Oxygen is both vital and toxic for life. A mismatch of oxygen supply and demand underlies countless clinical conditions ranging from inborn errors of metabolism (e.g. mitochondrial disease) to the leading causes of death (e.g. stroke, heart attacks and respiratory disease). We strive to unlock the mysteries of how the human body senses and responds to variations in oxygen levels. Using systems-level approaches, we plan to identify metabolic conditions which benefit from turning the “oxygen dial” to low or high oxygen. This will lay the groundwork to understanding the role of oxygen in aging and age-associated conditions. By viewing metabolism through the lens of oxygen, we hope to understand disease pathologies and pave the path for new therapies.
Where & When
Zoom Webinar
Thursday, June 22, 2023, 1:00 to 2:00 PM PT
About the Speaker
Isha received her undergraduate degree in Chemical and Physical Biology from Harvard University. There, she worked in the lab of Erin O’Shea on bacterial chromosome segregation. Subsequently, she joined the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology. During her PhD, she worked in the labs of Vamsi Mootha and Warren Zapol, where she discovered that hypoxia could serve as a therapy for mitochondrial disorders. This work led to a Phase 1 clinical trial. Isha began as a UCSF Sandler Faculty Fellow and then became an Assistant Professor at the Gladstone Institutes and UCSF in 2021. She has received the NIH Early Independence Grant, Searle Scholar Award, Klingenstein-Simons Award, Mallinckrodt Award, and AFAR Junior Faculty Grant.