BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//UM//UM*Events//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Detroit TZURL:http://tzurl.org/zoneinfo/America/Detroit X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Detroit BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20070311T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=2SU END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20071104T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=1SU END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260310T153550 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260317T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260317T130000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:EEB Tuesday Seminar Series- Within-lineage evolution across time scales: Reconciling the recent and the fossil record DESCRIPTION:Description: Connecting generational processes (microevolution) to the larger-scale patterns of phenotypic diversification (macroevolution) remains a fundamental challenge in evolutionary biology. Phenotypic time series\, defined as sequences of measurements drawn from multiple organisms in the same lineage over time\, offer a direct window into this problem. Time series from the fossil record typically span tens to hundreds of thousands of years or more\, documenting historical patterns of evolutionary change in a single species over durations far beyond what we can observe in the present. This makes fossil trait series a uniquely valuable data source for addressing fundamental questions about how evolution operates across time scales. I will present analyses of large compilations of phenotypic time series from both living populations and the fossil record\, with the goal of assessing whether evolutionary processes are continuous across generations to millions of years\, or whether something changes as we move between scales. UID:146429-21899078@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/146429 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 1010 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260310T103518 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260319T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260319T130000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:MCDB Dissertation Defense Seminar> Bacterial Ribonuclease HII and Ribonucleotide Excision Repair DESCRIPTION:Although RNA-DNA hybrids are essential to the perpetuation of life\, if left unresolved\, ribonucleoside monophosphates (rNMPs) embedded in the genome are a threat to faithful DNA replication\, genomic integrity\, and genetic inheritance. Single rNMPs\, which differ from deoxyribonucleoside monophosphates (dNMPs) by a single 2′ –OH group\, often become misincorporated in the genome by replicative DNA polymerases during DNA replication. Although DNA polymerases have a steric exclusion mechanism to prevent rNTPs from accessing their active site\, rNTPs outnumber dNTPs in the cell and as a result are still frequently used as substrates during synthesis. rNMPs\, also known as “sugar errors\,” that go unrepaired can lead to increased mutagenesis in the form of transitions\, single-stranded breaks\, and even lethal double-stranded breaks (DSBs) due to the reactivity of the 2′ –OH. However\, cells have evolved to combat sugar errors through ribonucleotide excision repair (RER)\, which is initiated by Ribonuclease HII/H2 (RNase HII). RNase HII is a Type 2 RNase H enzyme that makes a 5′ incision to a rNMP in double-stranded DNA (dsDNA)\, permitting subsequent entry by a DNA polymerase. The polymerase extends from the 3′ –OH of the nick\, displacing the downstream DNA containing the rNMP to generate a 5′ flap\, which can be resolved by a flap endonuclease (FEN). Finally\, DNA ligase seals the gap in the backbone. The junction-sensing module of RNase HII is a critical structural element that gives the protein its unique ability to specifically recognize single rNMPs by their 2′ –OH. RER has been previously studied in eukaryotes\, archaea\, and bacteria\, although the breadth of lesions addressed by bacterial RNase HII enzymes has not yet been established. We performed in vitro assays using RNase HII purified from Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis and dsDNA substrates containing single canonical\, mismatched\, and damaged rNMPs. Specifically\, E. coli RNase HII (EcoRNase HII) was equally active on all four canonical rNMPs\, including rUMP\, while B. subtilis RNase HII (BsuRNase HII) was inefficient at processing rGMP. In a mismatched context\, EcoRNase HII activity on rAMP and rGMP was unchanged from that on canonical rNMPs. Conversely\, BsuRNase HII activity on rG:dT was significantly reduced from that on rG:dC. Further\, EcoRNase HII demonstrated weak activity on r8oG:dC\, while BsuRNase HII could not resolve r8oG:dC nor rOH:dC. This observation is similar to that reported for archaeal and eukaryotic RNase HII homologs. Together\, our results show that bacterial RNase HII proteins have different substrate preferences. Surprisingly\, both EcoRNase HII and BsuRNase HII are able to incise rUMP\, suggesting that RER\, and not base excision repair (BER)\, is the primary pathway for rUMP repair. Moreover\, mismatched rNMP errors appear to be substrates for both RER and mismatch repair (MMR). Finally\, damaged rNMP errors in B. subtilis must be repaired by an alternative pathway\, potentially BER\, although this has not yet been tested. UID:146398-21899041@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/146398 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 1010 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260317T083017 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260320T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260320T100000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:MCDB Checkpoint 2 Seminar> Understanding how C. elegans solves its chromosome end protection and end replication problems DESCRIPTION:Checkpoint 2 Seminar\nMentor: MCDB Professor Jayakrishnan \"JK\" Nandakumar UID:146400-21899043@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/146400 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 4150 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260317T095155 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260320T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260320T130000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:MCDB Seminar> Unlocking Circuits and Designing Cross-species tools for Pain Discovery and Therapeutics DESCRIPTION:This seminar will discuss key spinal neural circuitry underlying mechanical pain caused by trauma and disease\, a new organizational plan for how neuron subtypes that make up the dorsal horn should be defined across species and our use of machine learning together with multi-species multi-omics to engineer novel genetic tools for interrogating specific neuron subtypes across species and develop novel chronic pain therapies. \n\nHost: Bo Duan UID:144929-21896161@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/144929 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 1060 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260310T103759 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260320T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260320T160000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:MCDB Dissertation Defense Seminar> The Nucleoid as a Global Regulator for Spatial Organization in Bacteria DESCRIPTION:Unlike eukaryotes\, bacteria store their DNA un-encased in the cytoplasm of the cell. Through this lack of compartmentalization\, the bacterial DNA or nucleoid\, is free to act as a platform for both organization and coordination of complex bacterial structures and processes. A lack of a membrane boundary also increases the influence that the metabolic state of the cell can have on the DNA. The ParA family of ATPases is a well characterized family of positioning systems that is known to use the nucleoid as a matrix to organize chromosomes\, plasmids\, chemotaxis arrays\, and bacterial microcompartments (BMCs). One of the best characterized BMCs is the carboxysome. Carboxysomes are proteinaceous structures that encapsulate the enzyme ribulose-1\,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO). Cyanobacteria and some chemoautotrophs use carboxysomes to enhance carbon fixation\, maximizing the amount of carbon that can later be turned into biomass. Our group has worked to characterize the ParA-like positioning system\, the maintenance of carboxysome distribution (Mcd) system\, that organizes carboxysomes along the length of the cell. This is a two-component system\, with the ParA-like ATPase\, McdA\, and its partner protein McdB\, that interacts with carboxysomes. When McdA binds the nucleoid non-specifically in its ATP-bound state\, McdB-coated carboxysomes stimulate the hydrolysis of ATP\, causing McdA to dissociate from the nucleoid. This creates dynamic gradients of McdA\, with McdB bound carboxysomes constantly chasing higher concentrations of McdA\, thereby distributing carboxysomes along the nucleoid. \nWe have worked to characterize both McdA and McdB and their role in carboxysome positioning\, however\, until my thesis work\, we did not consider the contribution of the nucleoid in the organization of carboxysomes. As a result\, current models treat the nucleoid as a benign matrix for positioning by the McdAB system. Also\, the McdAB system has been primarily studied in exponential cells grown under continuous light conditions. However\, the natural environment of cyanobacteria fluctuates\, with changing amounts of nutrient availability. Cells often change the compaction state of their DNA in response to environmental changes\, so we used several environmental conditions\, to induce changes in nucleoid architecture\, to assess effects on the McdAB system and carboxysome organization. We found that the nucleoid is not a passive matrix and can contribute to carboxysome positioning during times of reduced McdAB localization. These findings likely apply to other cargoes that use the nucleoid as a positioning scaffold\, and it is necessary to reassess how we understand subcellular organization in bacteria under this new paradigm. \nWhile we have investigated carboxysome organization and its McdAB positioning system\, we have largely not considered other subcellular structures that could influence carboxysome distribution. Polyphosphate granules are a storage form of phosphate that is conserved across all domains of life and have been implicated in diverse cellular processes\, including the regulation of bacterial chromatin. Through electron microscopy studies\, carboxysomes and polyphosphate (polyP) granules have been shown to physically interact. The exact mechanism of this relationship and the significance of this association have not been investigated. We find that polyP influences both nucleoid compaction state and carboxysome positioning in the model cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942. Together\, this work highlights the broader roles of both the nucleoid and other subcellular structures in the organization of the model BMC\, the carboxysome. UID:146399-21899042@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/146399 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 1010 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260107T115954 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260323T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260323T120000 SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:Human Genetics Research Seminar Series DESCRIPTION:Monday\, March 23\, 2026\n11:00am - 12:00pm\n1020 Kahn Auditorium\, BSRB\n\nHiten Madhani\, MD\, PhD\nProfessor\, Biochemistry and Biophysics\nStuart Lindsay Endowed Professor in Experimental Pathology VII\nUniversity of California\, San Francisco\n“Seminar Title TBD”\n\nHosted By: Sundeep Kalantry\, PhD\, Department of Human Genetics\n___\nThe Madhani lab investigates gene regulation in health and disease\n\nThis is what the banner says\, but in reality\, we work on anything we find cool. Why? Because our aspiration is to not only discover new knowledge but also new principles. Accomplishing this higher goal requires intellectual curiosity\, adventurousness\, and nimbleness (and a sense of humor!). The lab is best known for its work on regulation of chromatin\, RNA-based regulation\, and host-fungal pathogen interactions (see our publications here). Depending on the question\, the lab exploits different model systems\, including the opportunistic pathogenic yeast Cryptococcus neoformans\, which the lab has developed as both a model organism and a model pathogen\, as well as mice and haploid human cells. UID:143368-21892961@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/143368 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Taubman Biomedical Science Research Building - 1020 Kahn Auditorium CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260313T170530 