Louis Levine-Gabriella de Beer Lecture in Genetics

The Louis Levine-Gabriella de Beer Lecture in Genetics was established by Gabriella de Beer in memory of her husband, Professor Louis Levine. A graduate of the College, he earned his Ph.D. in population genetics under the late great evolutionary geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky at Columbia University.

Professor Levine’s research centered on population studies of Drosophila and behavior genetics of mice. Human genetics and forensic genetics were among other areas towhich he was devoted.

Professor Levine taught in the Department of Biology and in the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, participated in bi-national research studies in Mexico, was Visiting Professor at the Technion (the Israel Institute of Technology) in Israel, and in later years served as a consultant and expert witness in criminal cases involving DNA evidence.

The aim of these annual lectures is to perpetuate Professor Louis Levine’s lifelong interest in the ever-expanding field of genetics.

About The Lecture "Getting to the Heart of the Matter- Curing Genetic Cardiomyopathy"

The ultimate opportunity presented by discovering the genetic basis of human disease is accurate prediction and disease prevention. To enable this achievement, genetic insights must enable the identification of at-risk individuals prior to end-stage disease and strategies that delay or prevent clinical expression. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) provides a paradigm for fulfilling these opportunities. HCM is the most common cause of sudden cardiac death on the athletic field that causes symptoms, arrhythmias, and heart failure. HCM alters cardiac morphology (increase ventricular wall thickness) and function (hyperdynamic contraction and poor relaxation) that propel adverse outcomes in affected patients. With the discovery of human gene mutations that cause HCM, disease models were developed that enabled mechanistic studies to explain and address disease pathophysiology. These insights propelled targeted drug development to normalize cardiac morphology and reduce symptoms. With the emergence of genetic strategies to specifically modify mutations, new opportunities exist with the real potential to cure HCM. Many challenges remain, but the active and vital efforts of researchers, physicians, and patients, genetic cures in HCM are poised for success.

Christine Seidman is the Thomas W. Smith Professor of Medicine and Genetics at Harvard Medical School, an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Director of the Cardiovascular Genetics Service at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
At Princeton, Dr. Bassler teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses. Dr. Bassler directed the Molecular Biology Graduate Program from 2002-2008 and she currently chairs Princeton University’s Council on Science and Technology which has revamped the science curriculum for humanists. Bassler is a passionate advocate for diversity in the sciences and she is actively involved in and committed to educating lay people in science.

With Jonathan Seidman, PhD, the Bugher Professor of Cardiovascular Genetics at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Seidman has pioneered discovery of the genetic causes for heart muscle disorders including hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathies and congenital heart disease. These foundational studies enabled the development of clinical gene-based diagnostics for early and accurate identification of affected patients and at-risk individuals, enabling pre-emptive interventions to limit progression and devastating outcomes from these disorders. To better understand mechanisms, she engineered human pathogenic variants into iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes and mouse models and identified molecular pathways that propel clinical manifestations. Using single cell transcriptional analyses of human hearts with cardiomyopathies she uncovered genotype-specific responses to pathogenic variants and new therapeutic targets. Building on these insights she helped to develop mavacamten, the first FDA-approved precision medicine for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Her work continues with a goal to translate genetic therapies that are effective in experimental models into cures for human patients.

Dr. Seidman is the recipient of the American Heart Association Basic Science Prize, Joseph A. Vita Award, and Paul DudleyWhite Award, the American Society for Clinical Investigation Award, the Pasarow Foundation Award in Cardiovascular Research, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Cardiovascular Research, the Institut de France Fondation Lefoulon-Delalande Grand Prix for Science Award and the European Society of Cardiology Gold Medal. She is a member of U.S. National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Science.

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