SCIENCE WITHOUT LIMITS: HHMI SYMPOSIUM, Fall 2008

The mission of this series is to ignite a passionate effort to broaden participation in science at all levels. By making innovative scientific research accessible and relevant to a wide audience this series seeks to increase participation in the physical and natural sciences among all groups, particularly those that have been historically underrepresented.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

Dr. Trachette Jackson, Associate Professor of Mathematics, University of Michigan

Dr. Jackson is a mathematical biologist with research interests in the application of mathematical modeling to biomedical systems, such as tumor biology, chemotherapeutic strategies, and cell signaling. In 1999, she was a John Hope Franklin Postdoctoral Fellow at Duke University and a Visiting Scientist at National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory at the Environmental Protection Agency. In 2003, she received an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship and was appointed Associate Professor at the University of Michigan.

Mathematical Biology -- An Essential Part of 21st Century Science

5:00 PM, John Howard Hall, Room 102

A deep understanding of biology, for human benefit and the mitigation of human harm, requires a cross-disciplinary approach that incorporates sophisticated mathematical, statistical and computational modeling techniques. In order to achieve rapid and significant further progress in issues that span molecular, cellular, tissue, individual, population, and ecosystem levels an increase in size as well as a shift in the philosophy of the scientifically trained workforce is called for. In this talk, I will discuss some of the ways mathematical modeling has impacted the biological sciences and highlight the synergistic relationship that now exists between the two fields. I will also discuss a specific example of the use of quantitative approaches in cancer research.

Rogers Summer Science Poster Session

4:30 pm, Albany Quadrangle, Smith Hall

This event is the culmination of the John S. Rogers Summer Science Research Program. The Rogers Program prepares students for careers in the sciences by supporting collaborative scientific research between students and faculty. The program aims to attract and retain outstanding students and faculty in the mathematical and natural sciences. Participants began their research in May and will present their results at this poster session on September 30.

Mathematical Models of Tumor-Induced Angiogeneis

2:00 PM, John Howard Hall, Room 244

Tumor-induced angiogenesis is the growth of a network of new blood vessels from the pre-existing vasculature in response to chemical signals from a tumor. This process is a crucial component of solid tumor progression as it marks the pivotal transition between the relatively harmless avascular and the potentially fatal vascular phases of growth. As a process, angiogenesis is a well-orchestrated sequence of events acting at the molecular, cellular and tissue levels. In this talk, I will discuss mathematical models that attempt to connect the molecular events associated with intracellular signaling with the temporal changes in endothelial cell proliferation, migration and survival. The goal is to quantify the influence of these processes and relate them to changes in tumor volume and vascular structure.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2008

Dr. Peter M. O’Day, Associate Professor of Biology, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon

Dr. O'Day received his Ph.D. in Biophysics in 1977 from the State University of New York, Albany. He has held postdoctoral fellowships at Brandeis University and Purdue University, and has been on the faculty of the University of Oregon since 1983. His research interests include cellular signaling, electrophysiological, biochemical, and mutational analysis of visual processing, and phototransduction. He is the director of the University of Oregon Summer Program for Undergraduate Research in the Life Sciences (SPUR).

Visual Processing in the Retina

1:00 pm, Albany Quadrangle, Room 220

It is amazing that we can see. A little bit of light enters our eye and somehow our minds can produce a complex and sophisticated image of the world around us. How does this work?

We study processing in the retina, including the physiology and chemistry of phototransduction and synaptic processing. The initial stages of vision take place within the photoreceptor cells in the retina (rods and cones). We investigate the mechanisms by which retinal cells achieve this information transfer and processing to generate proper visual function. Eyes of Drosophila and Zebrafish are used. Visual transduction and signal processing involve complex cascades of reactions, initiating several other simultaneous intracellular and membrane events that lead to the creation of an intricate electrical response that spreads to the synapse, sending information to higher order visual cells. We adopt a relatively broad experimental approach to examine these events, investigating not only intracellular chemistry but also membrane transport processes, electrogenic processes, and modulation of retinal function by input from higher CNS centers. Membrane biophysics, electrophysiology, pharmacology, microspectrophotometry, mathematical modeling, mutational analysis, and biochemistry are used. These techniques in combination with genetic and molecular approaches offer a very promising strategy to reveal the orchestration of photoreceptor signaling. Investigating these processes in the retina gives us insights into the biochemistry that is basic to all cellular signaling systems.

Models for Successful Undergraduate Research

9:00 am, Albany Quadrangle, Room 220

Dr. O'Day is the director of The University of Oregon (UO) Summer Program for Undergraduate Research (SPUR), an undergraduate summer research program which offers fellowship opportunities for students to participate in ongoing research in the life sciences laboratories at UO. SPUR is open to all students in a wide variety of research areas, including bioinformatics, evolution, neuroscience, ecology and developmental, molecular, and marine biology. The program is the recipient of 2007 University of Oregon Martin Luther King, Jr. Award. Dr. O'Day will discuss the SPUR program in the context of models of successful undergraduate research.

This symposium is funded by a Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant recently awarded to the College.