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260324T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260324T130000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:EEB Tuesday Seminar Series- Spontaneous mutation rate and spectrum are modulated by organismal fitness DESCRIPTION:Description: Understanding the principles governing mutagenesis is important because mutations are a fundamental driver of evolution and a cause of disease. Although mutation rates and spectra depend on genotype and environment\, how these factors interact is unclear. We address this question using mutation accumulation experiments in 11 budding yeast strains across three environments that produce strong genotype-by-environment interactions in fitness. Analysis of over 9\,000 accumulated mutations reveals that per-generation rates of all mutation types—single-nucleotide variations\, small insertions and deletions\, segmental duplications and deletions\, and chromosome gains and losses—decline with increasing organismal fitness. Notably\, relative mutation rates between strains tend to invert when environmental shifts reverse their relative fitness. The mutation spectrum is also partially fitness-dependent: higher-fitness strains show a lower transition-to-transversion ratio and a stronger AT mutational bias. Thus\, organismal fitness shapes not only natural selection but also the quantity and composition of mutations available to selection\, with broad implications for the molecular clock\, adaptive evolution\, and genetic load. UID:146587-21899317@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/146587 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 1010 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260107T120250 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260330T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260330T120000 SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:Human Genetics Research Seminar Series DESCRIPTION:Monday\, March 30\, 2026\n11:00am - 12:00pm\n1020 Kahn Auditorium\, BSRB\n\nJean Gautier\, PhD\, Dr.Sc.\nChair\, Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis\nThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center at Houston\n“Seminar Title TBD”\n\nHosted By: Agnieszka Lukaszewicz\, PhD\, Department of Human Genetics\n___\nThe Gautier Laboratory at MD Anderson centers on how the 3D organization of the genome facilitates and coordinates DNA repair alongside other DNA-templated processes\, including DNA replication and transcription. We study this to better understand how dysregulation in these processes contributes to pathological genomic rearrangements and cancer development\, as well as the therapeutic implications of such rearrangements. The lab employs cutting edge technologies in microscopy\, genomics\, proteomics and computational biology to advance their research. UID:143369-21892960@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/143369 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Taubman Biomedical Science Research Building - 1020 Kahn Auditorium CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260325T114344 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260330T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260330T150000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:EEB Prelim Seminar Series - Plant-Water Relations as Drivers of Plant Function and Ecology DESCRIPTION:Please join us! UID:147046-21900274@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147046 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 1010 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260324T151757 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260331T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260331T130000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:EEB Tuesday Seminar Series- Empirical Evaluation of Evolutionary Hypotheses Using Biobank-scale Human Data DESCRIPTION:Description: A great number of hypotheses have been proposed in evolutionary genetics\, but empirical tests of these hypotheses remain underpowered until the advent of large biobanks with genotype and phenotype data from hundreds of thousands of humans. Using biobank-scale human data\, my dissertation proposal tests important evolutionary hypotheses on sexual antagonism of mitochondrial DNA mutations\, similarity between genetic and phenotypic correlations\, and intersexual selection in humans. In this seminar\, I will focus on a test of the mother's curse hypothesis\, which posits that maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA mutations that exclusively harm males evade purifying selection. UID:146994-21900213@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/146994 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 1010 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260324T160116 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260403T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260403T140000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:EEB Prelim Seminar Series - Investigating the controls on bacterial production in lakes DESCRIPTION:Abstract: Bacterial production (BP) is essential to ecosystem functioning because of the importance of microorganisms in the biogeochemical cycling of carbon and other nutrients\, as well as the transfer of energy through trophic levels. In surface waters\, BP is controlled by water temperature\, the concentration and chemical composition of dissolved organic carbon (DOC)\, nutrient availability\, and lake mixing. However\, certain aspects of individual controls\, such as the relative importance of different DOC compositions for BP\, as well as how these controls collectively influence BP at the whole-lake scale\, are poorly understood. My dissertation work will evaluate how BP is controlled at the ecosystem scale by answering three interconnected questions. First\, what is the relative importance of phytoplankton-derived DOC versus terrestrial-derived DOC for BP? Second\, what are the interactive effects of DOC composition and temperature on BP. And third\, how does weather variability\, including rapid changes in temperature\, affect BP in lakes? These questions will be answered by analyzing long-term BP and climate records\, and by experiments on DOC composition\, temperature fluctuation\, and DOC-temperature interactions. UID:146997-21900217@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/146997 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 1010 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260107T120142 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260406T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260406T120000 SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:Human Genetics Research Seminar Series DESCRIPTION:Monday\, April 06\, 2026\n11:00am - 12:00pm\n1020 Kahn Auditorium\, BSRB\n\nStephan Züchner\, MD\, PhD\nProfessor of Human Genetics and Neurology\nThe Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics\nUniversity of Miami Miller School of Medicine\n“Seminar Title TBD”\n\nHosted By: Anthony Antonellis\, PhD\, Department of Human Genetics\n___\nDr. Zuchner is a trained neurologist and molecular geneticist with research interests in identifying genetic variation associated with disease. His lab has identified several genes for Mendelian neurodegenerative disorders and also evaluated risk factors for complex genetic conditions\, including Alzheimer disease\, Parkinson disease\, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. His lab is amongst the pioneering groups that have promoted genome sequencing methods for disease gene identification in humans\, mice\, and drosophilia. He is currently pursuing large-scale exome and genome analysis in multiple neurodegenerative disorders and develops innovative new software tools that allow real time shared analysis of large amounts of genomic data. Dr. Zuchner's scientific interests lie in mapping disease genes and genomic variation that is related to disease. UID:143370-21892959@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/143370 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Taubman Biomedical Science Research Building - 1020 Kahn Auditorium CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260331T120135 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260407T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260407T130000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:EEB Tuesday Seminar Series- Outreach and education in the field: lessons from the Caribbean DESCRIPTION:Description: Outreach and education can have lasting impacts on communities and societies\, particularly in the context of scientific research that is conducted in ecosystems that which communities directly depend on for economic means and subsistence. We will provide an overview of our approach to outreach and education in Caribbean coastal ecosystems to provide examples of intentional approaches that integrate scientific research with community engagement and education. Our goal throughout will be to engage the audience in participatory discussion about the values and challenges of conducting outreach and education in any sphere of scientific inquiry. UID:147282-21900629@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147282 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 1010 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260327T113214 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260407T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260407T140000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:EEB Student Thesis Defense - The Effects of Land-Use History and Hurricane Disturbance on Soil Microbial Function in a Tropical Forest DESCRIPTION:Advisor: Natalia Umaña\n\nDefense summary: Soil microbes drive essential ecosystem processes like decomposition and nutrient cycling\, but how they respond to different types of disturbance remains unclear—especially in tropical forests facing both historical land use and increasing storm intensity. In this talk\, I explore how long-term land-use legacies (“press” disturbances) compare to hurricane impacts (“pulse” disturbances) in shaping soil microbial functioning in Puerto Rico. I show that land-use legacies have stronger and more persistent effects on soil conditions\, enzyme activity\, and nutrient cycling than more recent hurricane disturbance. In contrast\, microbial functioning was largely similar between hurricane-disturbed and undisturbed soils\, suggesting resilience to episodic events. These results highlight the lasting impact of human land use and suggest that legacy effects may play a larger role than natural disturbances in shaping ecosystem responses to global change. UID:147104-21900383@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147104 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Dana Natural Resources Building - 1024M CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260330T130009 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260410T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260410T100000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:EEB Student Dissertation Defense - Dynamics of body form evolution in lizards and snakes DESCRIPTION:Abstract: Covariation among traits underlies the evolution of most phenotypes in nature. The non-independence of trait values is obvious from two common observations: 1) traits function modularly within body plans to create interacting units\, and 2) traits show evolutionary conservatism across closely related taxa\, varying far more in size than in shape along allometric lines. However\, different mechanisms generating covariance can produce the same patterns of trait distribution across species\, so the relative impact of evolutionary\, developmental\, or genetic constraints versus adaptive evolution in phenotypic change is critical for understanding the morphological diversity we observe in the world around us. In this dissertation\, I explored how the evolutionary relationships between traits have shifted across different phylogenetic scales\, with a focus on limb reduction and body elongation as major body plan changes in squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes). Squamates have evolved limb-reduced\, elongate body plans an estimated 26-50 independent times\, making them a powerful system to test hypotheses about trait evolution. First\, I investigated how the multivariate evolutionary process\, as described by the evolutionary variance-covariance matrix\, shifts between and within two clades of scincid lizard. I found that although the two clades had similar covariance matrices\, a genus of Australian lizards (Ctenotus) had a distinct evolutionary covariance structure\, indicating that these evolutionary relationships can change at relatively short timescales. Next\, I tested how limb reduction influences evolutionary integration within and between the limb girdles in lizards. I found that it decreased evolutionary integration\, supporting the hypothesis that reduction and loss of function results in more independent evolution of traits. I suggested that developmental integration