Dr. Julie Forman-Kay will present the Cosloy-Blank Lecture on "Intrinsically disordered proteins and biomolecular condensates in biology and disease."
Dr. Julie Forman-Kay, an eminent Senior Scientist in the Molecular Medicine Program at the Research Institute of The Hospital for Sick Children in Canada, and biochemistry Professor at the University of Toronto, presents the 2026 Sharon Cosloy - Edward Blank Family Distinguished Scientist Lecture at The City College of New York on Tuesday, Nov. 2. Her talk, “Intrinsically disordered proteins and biomolecular condensates in biology and disease,” starts at 4 p.m. at the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center located on the CCNY campus at 85 Saint Nicholas Terrace, Manhattan.
The Cosloy-Blank Lecture is free and open to the public. Click here to register and for directions.
The major focus of Forman-Kay’s work has been to provide biological insights into how dynamic properties of proteins are related to function and methodological tools to enable better understanding of dynamic and disordered states. Her expertise is in using NMR and other biophysical and computational tools to study dynamic and disordered proteins and their interactions, including characterizing their dynamic complexes that are mediated by multivalent interactions.
Approaches for calculating computational representations disordered state ensembles have been developed in her group. A related area of interest is the role of post-translational modification, such as phosphorylation and methylation, in regulating structural and binding properties in disordered states and dynamic complexes.
The Forman-Kay lab works on a number of projects of specific relevance to cancer and neurobiology. Most recently her lab has started to probe the role phase separation of disordered proteins in RNA processing bodies, a key regulatory process for neurological function. Her group also has a strong interest in CFTR, the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator, particularly its cytoplasmic domains including the disordered regulatory R region.
Her work is highly collaborative and has had significant impact, with widely recognized contributions to the fields of intrinsically disordered proteins, protein interaction domains, and CFTR structure, dynamics and interactions. She is co-chair of the CFTR Structure Consortium of the US Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics. She is the recipient of the 2012 CSMB Jeanne Manery Fisher Memorial Lectureship and the 2013 Zellers Senior Scientist Award from Cystic Fibrosis Canada.
About the Professor Sharon Cosloy - Edward Blank Family Distinguished Scientist Lectureship
Dr. Sharon Cosloy was a member of the City College biology faculty for 27 years and served as Chair of the Biology Department for six years. She was a beloved mentor, educator, wife and mother and a passionate investigator of life and science. The Professor Sharon Cosloy and Edward Blank Family Distinguished Scientist Lectureship, now in its 20th year, is regarded as the preeminent scientific lecture on campus. The City College of New York is grateful to Edward Blank and his family for their generous support.
About The City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 2.2% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Lightcast puts at $3.7 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers, and society. At City College, more than 16,500 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity, and scholarship. In 2023, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together,” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College's mission. By May 2026, more than $500 million had been raised. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic, and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.
Jay Mwamba
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