Education holds the promise of preparing students to be engaged, thriving participants in a socially just democracy. For that ideal to occur, the structure and experience of the classroom must reflect both its constituents and consider the socially just imaginaries in which we would all like to inhabit. Using examples from the civil rights era's interrogation of our society, we will explore how an introductory biology course can help fulfill higher

https://www.as.uky.edu/Dewsbury%20Seminar%20F23

 Dr. Andy Sih | Sih Lab

Andy Sih’s laboratory works on the evolution of ecologically important behaviors (predator-prey, mating, and social behaviors) life history traits, and how these influence population and community ecological patterns,  Most projects examine freshwater organisms e.g., fish amphibian larvae, crayfish, insects and other freshwater invertebrates.  Current applied ecological interests include studying effects of pesticides on predator-prey interactions, and behavioral mechanisms underlying species invasions.

Dr. Christopher Vulpe | Vulpe Lab

Bio: 
Chris Vulpe, MD, PhD. is a Professor at the University of Florida, Gainesville in the Center for Environmental
and Human Toxicology. Dr. Vulpe received his MD and PhD from the University of California, San Francisco.
Dr. Vulpe’s group uses systems level approaches in eukaryotes from yeast to people to identify the functional
components that respond to and modulate the consequences of environmental stressors. Most recently, his laboratory is utilizing genome wide and targeted CRISPR screens to understand the mechanisms of toxicity of environmental chemicals. Dr. Vulpe is an author or co-author on >175 papers in peer reviewed journals and books. His group uses functional, genomic, and genetic approaches to provide insight into mechanisms of toxicity in diverse model systems including human models such as human cell culture, organoids, and rodents, as well as ecologically relevant organisms such as Daphnia magna.
 

Dr. Francois Spitz | Spitz Lab

Bio:
PhD from Université Paris 6 (France)
Group Leader at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (2006-2015) (Heidelberg, Germany)
Head of Research Unit at the Institut Pasteur (2015-2019) (Paris, France)
Professor, The University of Chicago (2019-.)

Abstract:
The mechanisms that regulate the efficiency and specificity of interactions between distant genes and cis-regulatory elements such as enhancers play a central role in shaping the specific regulatory programs that control cell fate and identity. In particular, the (epi)genetic elements that organize the 3D folding of the genome in specific loops and domains have emerged as key determinants of this process. I will discuss our current views on how 3D genome architecture is organized, how it influences gene regulatory interactions and illustrate how alterations of the mechanisms and elements that organize genomes in 3D could contribute to genomic disorders and genome evolution.

Dr. Blake Meyers | Meyers Lab

BIO: 
Blake Meyers is a Member & Principal Investigator at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St.
Louis, and he is a Professor in the Division of Plant Science and Technology at the University of
Missouri - Columbia. He formerly held the Edward F. and Elizabeth Goodman Rosenberg
professorship at the University of Delaware, where his research group was from 2002 to 2015. He
was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2012,
and a Fellow of the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) in 2017, the same year he was
awarded the Charles Albert Shull Award by the ASPB for outstanding investigations in the field of
plant biology. He was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences in 2022. After serving on the
editorial board since 2008, Blake became the Editor-in-Chief of The Plant Cell in January 2020. Work
in his lab addresses the biological functions, biogenesis, genomic impact, and evolution of small
RNAs in diverse plant species, using combination of genomic and molecular genetics approaches,
with a focus on phased, secondary siRNAs (“phasiRNAs”).

He received his undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Chicago in 1992, and
working with Prof. Richard Michelmore at UC Davis, was awarded M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in genetics in 1995 and 1998, respectively. After that, he did a postdoc with Prof. Michele Morgante at DuPont Crop Genetics, working on maize genomics for 2 years before returning to Prof. Michelmore’s group at UC Davis in 2000 to do a 2nd postdoc on Arabidopsis disease resistance. In 2002, Blake started his
own research group at the University of Delaware. He was the chair of the Department of Plant & Soil Sciences at the University of Delaware from 2009 to 2015.

Abstract:
In plants, 21 or 22-nt miRNAs or siRNAs typically negatively regulate target genes through mRNA cleavage or translational inhibition. Heterochromatic or Pol IV are 24-nt and function to maintain heterochromatin and silence transposons. Phased “secondary” siRNAs (phasiRNAs) are generated from mRNAs targeted by a typically 22-nt “trigger” miRNA, and are produced as either 21- or 24-mers via distinct pathways. Our prior work in maize and rice demonstrated the temporal and spatial distribution of two sets of “reproductive phasiRNAs”, which are extraordinarily enriched in the male germline of the grasses. These two sets are the 21-nt (pre-meiotic) and 24-nt (meiotic) siRNAs. Both classes are produced from long, non-coding RNAs, generated by hundreds to thousands of loci, depending on the species. These phased siRNAs show striking similarity to mammalian piRNAs in terms of their abundance, distribution, distinctive staging, and timing of accumulation, but they have independent evolutionary origins. The functions for these small RNAs in plants remain poorly characterized. I will describe our recent work investigating the functions of plant phasiRNAs and their roles in modulating traits of agronomic importance in plants, including male fertility, as well as novel applications of phasiRNAs such as those generated from transplastomic plants.