may mediate this reduction in evolutionary integration. Finally\, I collected a large dataset of vertebral counts across lizards and snakes to test the relationship between body size and vertebral number (termed pleomerism). I found that non-elongate clades had no pleomerism and although most elongate clades showed pleomerism\, several elongate clades upset the predicted pattern of coupling between body size and vertebral number. This result showed that well-established patterns do not necessarily apply in all groups and that clade heterogeneity must be considered in studies of trait evolution in large groups. Taken together\, my dissertation demonstrates how evolutionary relationships between traits can shift at relatively short timescales as well as between clades and how integrating both function and development is vital for understanding patterns of phenotypic evolution. \n\n Advisors: Alison Davis Rabosky and Dan Rabosky UID:147223-21900542@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147223 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 1010 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260406T123634 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260410T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260410T130000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:EEB Prelim Seminar Series - Under Pressure: Evolving Heat and Drought Tolerance in Ipomoea purpurea DESCRIPTION:Abstract: Global change has brought higher-than-average temperatures and increased frequency of drought events over the last century. While some species can persist through adaptation in the face of anthropogenic stress\, the mechanisms underlying species persistence remain unclear. Leveraging Ipomoea purpurea lineages spanning 20 years\, I will compare how different temporal populations have responded to heat and drought stress. My dissertation will examine the impacts of environmental change on plant tolerance by addressing the following 3 major questions. First\, how is heat and drought tolerance changing across time and space? Second\, is heat and drought tolerance evolving through avoidance or escape strategies? Last\, what is the genetic basis of heat and drought tolerance in I. purpurea populations?\n\nPoster Photo Credit: Susan Lusardi UID:147449-21901038@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147449 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 3150 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260220T100658 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260410T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260410T130000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:MCDB Seminar> Understanding Barrier and Sensory Functions of the Skin DESCRIPTION:The skin is both an essential barrier and a highly innervated sensory organ. In this seminar\, I will present two distinct areas of interest in the lab. 1. work showing that cell adhesions have novel functions beyond tissue integrity in compartmentalizing mRNA and regulating local translation\, and\; 2. how epidermal cells mechanically shape sensory neuron innervation in the skin.\n\nHost: Junior West UID:144930-21896162@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/144930 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 1060 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260406T121749 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260410T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260410T170000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:EEB Prelim Seminar Series - Stress and the anthropocene: investigating changing facilitative and competitive interactions in novel ecosystems DESCRIPTION:Summary: Human activity has changed the stressors natural systems are subjected to\, producing novel ecoystems. However\, stress responses differ over the short- and long-term\, and gaps remain in the literature about expected ecosystem responses to persistent stress increases. In my dissertation\, I will make use of existing LTERs to examine how legacy effects of land management history influence facilitative plant-microbe responses to drought as well as how plant competitive traits respond to short- and long-term nitrogen deposition. UID:147440-21901029@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147440 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 3150 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260107T120418 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260413T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260413T120000 SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:Human Genetics Research Seminar Series DESCRIPTION:Monday\, April 13\, 2026\n11:00am - 12:00pm\n1020 Kahn Auditorium\, BSRB\n\nJacy Wagnon\, PhD\nAssistant Professor\nDepartment of Neuroscience\nThe Ohio State University College of Medicine\n“Seminar Title TBD”\n\nHosted By: Miriam Meisler\, PhD\, Department of Human Genetics\n___\nDevelopmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEE) are a genetically heterogeneous group of neurological disorders characterized by early-onset seizures along with cognitive\, motor\, and behavioral impairments. The Wagnon laboratory is interested in understanding genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying DEE and identifying new treatment strategies for these severe disorders. Our current studies focus on DEE caused by variants in the neuronal voltage-gated sodium channel gene SCN8A. We are developing mouse models of SCN8A encephalopathy to study pathogenesis of seizures and related comorbidities. A second focus of the lab is to investigate the role of regulation of gene expression in seizure pathology. Changes in mRNA and microRNA levels represent a general transcriptional response to seizures that may implicate new therapeutic targets. UID:143371-21892958@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/143371 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Taubman Biomedical Science Research Building - 1020 Kahn Auditorium CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260408T100351 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260413T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260413T160000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:MCDB Master's Thesis Defense Seminar> Tissue Maturation and Wound Healing in the Drosophila Prostate-like Accessory Gland DESCRIPTION:The Drosophila malagonaster (fruit fly) accessory gland (AG) is functionally and structurally analogous to the mammalian prostate and serves as a model for epithelial growth and tissue plasticity. Like the mammalian prostate\, the fly AG consists of two types of secretory epithelial cells\, an extracellular matrix\, and a surrounding innervated muscle sheath. The secretory epithelium is composed of large\, postmitotic cells that are binucleated and polyploid\, revealing that the differentiation process for the development of this tissue involves extensive cell cycle remodeling\, such as skipping cytokinesis to result in bi-nucleation and skipping M-phases to result in polyploidy. Following eclosion\, the tissue goes through a pronounced growth phase during the first 10 days of adult life. However because this tissue remains post mitotic in the adult\, cell cycle activity during the first 4 hours after adult emergence\, drives growth through a further increase in cell ploidy (chromosome content) during organ maturation. We have also observed that damage to this tissue induces compensatory cellular enlargement through increases in polyploidy\, a response analogous to hypertrophic growth observed in the mammalian liver following a partial hepatectomy. In this study\, RNA sequencing was used to characterize transcriptional dynamics during the first five days post-eclosion to identify gene expression changes underlying early AG growth. In parallel\, tissue wound healing capabilities were assessed using a novel acute puncture model. Recovery following damage was evaluated through fluorescent staining and a damage responsive GFP reporter line\, enabling visualization of cellular responses and identification of candidate pathways in damage induced growth. Together\, these findings provide insight into the molecular mechanisms involved in growth and tissue plasticity in the AG and establish a framework for studying epithelial regeneration in a system that allows for direct genetic analysis. UID:147150-21900442@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147150 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 1010 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260407T155217 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260414T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260414T130000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:EEB Tuesday Seminar Series - Experimental evolution of virulence in bacteriophages DESCRIPTION:Description: Virulence is the measure of harm inflicted on a host by a parasite. It is a central component of parasite fitness and forms one part of a widely studied trade-off in evolutionary biology\; the virulence-transmission tradeoff. The evolution of virulence has been studied extensively over the last 4 decades but any changes in virulence are largely investigated either in theory or simple empirical experiments that focus on one-to-one host-parasite relationships. In chapter 1 of my dissertation work\, I will use phage-bacteria model systems to empirically investigate how parasite virulence evolves in assemblages with multiple hosts and parasites. In addition to being tractable models for host-parasite coevolution\, bacteria-phage communities can be used as a kind of living epidemiological model. In chapter 2\, I will use phage pathogens with starkly different life cycles (chronic and temperate) to conduct experimental tests of evolutionary-epidemiological theory and question if pathogen virulence in “twindemic” scenarios adapts to the predicted epidemiological optima. Finally\, when multiple infections are common\, pathogens exhibit unique life-cycle strategies that may prioritize virulence or prudence. Recent discoveries of phage signaling systems raise questions about how switching between virulent and prudent life cycles occurs molecularly\, and the role phage-to-phage communication plays. In the final chapter\, I will investigate phage communication’s role in modulating virulence. UID:147509-21901156@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147509 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 1010 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260408T130350 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260414T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260414T160000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:EEB Prelim Seminar Series - Evolution of gene expression noise DESCRIPTION:Description: Gene expression noise\, the variation in gene expression levels among isogenic cells in a shared environment\, has been characterized over the past two decades. However\, the evolutionary forces shaping expression noise and their consequences remain to be explored. By leveraging the technical ease of single-cell RNA sequencing and the fast genetic manipulation of the Saccharomyces yeasts\, we can systematically investigate the evolution of expression noise. In this seminar\, I will present my proposed research on (i) elucidating the regulatory mechanisms underlying the evolution of gene expression noise\, (ii) identifying and characterizing gene expression stabilizers\, and (iii) testing for genome-wide natural selection acting on gene expression noise. UID:147536-21901211@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147536 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 1010 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260410T172945 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260416T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260416T130000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:MCDB Master's Thesis Defense Seminar> Calcium and F-actin dynamics during tricellular zipping in epithelial junction remodeling DESCRIPTION:Epithelial cells form adhesive connections through cell-cell junctions\, maintaining a selective barrier despite significant cell shape changes during development and tissue homeostasis. This is accomplished through the active remodeling of cell-cell junctions\, a process largely driven by actomyosin contractility. Using live microscopy of the Xenopus laevis embryonic epithelium\, my lab has characterized “tricellular zipping”\, a vertex remodeling process that contributes to the transition from irregular epithelial cell geometries at the blastula stage to the more regular hexagonal packing that emerges at the gastrula stage of development. Tricellular zipping involves the resolution of a long\, thin cellular extension that stretches toward a vertex where four or more cells meet. As two cells 'zip' together to lengthen a new bicellular interface\, the other cell recedes\, thus forming a new tricellular vertex at the end of zipping. Tricellular zipping is accompanied by transient