Events

Event Description

Levi Legler, Research Scientist, Pharmacology Department at Upstate Medical University  will be presenting on 'Single-cell Technologies and the Future of Genomics.' 

Following the proposal of the central dogma of biology in 1957 by Francis Crick, biological research shifted from observational studies to molecular investigation. Each technological leap since has sharpened our ability to measure biological processes, gradually building a clearer picture of the complex web of molecular interactions that allow life to resist the pull of entropy. Bulk RNA sequencing has been a cornerstone in developing our understanding of systems biology, particularly the relationships between gene expression and disease. However, the inherent limitation of bulk RNA-seq is that it averages gene expression across cell populations, masking the intricate details that make up the true nature of biological systems.

Enter single-cell technologies: These methods enable us to peer beneath the surface noise. By generating single-nucleus RNA libraries, we can evaluate gene expression for each cell within a sample, preserving natural variability that would otherwise be lost in the aggregate. These techniques are helping us uncover sub-classes of canonical cell types, peeling back another layer and revealing new levels of complexity within tissues we once thought were well understood.

Levi Legler (Msc.) is a Research Scientist in the pharmacology department at Upstate Medical University, specializing in single-cell technologies and genomics under Dr. Nathan Tucker. With a Master of Science in Data Science and a background in biostatistics and biology, his research focuses on identifying genetic biomarkers in cardiology. He has developed innovative single-cell analysis pipelines and contributed to advancing next-generation sequencing techniques, bringing together computational expertise and hands-on lab experience.