CNLM Colloquium UCI Spotlight Series

Which model system is “best”?  An argument from toxicology.

Join the CNLM in a hybrid colloquium featuring Dr. Georg Striedter, Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior at UC Irvine.

This event will be held in-person in the Herklotz Conference Center and virtually via Zoom.

Description:

As researchers seek to find treatments for various disorders, they tend to use diverse model systems, but which models are “best” for a given aim? Dr. Striedter has recently published a book on this topic and, in this talk, will discuss the challenges of model system selection from a perspective rarely mentioned at the CNLM, namely that of toxicology. As toxicologists examine whether a particular compound is toxic to humans, should they study cultured cells, mice, guinea pigs, monkeys, or (of course) multiple models? As the number of studied models goes up, what happens to the risk of obtaining false positives? Which research strategy is most cost effective? These questions have clear analogs when it comes to selecting models for research on human diseases, neurological or otherwise. Dr. Striedter will discuss these analogies briefly, using Alzheimer’s disease as a CNLM-relevant example. He intends to leave plenty of room for discussion.