flashes of cytoplasmic calcium within the long cell extension. My research has focused on investigating these calcium flashes\, whether the calcium flashes are correlated with actomyosin accumulation\, and how pulsatile calcium and actin accumulations drive the elongation of the new bicellular interface between two zipping cells. My data reveals that each tricellular zipping event is accompanied by multiple calcium flashes within the long cellular extension. Following each calcium flash\, there is an increase in the rate of elongation of the new bicellular interface. F-actin also accumulates in a pulsatile fashion within the long cellular extension during tricellular zipping. Cross-correlation analysis demonstrates that calcium flashes are correlated with F-actin accumulation\, and calcium flashes precede F-actin accumulation\, suggesting that pulsatile calcium flashes may activate actin polymerization and/or Myosin II activation during tricellular zipping. Together\, these findings suggest that calcium-associated actomyosin pulses drive tricellular zipping. This research provides new information about an uncharacterized mechanism of junctional remodeling and the emerging role of localized calcium signaling in regulating epithelial junction remodeling during early embryonic development. UID:147524-21901178@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147524 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 5150 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260325T104051 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260417T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260417T130000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:MCDB Seminar> Tales of algae: from fundamental discovery to application DESCRIPTION:Although Chlamydomonas is the most well-known “model” organism\, other green algae present interesting physiologies for investigation or offer experimental advantages for research. In addition to the Chlamydomonas genome\, the group has assembled genomes for Dunaliella spp.\, Chromochloris zofingiensis and Auxenochlorella protothecoides. I will present work on the mechanism of translation of nucleus-encoded bicistronic mRNAs\, structural analysis of photosystem I from Fe-deficient Dunaliella spp. and synthetic biology in Auxenochlorella to generate a complex bioproduct. These stories exemplify the contributions to basic and applied research of studies using simple unicellular organisms.\n\nHost: Libo Shan UID:144932-21896164@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/144932 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 1060 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260107T120429 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260420T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260420T120000 SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:Human Genetics Research Seminar Series DESCRIPTION:Monday\, April 20\, 2026\n11:00am - 12:00pm\n1020 Kahn Auditorium\, BSRB\n\nAaron Ragsdale\, PhD\nAssistant Professor\nIntegrative Biology\nUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison\n“Seminar Title TBD”\n\nHosted By: Jeffrey Kidd\, PhD\, Department of Human Genetics\n___\nOur research aims to understand how evolutionary forces are expected to shape genetic diversity within populations\, and then uses this understanding to learn about demographic and selective histories and processes from genome sequencing data. One focus of our research is on developing population genetic theory that lets us predict patterns of diversity and genetic structure under varying models of demography and selection. Another focus is on turning that theory into computational tools to compare model predictions to observations from natural populations. Finally\, we have a strong interest in inferring (mostly) human evolutionary history from genetic data\, including both ancient history and population structure as well as more recent migrations\, movements\, and dynamics. UID:143372-21892957@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/143372 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Taubman Biomedical Science Research Building - 1020 Kahn Auditorium CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260414T151724 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260420T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260420T140000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:EEB Student Thesis Defense - Drier leaves\, more mites: atmospheric moisture shapes investment in a plant–mite mutualism trait in Vitis riparia at the local but not regional scale DESCRIPTION:Abstract: \nThe stress gradient hypothesis predicts that organisms will invest more in mutualistic interactions under increasing abiotic stress. Here\, we examine whether stress associated with reduced atmospheric moisture impacts plant investment in mite domatia\, small structures on leaves that mediate a mutualism between plants and defensive mites using riverbank grape (Vitis riparia). We tested prediction of the stress gradient hypothesis at two scales: a local scale using a humidity gradient created by distance from an island lake\, and a region scale spanning a precipitation gradient across Michigan’s lower peninsula. At each scale\, we measured domatia size\, density\, and abundance\, as well as mite abundance and leaf fungal hyphal load. At the local scale\, domatia trichome density was significantly higher in less humid environments\, consistent with the stress gradient hypothesis\, and mite abundance increased with both humidity and domatia density. At the regional scale\, mite abundance increased significantly with precipitation\, but no relationship was detected between precipitation and any measure of domatia investment or fungal load. Together\, these results suggest that the stress gradient hypothesis partially applies to the plant–mite mutualism in this system\, but that its expression depends on scale and the range of moisture conditions experienced. UID:147742-21901778@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147742 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Dana Natural Resources Building - 1024 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260417T170646 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260421T133000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260421T143000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:MCDB Master's Thesis Defense Seminar> Investigating the Role of Cellular Stress on TDP-43 Loss of Function DESCRIPTION:TDP-43 proteinopathy is a defining hallmark of ALS and FTD. 95% of reported ALS cases result from spontaneous mutations with over 97% being attributed to TDP-43 misfunction. TDP-43 is a nuclear RNA binding protein responsible for RNA metabolism with its most notable role being splicing of RNA. TDP-43 pathology is defined by nuclear clearance known as a loss-of-function and cytoplasmic aggregation\, a gain-of-function. Loss of function results in cryptic splicing leading to the inclusion of cryptic exons that induce frameshifts causing RNA degradation or cryptic peptides. This disruption of cellular homeostasis leads to neuronal death in both cortical and motor neurons\, a defining characteristic of ALS. Studies of the cause of ALS have implicated the exposure to environmental toxins as a risk factor for the progression of ALS. Here we use a fluorescent reporter of TDP-43 cryptic splicing in I3neurons in an assay of 22 environmental toxins to characterize the effects of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals on TDP-43 protein function. We show that increased concentrations of toxins reduce survivability of neurons and increase cryptic splicing events. We conclude that exposure to environmental toxins may contribute to ALS progression by disrupting TDP-43 protein function. UID:147527-21901180@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147527 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 3150 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260416T150033 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260421T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260421T170000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:Special Seminar> Leading attenuators: turning off the integrated stress response DESCRIPTION:Shyama Nandakumar is an MCDB and Rackham Barbour Alumna visiting from the University of Pittsburgh.\n\nThis seminar is co-hosted by Laura Buttitta\, Professor Molecular\, Cellular\, and Developmental Biology and Cheng-yu Lee\, Robert H Bartlett Collegiate Professor of the Life Sciences\, Research Associate Professor\, Life Sciences Institute\, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Associate Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology\, Medical School UID:147812-21901993@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147812 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Life Sciences Institute - Library CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260415T103842 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260422T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260422T150000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:EEB Prelim Seminar Series - Selection on Cognition in the Wild DESCRIPTION:Seminar Summary: Cognition refers to the processes by which animals acquire\, store\, and use information from the environment. These processes drive many adaptive behaviors\, but we know little about how cognitive traits evolve in wild populations. I will use Polistes wasps as a model to investigate the links between cognition\, behavior\, and fitness over multiple generations in the field. My dissertation will provide important information about the costs and benefits of individual variation in cognition. UID:147754-21901935@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147754 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 5150 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260327T150419 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260423T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260423T110000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:MCDB Checkpoint 2 Seminar> Neuroimmune Control of Systemic Shock: The Role of mGluR7 in Shock Propagation DESCRIPTION:Checkpoint 2 Seminar\nMentor: Gary Huffnagle\, Professor MCDB UID:147149-21900440@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147149 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 1010 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260415T125520 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260423T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260423T140000 SUMMARY:Workshop / Seminar:EEB Thesis Defense: Survey of the Natural History of Hesperis matronalis and the abiotic and biotic drivers of its Viruses DESCRIPTION:Summary: In a phenotypic and bioinformatic survey of the natural history of Hesperis matronalis across southern Michigan I found that both land cover type and longitude are positively correlated with infection of TuMV at the phenotypic level. However\, this finding is likely highly correlated with the land cover types further to the north being categorized as Natural\, and land cover types at the southern range of the sampling area Agricultural. Additionally\, bioinformatic analysis found that there are differences in the abundance of certain taxa across the diseased and normal phenotypes. The results of an all-by-all BLAST of the longest assemblies of TuMV were visualized and suggestive of strain variation across populations of H. matronalis. These findings are important to our understanding of how biotic and abiotic interactions influence the ecology and evolution of plant viruses in wild populations. To gain a deeper ecological understanding of the frequency of TuMV in wild populations\, future studies should focus on the ecology of the aphid vectors. UID:147768-21901948@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147768 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Biological Sciences Building - 1010 CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260107T120451 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260504T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260504T120000 SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:Human Genetics Research Seminar Series DESCRIPTION:Monday\, May 4\, 2026\n11:00am - 12:00pm\n1020 Kahn Auditorium\, BSRB\n\nAlex Pollen\, PhD\nAssistant Professor\nNeurobiology\nDevelopmental & Stem Cell Biology\nUniversity of California\, San Francisco\n“Seminar Title TBD”\n\nHosted By: Xander Nuttle\, PhD\, Department of Human Genetics\n___\nWe study how genetic changes that accumulated over the last 6 million years of human evolution influence specialized features of brain development using single cell genomics\, cerebral organoid models of ape brain development\, and genome engineering.