 Dr. Sarah Tishkoff | Tishkoff Lab

Sarah Tishkoff is the David and Lyn Silfen University Professor in Genetics and Biology at the University of Pennsylvania, holding appointments in the School of Medicine and the School of Arts and Sciences. She is also Director of the Penn Center for Global Genomics and Health Equity.

Dr. Tishkoff studies genomic and phenotypic variation in ethnically diverse Africans. Her research combines field work, laboratory research, and computational methods to examine African population history and how genetic variation can affect a wide range of traits – for example, why humans have different susceptibility to disease, how they metabolize drugs, and how they adapt through evolution.

Dr. Tishkoff is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a recipient of an NIH Pioneer Award, a David and Lucile Packard Career Award, a Burroughs/Wellcome Fund Career Award, an ASHG Curt Stern award, and a Penn Integrates Knowledge (PIK) endowed chair. She is a member of the Scientific Advisory Panel for the Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering and the Board of Global Health at the National Academy of Sciences and is on the editorial boards at PLOS Genetics, Genome Research; G3 (Genes, Genomes, and Genetics);Cell.

Her research is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Chan Zuckerberg Institute, and the American Diabetes Association.

Dr. Bryan Dewsbury | Dewsbury Lab

Bio:
Bryan Dewsbury is an Associate Professor of Biology at Florida International University where he also is an Associate Director of the STEM Transformation Institute. He received is Bachelors degree in Biology from Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA, and his Masters and PhD in Biology from Florida International University in Miami, FL. He is the Principal Investigator of the Science Education And Society (SEAS) program, where his team conducts research on the social context of education. He is a Fellow of the John N. Gardner Institute and a Director at RIOS (Racially-Just Inclusive Open Science) institute. He conducts faculty development and support for institutions interested in transforming their educational practices pertaining to creating inclusive environments and, in this regard, has worked with over 100 institutions across North America, United Kingdom and West Africa. He is a co-author of the book 'Norton's Guide to Equity-Minded Teaching', available for free as an E-book. He is the founder of the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Deep Teaching Residency, a national workshop aimed at supporting faculty in transforming their classroom to more meaningfully incorporate inclusive practices. He is the creator of the MOOC called 'Inclusive Teaching' sponsored by HHMI Biointeractive which will be released on August 15th. Bryan is originally from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and proudly still calls the twin island republic home.

Abstract:
Education holds the promise of preparing students to be engaged, thriving participants in a socially just democracy. For that ideal to occur, the structure and experience of the classroom must reflect both its constituents and consider the socially just imaginaries in which we would all like to inhabit. Using examples from the civil rights era's interrogation of our society, we will explore how an introductory biology course can help fulfill higher
education's civic mission.

Check out his book here!

Check out his HHMI/Inclusive Teaching trailer here!

Watch the seminar here!

Dr. Tara Smiley | Smiley Lab

Bio:
I am an evolutionary ecologist interested in how climate and landscape history shape the
diversity, biogeography, and ecological structure of mammalian faunas across spatio-temporal
scales. I test hypotheses about how changes in climate, tectonic activity, topographic
complexity, and habitat heterogeneity impact communities and ecological processes at local
scales and govern diversity at regional scales. To do so, I use the fossil record to investigate
diversity patterns, macroevolutionary processes, and paleoecology, focusing on the history of
small mammals during the Cenozoic. My work on the past is conducted in parallel with
investigations of modern and historical small-mammal populations across broad climatic and
environmental gradients today.

My research group integrates fieldwork, specimen-based research, and quantitative
paleobiology. Primary tools of our research include stable isotope ecology and
paleoenvironmental reconstruction, analysis of trait variation, diversification analysis, and
coupling of geological and biological modeling approaches. We work in western North
America and in the East African Rift, both tectonically active and dynamic landscapes with
high species richness today and in the past. 

Abstract: 
Mountains across the globe are biodiversity hotspots for many different groups of plants and animals; however, the deep-time relationship between mountain building and biodiversity remains elusive and requires integration across disciplines in geosciences, paleontology, and biology. When and how did these hotspots form? What role do landscape and climate dynamics play in eco-evolutionary processes? Using modern and fossil records, as well as empirical and quantitative approaches, my research program investigates how the biodiversity of mammals has been influenced by tectonic and climate interactions that shape mountain landscapes and generate topographic and climatic gradients. In this presentation, I will focus on the diversification history and faunal structure of mammals in the Basin and Range Province of western North America across the Neogene, highlighting the role of tectonic extension and global warming during the Miocene Climate Optimum (17-14 million years ago) at multiple spatial scales. I will also share new research from coupled landscape-biotic evolution models to understand how tectonic uplift may both generate and preserve evidence of montane biodiversity hotspots in the fossil record.

Watch the seminar here!