s lab at Penn, she joined UCI in 2005. Dr. Edinger’s laboratory conducts translational cell biology research focused on altering endolysosomal trafficking to develop new treatments that overcome drug resistance in cancer, correct metabolic defects in obesity, restrict viral replication, and enhance the delivery of nucleic acid therapeutics. Her research has been supported by the NIH, Department of Defense, and numerous private foundations. She has served as a chartered member of the NIH Cancer Cell Biology Study Section and the American Cancer Society’s Cellular Growth Control Study Section. Dr. Edinger is an AAAS Fellow, a former UCI Chancellor’s Fellow, and a UCI Faculty Innovation Fellow. She is an inventor on seven patents and co-founded a company with her chemistry collaborator that secured multiple NIH Small Business Innovation Research grants as well as venture funding. She is also a committed teacher and mentor, recognized by the De Gallow UCI Professor of the Year Award, two Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Research, and the Carol Connor Mentoring Award. She currently serves as co-director of an NCI T32 program supporting interdisciplinary cancer research training.

About The Class of 1966 Endowed Lecture

In 1991, a gift from the class of 1966 established an endowed fund to support major lectures at the School of Veterinary Medicine.

Aimee L. Edinger, VMD, PhD
Professor and Chancellor’s Fellow
Developmental & Cell Biology
Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences
University of California, Irvine