\n\nOver the last six million years\, human cognition has changed in remarkable ways to support symbolic language\, long-term planning\, cooperation on vast scales\, and the rapid cultural accumulation of technology. During this time\, patterns of brain development and life history changed to triple the number of neurons produced prenatally\, extend synaptic plasticity through a prolonged phase of development\, and restructure connectivity between brain regions. At the same time tens of millions of mutations accumulated as fixed changes in the human genome through the processes of selection and drift. A portion of this new genomic information guides the development of uniquely human traits and contributes to disease vulnerabilities shared by all humans. However\, connecting human-specific mutations to recently evolved traits remains a major challenge because we lack experimental systems for comparative and functional studies of great ape cortical development. To identify genomic differences underlying unique features or vulnerabilities of the human brain\, we are incorporating advances in single cell genomics and genome engineering with great ape cerebral organoid models of brain development. We are enthusiastic for new graduate students to join the team\, and the lab is well suited for those with an interest in evolution\, neuropsychiatric disorders\, neuronal cell diversity\, stem cell models\, or bioinformatics. UID:143397-21893075@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/143397 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Taubman Biomedical Science Research Building - 1020 Kahn Auditorium CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260107T120504 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260511T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260511T120000 SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:Human Genetics Research Seminar Series DESCRIPTION:Monday\, May 11\, 2026\n11:00am - 12:00pm\n1020 Kahn Auditorium\, BSRB\n\nTony Capra\, PhD\nProfessor\nBakar Computational Health Sciences Institute\nDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics\nUniversity of California\, San Francisco\n“Seminar Title TBD”\n\nHosted By: Xinjun Zhang\, PhD\, Department of Human Genetics\n___\nWe use the tools of computer science and statistics to address problems in genetics\, evolution\, and biomedicine. For a summary of our major research foci\, see Research.\n\nOur group is located in the Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California\, San Francisco. Prior to coming to UCSF\, Tony spent 7 wonderful years at Vanderbilt University.\n\nHumans differ from one another and our closest living relatives\, the chimpanzees\, in a wide range of traits\, including our susceptibility to many diseases. We model the evolutionary processes that have produced these novel traits and develop algorithms that compare genomes to predict the functional relevance of specific genetic differences between individuals and species. UID:143393-21893074@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/143393 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Taubman Biomedical Science Research Building - 1020 Kahn Auditorium CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260107T120515 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260518T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260518T120000 SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:Human Genetics Research Seminar Series DESCRIPTION:Monday\, May 18\, 2026\n11:00am - 12:00pm\n1020 Kahn Auditorium\, BSRB\n\nArneet Saltzman\, PhD\nAssistant Professor\nDepartment of Cell & Systems Biology\nUniversity of Toronto\n“Seminar Title TBD”\n\nHosted By: Stephanie Bielas\, PhD\, Department of Human Genetics\n___\nMost of the cells in an organism share the same genome sequence\, yet they are able to carry out many distinct functions. Along with other layers of gene regulation\, chromatin modification plays a key role in this cellular specialization. Our research focuses on histone modifications such as lysine methylation\, and the proteins that recognize these modifications\, which are often referred to as chromatin ‘readers’. Chromatin readers can recruit and act as part of diverse chromatin modifying protein complexes to mediate the silencing of many genes with important functions in cell proliferation and differentiation. We will use a combination of genetic\, biochemical and genome-wide sequencing approaches to investigate the striking regulatory complexity of chromatin readers. Our research will contribute to a better understanding of how cells acquire and maintain different fates during development\, how chromatin readers contribute to epigenetic inheritance\, and how aberrant regulation of histone methylation contributes to the pathogenesis of several human diseases\, including cancers. UID:143394-21893073@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/143394 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Taubman Biomedical Science Research Building - 1020 Kahn Auditorium CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260331T103356 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260520T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260520T200000 SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:“Nature in Pieces: Why Large\, Continuous\, Connected Forests Hold More Life” DESCRIPTION:As part of the 2026 Summer Lecture Series at the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS)\, Dr. Thiago Gonçalves-Souza will give a free\, public talk focused on a simple but important question: When forests are broken into pieces\, can biodiversity be maintained across the broader landscape? \n\nUsing data across six continents\, he challenges the idea of fragmentation in his talk titled\, “Nature in Pieces: Why Large\, Continuous\, Connected Forests Hold More Life.”\n\nThe postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan will explore why protecting large\, continuous\, and connected forests remains essential for conserving biodiversity. \n\nGonçalves-Souza\, a quantitative community ecologist\, teaches a General Ecology Lecture course at UMBS.\n\nHis current research centers around synthesizing the effects of human-mediated habitat loss and climate change on animals and plants. With a broad taxonomic scope ranging from arthropods to mammals\, Gonçalves-Souza uses quantitative tools to unravel the intricate dynamics of biodiversity change. He also investigates the utility of traits in predicting species redistributions across local and global scales.\n\nThe University of Michigan Biological Station serves as a gathering place to learn from the natural world\, advance research and education\, and inspire action. We leverage over a century of research and transformative experiences to drive discoveries and solutions to benefit Michigan and beyond.\n\nFounded in 1909\, UMBS supports long-term research and education through immersive\, field-based courses and features state-of-the-art equipment and facilities for data collection and analysis to help any field researcher be productive. It is where students and scientists from across the globe live and work as a community to learn from the place.\n\nThe Summer Lecture Series is a tradition at UMBS\, where we explore scientific topics with distinguished guest speakers from across the country so the community can learn about our natural world.\n\nThe free\, public talks are on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the spring and summer in Gates Lecture Hall at the University of Michigan Biological Station\, located at 9133 Biological Rd. in Pellston\, Michigan — about 20 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge. UID:147273-21900620@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147273 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Gates Lecture Hall\, UM Biological Station CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260107T102207 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260522T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260522T150000 SUMMARY:Conference / Symposium:James V. Neel\, MD\, PhD Lecture in Human Genetics & Award DESCRIPTION:Join us as Eric S. Lander\, PhD\, Professor of Biology & Professor of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School and Founding Director Emeritus at the Broad Institute of MIT\, presents their research at The Department of Human Genetics 25th Annual James V. Neel Lecture. We will have presentations from our student awardees\, a poster session\, and a light reception. \n\n12:00-2:00 Award Presentations & Keynote Seminar | 1020 Kahn Auditorium\, BSRB\n2:00-3:00 Reception & Poster Session | ABC Seminar Rooms\, BSRB\n\nReady to share your research? Present your poster at the 25th Annual Neel Lectureship. Submit your poster information no later than Friday\, May 8\, 2026 @midnight.\n\n12:00 – Lectureship Begins\n12:15 – Graduate Student Neel Award Presentation (PhD)\n12:30 – Graduate Student Neel Award Presentation (MS/GC)\n1:00 – Keynote Address\n2:00 – Reception Begins/ Poster Session Begins\n3:00 – Conclude UID:143365-21892954@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/143365 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Taubman Biomedical Science Research Building - 1020 Kahn Auditorium, BSRB & ABC Seminar Rooms CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260331T105313 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260527T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260527T200000 SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:“Using Science to Make a Difference: The Work to Reduce Global Mercury Pollution” DESCRIPTION:As part of the 2026 Summer Lecture Series at the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS)\, Dr. Linda Greer will give a free\, public talk titled\, “Using Science to Make a Difference: The Work to Reduce Global Mercury Pollution.”\n\nAlthough many study environmental science because they are concerned about the health of the planet\, most apply their training to research or teaching following their education. \n\nA UMBS alumna\, Greer earned a Ph.D. in environmental toxicology with a “hard science” dissertation but spent her career at the Natural Resources Defense Council working with lawyers and policy experts to promote improvements in environmental laws and regulations and to pressure corporations to reduce their pollution abroad.\n\nIn this talk\, Greer will describe the use of science in her advocacy\, illustrating this line of work with the story of reducing global mercury pollution.\n\nLinda Greer is an environmental toxicologist who worked on toxic chemical and industrial pollution with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) for nearly 30 years. She capped her career overseeing green supply chain initiatives for four years with the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs\, the leading environmental NGO in China and now works as an independent consultant.\n\nLinda spent most of her career on domestic environmental law and policy. As manufacturing moved abroad\, however\, she turned her attention to global pollution matters\, concentrating her work internationally.\n\nFocusing first on mercury pollution\, Linda was a founder and leader of the NGO’s community’s successful effort to pass the Minamata Convention in the United Nations\, a binding international treaty to reduce the use and release of this toxic metal around the globe.\n\nSubsequently\, Linda turned to China\, creating NRDC’s Clean by Design Program\, a highly successful green supply chain initiative that promotes improvements in apparel manufacturing.\n\nFor more than a decade\, Linda taught a popular summer intensive course\, “Scientific Fundamentals of Risk Assessment” at Vermont Law School\, and she has also taught short courses for the National Association of State Attorney Generals and the U.S. Department of Justice Department of Environmental Crimes.\n\nGreer served as the interim director of the University of Michigan Biological Station in 2016-2017 during a sabbatical break from advocacy.\n\nLinda has served on many expert panels and commissions\, including the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board. She currently serves on the board of the Cary Institute.\n\nLinda is the author of over a dozen technical and policy articles on environmental matters and has frequently testified before Congress. She has a Ph.D. in environmental toxicology (U of Maryland)\, a M.S.P.H. in environmental sciences and engineering (UNC School of Public Health\, Chapel Hill)\, and a B.S. in biology (Tufts University).\n\nThe University of Michigan Biological Station serves as a gathering place to learn from the natural world\, advance research and education\, and inspire action. We leverage over a century of research and transformative experiences to drive discoveries and solutions to benefit Michigan and beyond.\n\nFounded in 1909\, UMBS supports long-term research and education through immersive\, field-based courses and features state-of-the-art equipment and facilities for data collection and analysis to help any field researcher be productive. It is where students and scientists from across the globe live and work as a community to learn from the place.