Virginia Tech® home

Connexin Mutants and Cataracts: Clues to Gap Junction Functions

Insert your title here

Your Text Here
Eric Beyer, M.D., Ph.D.

Eric Beyer, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor of Pediatrics, Hematology, and Oncology
University of Chicago

Pioneers in Biomedical Research Seminar: Connexin Mutants and Cataracts - Clues to Gap Junction Functions

Date: Oct. 21, 2022

Time: 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

View Speaker Profile
Download Flyer

About this Seminar

Dr. Beyer and his laboratory have conducted a wide variety of studies of the connexin proteins that form gap junctions connecting adjacent cells in many tissues. In addition to facilitating electrical coupling between excitable cells, gap junction mediated intercellular communication is also important in non-excitable cells. Connexin mutants are linked to a variety of diseases. Dr. Beyer will present studies elucidating how connexin mutants and disruption of intercellular communication lead to disease in the eye lens.

Additional Details

This is a free event hosted by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and co-sponsored by the institute's Center for Vascular and Heart Research. The Pioneers in Biomedical Research Seminar Series, which runs annually from September to May, has featured leading biomedical researchers from throughout the country since the program began in 2012. The lectures are also open to all members of the Virginia Tech community including graduate students, undergraduates, faculty, and staff, as well as the public.

You May Also Be Interested In...

  • Home Item
    How Fluid Flow Shapes the Brain: Cancer and Cognitive Function
    How Fluid Flow Shapes the Brain: Cancer and Cognitive Function , home

    Oct. 30, 2025, 5:30 p.m. (Reception at 5 p.m.) | Jennifer Munson, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Cancer Research Center — Roanoke, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute; Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Virginia Tech College of Engineering | Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture

  • Home Item
    Thinking the Right Thoughts
    Thinking the Right Thoughts , home

    Oct. 31, 2025, 11 a.m. | Nathaniel Daw, Ph.D., Professor, Computational and Theoretical Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Princeton University | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Center for Human Neuroscience Research

  • Home Item
    Pandemics — The Lessons I've Learned
    Pandemics — The Lessons I've Learned , home

    Nov. 6, 2025, 5:30 p.m. (Reception at 5 p.m.) | Teresa Lambe, Ph.D., OBE, Calleva Head of Vaccine Immunology, Professor of Vaccinology and Immunology, University of Oxford | Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture

  • Home Item
    Understanding Vascular Morphogenesis and Morphology: Live Insights from Zebrafish
    Understanding Vascular Morphogenesis and Morphology: Live Insights from Zebrafish , home

    Nov. 21, 2025, 11:00 a.m. | Arndt F. Siekmann, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Cell and Developmental Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania | Co-Sponsored by the Center for Vascular and Heart Research, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute

  • Home Item
    The Metabolic Switch in Development and Degeneration
    The Metabolic Switch in Development and Degeneration , home

    Dec. 12, 2025, 11:00 a.m. | Elizabeth Jonas, M.D., Harvey and Kate Cushing Professor of Internal Medicine (Endocrinology), Yale School of Medicine | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Center for Neurobiology Research

  • Home Item
    Innovative Strategies for Overcoming Challenges in Brain Tumor Treatment
    Innovative Strategies for Overcoming Challenges in Brain Tumor Treatment , home

    Jan. 16, 2026, 11:00 a.m. | Kristin Huntoon, Ph.D., D.O., Assistant Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Arizona | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Cancer Research Center – Roanoke