Science Seminars

Fall Science Seminars begin in September!  Mark your calendars for November 20, from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. in Collins (Building 2), room 2-178. Monthly announcements of the speakers and topics will be shared.

Upcoming Seminar

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

The Caenorhabditis elegans model system and how it is revealing the inner workings of ourselves

David R. Sherwood, PhD
Professor of Biology
Duke University

The soil-dwelling nematode worm C. elegans is only 1 mm long, completely transparent, and composed of only ~1000 cells. Yet, C. elegans has many of the same tissues as humans, which have over 30 trillion cells. I will talk about how this simple worm is transforming our understanding of how our cells and tissues work (as well as a few worm oddities). I will also present some of the research my lab conducts on basement membranes, a network of proteins that surrounds and supports all our tissues and plays important roles in cancer and aging.
 

Past Seminars

Fall 2024

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Ruminations on Ruminants: Clinical Practice, Teaching, and Research with Livestock

Derek Foster, DVM, PhD, DACVIM
Associate Professor of Ruminant Medicine
Department of Population Health and Pathobiology
NC State University College of Veterinary Medicine

Veterinarians are most commonly pictured in a small animal private practice working with dogs and cats. That was the path I envisioned for my career as well. But along the way, I took a turn and my career as a veterinarian has taken me across the country to Colorado for specialty training and then back to North Carolina for a PhD. Since then, my career has been a mix of teaching, research, and clinical medicine working with cattle, sheep, goats, llamas, and alpacas. We will talk about some alternative careers for veterinarians, how I got to where I am, my research, and what a day might look like for someone in my position.

Spring 2024

Past Seminars

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Antibiotic tolerance and other barriers to effective treatment of bacterial infections

Sarah E. Rowe-Conlon, PhD 
Research Associate Professor, 
Department of Microbiology and Immunology
UNC-Chapel Hill

By the year 2050, more people are predicted to die from bacterial infections than cancer. Consequently, there is an urgent need to understand the precise nature of treatment failure and to develop novel strategies to combat these infections. Our research group studies an array of bacterial pathogens responsible for stubborn bacterial infections, including wound infections, liver abscesses and persistent bacteremia. Utilizing a combination of in vitro, tissue culture, and mouse infection models, we aim to unravel the underlying factors that impede antibiotic efficacy during infection.
 

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Collaborations Pharmaceuticals, Inc: Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery, Consumer Products and Beyond

Aaron Oliver, MBA
Business Development Manager
Collaborations Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

This talk will include an introduction to Collaborations Pharmaceuticals, Inc., including our work and the people who make it possible. We will also discuss drug discovery - how it developed in the past and how it is done today. Finally, we will discuss the intersection of science and AI. 
 

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Application of biopolymers in soft electronics and as a plastic alternative

Mesbah Ahmed
Graduate Research Assistant
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
NC State University

Biopolymers are simple macromolecules produced from natural sources such as plants, animals, and microorganisms. Over the past few years, there has been a significant interest surrounding biopolymers, owing to their biodegradability, renewability, biocompatibility, and promising applications in different sectors such as agriculture, food, medicine, and electronics. I will discuss the application of two natural biopolymers, agarose, and chitosan, in soft electronics and as a substitute for plastic. We incorporate these biopolymers as substrates for soft electronic devices, replacing traditional fossil fuel-derived materials. Additionally, we produce biocomposite films that offer promising alternatives to synthetic plastics such as polyethylene. We aim to develop sustainable, biodegradable, and eco-friendly products suitable for a wide range of applications.

Community Science Events

Community Science Events

Duke University Science Events Calendar

NC State University: College of Sciences Events Calendar

Caltech Watson Lectures - Watson Lectures spotlight the pioneering research Caltech's faculty is currently conducting. Lectures are live-streamed here so you can watch them in real time.