\n\nThe Summer Lecture Series is a tradition at UMBS\, where we explore scientific topics with distinguished guest speakers from across the country so the community can learn about our natural world.\n\nThe free\, public talks are on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the spring and summer in Gates Lecture Hall at the University of Michigan Biological Station\, located at 9133 Biological Rd. in Pellston\, Michigan — about 20 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge. UID:147274-21900621@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147274 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Gates Lecture Hall\, UM Biological Station CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260331T110745 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260603T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260603T200000 SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:“The Tale of a Weevil” DESCRIPTION:As part of the 2026 Summer Lecture Series at the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS)\, Dr. Bénédicte Boisseron will give a free\, public talk titled\, “The Tale of a Weevil.”\n\nBoisseron is professor and chair of the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of Michigan and an affiliate faculty in Romances Languages and Literature\, and Comparative Literature.\n\nHer interdisciplinary scholarship bridges Global Black Studies and the Environmental Humanities through literary\, historical\, and artistic perspectives.\n\nThis talk will use a magnifying glass to examine an environmental crisis of epic proportions in the French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique.\n\nFrom 1972 to 1993\, a highly toxic pesticide was sprayed on weevil-infested banana plantations in the islands\, despite known health risks\, largely due to pressure from powerful white planter elites and the economic importance of the banana industry.\n\nThe resulting health impact on the population has come to symbolize how the colonial is often inextricable from the ecological. But what about the weevil?\n\nThis talk responds to environmental scholar Malcolm Ferdinand’s call to also look at the weevil in this dramatic story.\n\nBoisseron is the author of “Creole Renegades: Rhetoric of Betrayal and Guilt in the Caribbean Diaspora” (2014) and “Afro-Dog: Blackness and the Animal Question” (2018).\n\nHer current book project focuses on food repurposing and was supported by a Guggenheim Fellowship\, alongside additional funding for her broader work on repurposing practices.\n\nHer recent publications examine pesticide contamination on banana plantations in the French Antilles.\n\nIn Winter 2024\, Boisseron taught Food Literacy for All as a faculty instructor and is a Sustainable Food Systems Initiative Affiliate.\n\nThe University of Michigan Biological Station serves as a gathering place to learn from the natural world\, advance research and education\, and inspire action. We leverage over a century of research and transformative experiences to drive discoveries and solutions to benefit Michigan and beyond.\n\nFounded in 1909\, UMBS supports long-term research and education through immersive\, field-based courses and features state-of-the-art equipment and facilities for data collection and analysis to help any field researcher be productive. It is where students and scientists from across the globe live and work as a community to learn from the place.\n\nThe Summer Lecture Series is a tradition at UMBS\, where we explore scientific topics with distinguished guest speakers from across the country so the community can learn about our natural world.\n\nThe free\, public talks are on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the spring and summer in Gates Lecture Hall at the University of Michigan Biological Station\, located at 9133 Biological Rd. in Pellston\, Michigan — about 20 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge. UID:147276-21900623@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147276 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Gates Lecture Hall\, UM Biological Station CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260331T112317 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260617T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260617T200000 SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:Hann Lecture in Ornithology: “Trait-based Insights into the Dynamics of Biodiversity” DESCRIPTION:As part of the 2026 Summer Lecture Series at the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS)\, Dr. Marta Jarzyna will give the Hann Lecture in Ornithology. The free\, public talk is titled\, “Trait-based Insights into the Dynamics of Biodiversity.”\n\nJarzyna is an associate professor in the Department of Evolution\, Ecology and Organismal Biology at Ohio State University.\n\nTrait-based ecology has long been heralded as a framework capable of providing mechanistic insight into biodiversity dynamics and thereby enabling predictions of future biodiversity states.\n\nYet despite decades of development\, the promise of trait-based ecology remains largely unrealized.\n\nIn this talk\, the macroecologist and biodiversity scientist will draw on examples from her own research to critically examine where this promise has and has not been fulfilled.\n\nUsing avian systems as a case study\, Jarzyna demonstrates how incorporating functional traits into biodiversity metrics can reveal patterns that traditional species richness measures obscure.\n\nIn particular\, she shows that trait-based approaches uncover seasonal dynamics in bird communities — shifts in functional composition across the year that species counts alone would miss entirely.\n\nThese findings illustrate both the potential of trait-based ecology and the persistent gap between its theoretical ambitions and empirical application.\nJarzyna’s research focuses on understanding the processes that drive biodiversity dynamics across spatial\, temporal\, and taxonomic scales.\n\nShe holds an M.S. in environmental science from Warsaw University of Life Sciences and a dual Ph.D. in fisheries and wildlife and ecology\, evolutionary biology\, and behavior from Michigan State University\, and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Yale University.\n\nThe University of Michigan Biological Station serves as a gathering place to learn from the natural world\, advance research and education\, and inspire action. We leverage over a century of research and transformative experiences to drive discoveries and solutions to benefit Michigan and beyond.\n\nFounded in 1909\, UMBS supports long-term research and education through immersive\, field-based courses and features state-of-the-art equipment and facilities for data collection and analysis to help any field researcher be productive. It is where students and scientists from across the globe live and work as a community to learn from the place.\n\nThe Summer Lecture Series is a tradition at UMBS\, where we explore scientific topics with distinguished guest speakers from across the country so the community can learn about our natural world.\n\nThe free\, public talks are on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the spring and summer in Gates Lecture Hall at the University of Michigan Biological Station\, located at 9133 Biological Rd. in Pellston\, Michigan — about 20 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge. UID:147277-21900625@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147277 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Gates Lecture Hall\, UM Biological Station CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260331T114121 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260624T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260624T200000 SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:“Making Steel Knives from Sands Found on Douglas Lake” DESCRIPTION:Dr. John Verhoeven is a metallurgical engineer\, U-M alumnus and Distinguished Emeritus Professor at Iowa State University who lives along Douglas Lake\, near the University of Michigan Biological Station.\n\nAs part of the 2026 Summer Lecture Series at the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS)\, Verhoeven will give a free\, public talk titled\, “Making Steel Knives from Sands Found on Douglas Lake.”\n\nSince retiring\, he has continued to do research with colleagues in northern Michigan. They recently found magnetic black sand on Douglas Lake\, reduced it to iron and made kitchen knives.\n\nTheir experiments measuring the composition of the sand in an electron microscope show that it comes from what geologists call OUI deposits of the Mid-Continental Rift. Verhoeven said the source rock from which the sand eroded — Fe-Ti oxide ultramafic intrusions (OUI) — was brought to the surface from magma in Earth’s core 1.1 billion years ago when tectonic plates separated. \n\nHere is a more detailed description of the lecture from Verhoeven: “Bladesmith Tim Zowada\, who lives near Petoskey\, smelts the magnetic black sand he collects on Lake Superior near White Fish Point into iron and makes knives. Working with Tim\, we discovered that the source rock from which the sand eroded contains Ti. This was a new discovery because geologists had assumed the source rock was the same as the iron ore used to make the Taconite which is shipped through the Soo Locks to supply US steel mills. It does not contain Ti. With the help of geologist Marcia Bjornerud\, we have shown that the source rock is what geologists call: Fe-Ti oxide ultramafic intrusions (OUIs). These rocks where brought to the surface from the magma in Earth’s core 1.1 billion years ago when tectonic plates separated and the mid-continental rift (MCR) formed. The rift runs through the Lake Superior region\, and our experiments show the Ti minerals of Tim’s sand matches the composition from OUI drillings collected near Lake Superior. With the help of my neighbor\, Mike Johnson\, we have recently found magnetic black sand on Douglas Lake and Tim has reduced it to iron and made a few small kitchen knives which will be passed around. Our experiments measuring the composition of the sand in an electron microscope in my shop show that it also comes from OUI deposits of the MCR. Douglas Lake also lies on the MCR. The implications of these results will be discussed.”\n\nVerhoeven grew up in Monroe\, Michigan\, and attended the University of Michigan\, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering as well as his master’s and Ph.D. in metallurgical engineering.\n\nHe spent his professional career at Iowa State University\, doing research in the DOE lab and teaching in the Materials Science Department. \n\nVerhoeven has published two books on metallurgy\, 220 peer-reviewed journal papers and obtained 18 patents.\n\nHe built home and shop on Douglas Lake in 1991 and has continued doing research there since retirement in 2000.\n\nThe University of Michigan Biological Station serves as a gathering place to learn from the natural world\, advance research and education\, and inspire action. We leverage over a century of research and transformative experiences to drive discoveries and solutions to benefit Michigan and beyond.\n\nFounded in 1909\, UMBS supports long-term research and education through immersive\, field-based courses and features state-of-the-art equipment and facilities for data collection and analysis to help any field researcher be productive. It is where students and scientists from across the globe live and work as a community to learn from the place.\n\nThe Summer Lecture Series is a tradition at UMBS\, where we explore scientific topics with distinguished guest speakers from across the country so the community can learn about our natural world.\n\nThe free\, public talks are on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the spring and summer in Gates Lecture Hall at the University of Michigan Biological Station\, located at 9133 Biological Rd. in Pellston\, Michigan — about 20 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge. UID:147279-21900626@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147279 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Gates Lecture Hall\, UM Biological Station CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260331T115652 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260701T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260701T200000 SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:Bennett Lecture in Mycology and Plant Biology: “Continent-Scale Aerial Dispersal of Fungi” DESCRIPTION:As part of the 2026 Summer Lecture Series at the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS)\, Dr. Bala Chaudhary will give the Bennett Lecture in Mycology and Plant Biology. The free\, public talk is titled\, “Continent-Scale Aerial Dispersal of Fungi.”\n\nChaudhary is an associate professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College who studies mycorrhizas (plant-fungal symbioses)\, macroecology (continent-scale ecology)\, and movement (microbial dispersal).\n\nDispersal is a fundamental ecological process driving the abundance and distribution of species from local to global scales.\n\nSignificant knowledge gaps exist regarding the mechanisms of fungal dispersal\, especially for species that live entirely belowground.\n\nChaudhary describes the results of multiple complimentary studies that combine macrosystems biology\, trait-based ecology\, eDNA metabarcoding\, and data synthesis approaches to address fundamental questions in fungal dispersal ecology.\n\nShe also shares new methods her lab is developing to apply AI and data synthesis to make inferences about the ecology and evolution of fungi.\n\nChaudhary earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago and her M.S. and Ph.D. from Northern Arizona University\, previously holding faculty appointments at DePaul University and Loyola University Chicago.\n\nIn her lab\, she uses trait-based approaches to develop predictive frameworks for microbial dispersal\, community assembly and biogeography\, and employs complementary approaches of macroecological field work\, controlled lab experiments and data synthesis to study multi-scale questions in ecology.\n\nChaudhary is a recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER award and advises on continent-scale biology for the National Academy of Science\, Engineering\, and Medicine.\n\nPrior to academia\, Chaudhary worked as an environmental consultant in Los Angeles restoring drastically disturbed urban areas to create habitat for endangered species.\n\nShe is an award-winning advocate for antiracist strategies in STEM and the founder of WOCinEEB\, an international organization for racial and gender minorities in ecology and evolutionary biology.\n\nThe University of Michigan Biological Station serves as a gathering place to learn from the natural world\, advance research and education\, and inspire action. We leverage over a century of research and transformative experiences to drive discoveries and solutions to benefit Michigan and beyond.\n\nFounded in 1909\, UMBS supports long-term research and education through immersive\, field-based courses and features state-of-the-art equipment and facilities for data collection and analysis to help any field researcher be productive. It is where students and scientists from across the globe live and work as a community to learn from the place.\n\nThe Summer Lecture Series is a tradition at UMBS\, where we explore scientific topics with distinguished guest speakers from across the country so the community can learn about our natural world.\n\nThe free\, public talks are on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the spring and summer in Gates Lecture Hall at the University of Michigan Biological Station\, located at 9133 Biological Rd. in Pellston\, Michigan — about 20 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge. UID:147281-21900628@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147281 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Gates Lecture Hall\, UM Biological Station CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260331T121445 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260708T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260708T200000 SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:“Making a Migratory Monarch” DESCRIPTION:As part of the 2026 Summer Lecture Series at the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS)\, Dr. André Green will give a free\, public talk titled\, “Making a Migratory Monarch.”\n\nGreen is an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Michigan who studies the unique features of monarch butterfly migration.\n\nHe also teaches a course at UMBS titled “Eco-Evo-Devo: How Genome and Environment Affect Organismal Development\,” that has undergraduate students use cutting-edge molecular genetics techniques (including CRISPR) to illustrate fundamental concepts in eco-evo-devo while leveraging the remarkable biodiversity at UMBS.\n\nMonarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) are renowned for their annual transcontinental migration where they fly thousands of miles each fall to overwinter at specific sites in central Mexico.\n\nHow did this phenotype evolve?\n\nThe mechanisms (behavioral\, genetic\, and molecular) required for migrants to perform this trip\, particularly to naïvely identify their overwintering sites with remarkably high fidelity\, are unknown.\n\nIn his talk at UMBS\, Green will discuss his lab’s efforts that aim to extend our understanding of how this occurs.\n\nHis team integrates development\, genomics\, behavior\, and physiology in both laboratory and natural settings.\n\nGreen earned a Ph.D. in biology from Harvard University and a bachelor of science degree in biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.\n\nThe University of Michigan Biological Station serves as a gathering place to learn from the natural world\, advance research and education\, and inspire action. We leverage over a century of research and transformative experiences to drive discoveries and solutions to benefit Michigan and beyond.\n\nFounded in 1909\, UMBS supports long-term research and education through immersive\, field-based courses and features state-of-the-art equipment and facilities for data collection and analysis to help any field researcher be productive. It is where students and scientists from across the globe live and work as a community to learn from the place.\n\nThe Summer Lecture Series is a tradition at UMBS\, where we explore scientific topics with distinguished guest speakers from across the country so the community can learn about our natural world.\n\nThe free\, public talks are on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the spring and summer in Gates Lecture Hall at the University of Michigan Biological Station\, located at 9133 Biological Rd. in Pellston\, Michigan — about 20 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge. UID:147283-21900631@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147283 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Gates Lecture Hall\, UM Biological Station CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260331T122918 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260715T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260715T200000 SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:Bennett Lecture in Mycology and Plant Biology: “Unravelling the Relationships of the Natural World with Biodiversity Genomics” DESCRIPTION:As part of the 2026 Summer Lecture Series at the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS)\, Dr. Jay Goldberg will give the Bennett Lecture in Mycology and Plant Biology. The free\, public talk is titled\, “Unravelling the Relationships of the Natural World with Biodiversity Genomics.”\n\nGoldberg is an Indigenous (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) evolutionary biologist who uses cutting-edge genetic tools to study interactions between chemically defended plants and their specialist herbivores in the Sonoran Desert.\n\nHe is now starting an independent lab as a presidential scholar at Arizona State University to uncover the (co)evolutionary processes that shape plant-insect interactions in the Sonoran Desert\, focusing primarily on the sacred Datura plant (Datura wrightii) and its community of highly specialized insect herbivores that can tolerate the myriad chemical defenses produced by this iconic native plant.\n\nCoevolution\, when interacting species exert selection upon one another\, has fascinated biologists for decades. Research on coevolution is historically limited to theoretical studies or controlled experimentation with tractable model systems\; now\, however\, modern genomics techniques have ushered in a new era of research that explores coevolutionary processes in naturally interacting populations of organisms. \n\nGoldberg’s fascination with plant-insect interactions began during a post-baccalaureate internship at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology.\n\nHe went on to complete his Ph.D. at Indiana University before doing two postdocs: one in Judie Bronstein’s lab at the University of Arizona and another in Saskia Hogenhout’s lab at the John Innes Centre.\n\nWhen he’s not working\, Goldberg enjoys playing drums\, cooking fancy food for his friends\, and hiking with his dog.\n\nThe University of Michigan Biological Station serves as a gathering place to learn from the natural world\, advance research and education\, and inspire action. We leverage over a century of research and transformative experiences to drive discoveries and solutions to benefit Michigan and beyond.\n\nFounded in 1909\, UMBS supports long-term research and education through immersive\, field-based courses and features state-of-the-art equipment and facilities for data collection and analysis to help any field researcher be productive. It is where students and scientists from across the globe live and work as a community to learn from the place.\n\nThe Summer Lecture Series is a tradition at UMBS\, where we explore scientific topics with distinguished guest speakers from across the country so the community can learn about our natural world.\n\nThe free\, public talks are on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the spring and summer in Gates Lecture Hall at the University of Michigan Biological Station\, located at 9133 Biological Rd. in Pellston\, Michigan — about 20 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge. UID:147288-21900635@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147288 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Gates Lecture Hall\, UM Biological Station CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260331T124430 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260722T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260722T200000 SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:“Linking Pathogen Inactivation and Byproduct Formation: Nucleic Acid Fate During Drinking Water Disinfection” DESCRIPTION:As part of the 2026 Summer Lecture Series at the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS)\, Dr. Aleksandra Szczuka will give a free\, public talk about safe and sustainable drinking water and human health\, titled “Linking Pathogen Inactivation and Byproduct Formation: Nucleic Acid Fate During Drinking Water Disinfection.”\n\nSzczuka is an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Michigan whose research is motivated by broad access to affordable water.\n\nDrinking water treatment plants — originally designed to treat relatively clean surface waters — are now faced with increasing levels of biological and chemical contaminants. \n\nChlorination is a key process for controlling acute health risks. However\, disinfection byproducts (DBPs)\, which pose chronic health risks such as bladder cancer\, form as an unintended consequence of chlorination.\n\nSzczuka will examine nucleic acids as a missing link between pathogen control and byproduct formation. She also will discuss the roles of previously overlooked chlorine species in nucleic acid reactivity and viral inactivation\, and the potential for nucleic acid chlorination to form an emerging class of DBPs.\n\nCollaborating with practitioners\, Szczuka will talk about how utilities in Michigan are working to meet both biological and chemical contaminant treatment objectives in a changing climate.\n\nHer research uses fundamental chemistry and microbiology to inform treatment of non-traditional water sources to safeguard public health. Szczuka is especially interested in understanding the drivers of acute and chronic health risks in water and in advancing emerging treatment technologies.\n\nShe collaborates with researchers\, engineers\, and utility practitioners.\n\nSzczuka received her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in civil and environmental engineering from Stanford University\, and a B.S.E. degree in chemical and biological engineering from Princeton University.\n\nPrior to starting her lab\, Alex was a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Michigan. \n\nThe University of Michigan Biological Station serves as a gathering place to learn from the natural world\, advance research and education\, and inspire action. We leverage over a century of research and transformative experiences to drive discoveries and solutions to benefit Michigan and beyond.\n\nFounded in 1909\, UMBS supports long-term research and education through immersive\, field-based courses and features state-of-the-art equipment and facilities for data collection and analysis to help any field researcher be productive. It is where students and scientists from across the globe live and work as a community to learn from the place.\n\nThe Summer Lecture Series is a tradition at UMBS\, where we explore scientific topics with distinguished guest speakers from across the country so the community can learn about our natural world.\n\nThe free\, public talks are on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the spring and summer in Gates Lecture Hall at the University of Michigan Biological Station\, located at 9133 Biological Rd. in Pellston\, Michigan — about 20 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge. UID:147295-21900642@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147295 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Gates Lecture Hall\, UM Biological Station CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260331T130019 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260729T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260729T200000 SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:Pettingill Lecture in Natural History: “Beavers: Architects of Climate Resilience” DESCRIPTION:As part of the 2026 Summer Lecture Series at the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS)\, Dr. Emily Fairfax will give the Pettingill Lecture in Natural History. The free\, public talk is titled “Beavers: Architects of Climate Resilience.”\n\nFairfax is an assistant professor of geography at the University of Minnesota and an affiliate faculty member at the Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory.\n\nShe uses a combination of remote sensing\, modeling\, and field work to understand how beaver ecosystem engineering can create drought and fire-resistant patches in the landscape under a changing climate. \n\nBeaver dams and beaver mimicry (e.g. Beaver Dam Analogs) are gaining popularity as a low‐cost\, nature-based strategy to build climate resiliency at the landscape scale.\n\nHere in the Great Lakes Region\, we are experiencing wetter winters\, hotter and drier summers\, flashier storms\, and a longer frost-free season.\n\nBeaver ecosystem engineering can help mitigate some of these impacts on local to watershed scales.\n\nBeavers slow and store water in their ponds\, canals\, and the surrounding soil during flood periods which can then be accessed by riparian vegetation during droughts.\n\nAs a result\, the well-watered vegetation in beaver-dammed riparian corridors is less flammable. \n\nFairfax’s research has shown that these beaver-influenced patches of the landscape stay green and can serve as climate refugia\, preserving intact\, mature riparian habitat\, even during extreme drought and fire.\n\nShe suggests that perhaps instead of relying solely on human engineering and management to create and maintain healthy waterways and riparian zones\, humans could benefit from partnering with beaver’s ecosystem engineering to achieve the same goals at a lower cost. \n\nFairfax double majored in chemistry and physics as an undergraduate at Carleton College\, then went on to earn a Ph.D. in geological sciences with an emphasis in hydrologic sciences from the University of Colorado Boulder.\n\nHer research has been featured internationally in National Geographic\, the New York Times\, the LA Times\, PBS\, NPR\, BBC\, and others. When Fairfax says she can talk about beavers all day\, she’s not kidding.\n\nThe University of Michigan Biological Station serves as a gathering place to learn from the natural world\, advance research and education\, and inspire action. We leverage over a century of research and transformative experiences to drive discoveries and solutions to benefit Michigan and beyond.\n\nFounded in 1909\, UMBS supports long-term research and education through immersive\, field-based courses and features state-of-the-art equipment and facilities for data collection and analysis to help any field researcher be productive. It is where students and scientists from across the globe live and work as a community to learn from the place.\n\nThe Summer Lecture Series is a tradition at UMBS\, where we explore scientific topics with distinguished guest speakers from across the country so the community can learn about our natural world.\n\nThe free\, public talks are on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the spring and summer in Gates Lecture Hall at the University of Michigan Biological Station\, located at 9133 Biological Rd. in Pellston\, Michigan — about 20 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge. UID:147296-21900643@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/147296 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION:Gates Lecture Hall\, UM Biological Station CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260107T120530 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260914T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260914T120000 SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:Human Genetics Research Seminar Series DESCRIPTION:Monday\, September 14\, 2026\n11:00am - 12:00pm\nLocation TBD\n\nYang Shi\, PhD\nProfessor of Epigenetics\nLudwig Institute for Cancer Research\nOxford University\, Oxford\, England\n“Seminar Title TBD”\n\nHosted By: Shigeki Iwase\, PhD\, Department of Human Genetics\n___\nBefore joining Ludwig Oxford in 2020\, I was Professor of Cell Biology and C. H. Waddington Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. I received my PhD from New York University and postdoctoral training at Princeton University. I joined Harvard Medical School as an Assistant Professor in 1991 and was appointed a Professor of Pathology in 2004. In 2009 I joined the Newborn Medicine Division of Boston Children’s Hospital.\n\nI am interested in identifying key epigenetic regulators in cancer\, elucidating their mechanism of action and providing the conceptual basis for translating our basic findings to the clinic via the development of new therapeutic strategies. With the discovery of the first histone methyl eraser\, LSD1\, in 2004\, our group demonstrated that histone methylation is dynamically regulated\, which overturned the long-held dogma that such modifications were static and irreversible. We have also discovered many additional histone demethylases with different specificities\, and novel readers\, including those that specifically recognize unmodified lysine and arginine and suggest that the unmodified states are not simply a ground neutral state of epigenetic information but rather likely code for epigenetic information as modified states. Importantly\, many of these chromatin enzymes and readers have since been implicated in various types of human cancers\, indicating an important role of chromatin regulation in tumorigenesis.\n\nMore recently\, we have also been studying RNA modifications and how they impact gene expression regulation. In many ways this exciting field parallels the early days of chromatin biochemistry and biology\, i.e.\, the nature and the biological and pathological functions of RNA modifications\, as well as the enzymes responsible for writing\, erasing and reading them\, are just beginning to be understood.\n\nAt Ludwig Oxford\, my lab is focusing on two questions. First\, how to convert “cold tumors to “hot” and how to sustain durable responses to cancer immune checkpoint blockade therapy. Second\, how to induce therapeutic differentiation of cancers\, using acute myeloid leukemia and diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma as models where chromatin/epigenetics have been shown to play a crucial role in the maintenance of a poorly differentiated state. UID:143395-21893072@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/143395 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION: CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260107T120540 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260921T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260921T120000 SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:Human Genetics Research Seminar Series DESCRIPTION:Monday\, September 21\, 2026\n11:00am - 12:00pm\nLocation TBD\n\nIra Hall\, PhD\nProfessor of Genetics\nDirector of the Yale Center for Genomic Health\nYale School of Medicine\n“Seminar Title TBD”\n\nHosted By: Ryan Mills\, PhD\, Department of Human Genetics\n___\nDr. Hall's research career spans the fields of genetics\, genomics\, bioinformatics and data science. He received a B.A. in Integrative Biology from the University of California at Berkeley (1998)\, and worked as a technician for 2 years in Sarah Hake's plant genetics group at the USDA/ARS Plant Gene Expression Center. He received his Ph.D. in genetics from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (2003)\, where his work in Shiv Grewal's laboratory established the first direct link between RNA interference and chromatin-based epigenetic inheritance. As a postdoc with Michael Wigler (2004) and independent Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Fellow (2004-2007)\, Dr. Hall used microarray technologies and mouse strain genealogies to conduct the first systematic study of DNA copy number variation hotspots. As a faculty member at the University of Virginia (2007-2014)\, Washington University (2014-2020) and Yale (2020-present)\, his work has sought to understand the causes and consequences of genome variation in mammals\, with an increasing focus on computational methods development and human genetics. His group has developed bioinformatics tools for variant detection\, variant interpretation\, sequence alignment\, data processing\, and data integration. He has led genome-wide studies of human genome variation\, heritable gene expression variation\, human genetic disorders\, tumor evolution\, mouse strain variation\, genome stability in reprogrammed stem cells\, and single-neuron somatic mosaicism in the human brain. Dr. Hall's work has been featured in Science Magazine's Breakthrough of the Year (2003 & 2007)\, the NIMH Director's \"Ten Best of 2013\" and The Scientist (2013)\, and he has received several prestigious awards including the AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize (2003)\, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award (2006)\, the NIH Director's New Innovator Award (2009)\, and the March of Dimes Basil O'Connor Research Award (2010). He has also served as an Associate Editor at Genome Research (2009-2014) and Genes\, Genomes and Genetics (2011-2018).\n\nMost recently\, Dr. Hall has played a leadership role in several large collaborative projects funded by NIH/NHGRI including the Centers for Common Disease Genomics\, the AnVIL cloud-based data repository and analysis platform\, and the Human Pangenome Project. His current work is focused on two broad goals: (1) mapping variants and genes that confer risk to human disease\, with ongoing projects focused on coronary artery disease and cardiometabolic traits in unique and underrepresented populations\, and (2) developing methods for the detection and interpretation of human genome variation\, with an emphasis on structural variation and other difficult-to-detect forms\, and on comprehensive trait association in human disease studies. UID:143396-21893071@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/143396 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION: CONTACT: END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260107T120553 DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20261012T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20261012T120000 SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:Human Genetics Research Seminar Series DESCRIPTION:Monday\, October 12\, 2026\n11:00am - 12:00pm\nLocation TBD\n\nMalia Fullerton\, DPhil\nAdjunct Professor\, Epidemiology\nProfessor\, Bioethics and Humanities\nAdjunct Professor\, Genome Sciences\nAdjunct Professor\, Medicine - Medical Genetics\nActing/Interim Center/Institute Director\, School of Public Health\nUniversity of Washington\n“Seminar Title TBD”\n\nHosted By: Wendy R. Uhlmann\, Department of Human Genetics\n___\nStephanie Malia Fullerton\, DPhil\, is Professor of Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She is also Adjunct Professor in the UW Departments of Epidemiology\, Genome Sciences\, and Medicine (Medical Genetics)\, as well as an affiliate investigator with the Public Health Sciences division of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. She received a PhD in Human Population Genetics from the University of Oxford and later re-trained in Ethical\, Legal\, and Social Implications (ELSI) research with a fellowship from the NIH National Human Genome Research Institute.\n\nDr. Fullerton’s work focuses on the ethical and social implications of genomic research and its equitable and safe translation for clinical and public health benefit. She serves as the ELSI lead for the Clinical Sequencing Evidence-Generating Research (CSER2) Consortium coordinating center\, co-chairs the TOPMed Consortium ELSI Committee\, and chairs the Bioethics Advisory Board of the Kaiser Permanente national Research Bank. She contributes to a range of empirical projects focused on clinical genomics translation and precision medicine approaches to the treatment and prevention of cancer and kidney disease in diverse patient populations. UID:143398-21893070@events.umich.edu URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/143398 CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:Bsbsigns LOCATION: CONTACT: END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR