Tag: biology

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Finding and Fighting Cells that can Kill us: One Patient’s Story

with Bradley Stohr MD PhD of UCSF

WHEN?: Wednesday, November 20th, 2024 – TLHS Innovation Hub – 7:30 – 8:30pm

Description: We humans are extraordinarily complex organisms, each of us composed of roughly 30 trillion cells. Our health depends on all of those cells working together in harmony, and just one cell going rogue can potentially spell disaster. In this session, Bradley Stohr of UCSF will share one patient’s story of battling a deadly disease. We’ll discuss how the cells that cause disease can be identified, how doctors can fight back against those cells, and why our best efforts are unfortunately not always enough.

Bradley Stohr MD PhD

Bio: Bradley Stohr MD PhD is Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Pathology at University of California, San Francisco. He received a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Swarthmore College in 1995 and completed the Medical Scientist Training Program at Duke University in 2003. He has been in the Department of Pathology at UCSF ever since, first as a medical resident and fellow and then as a faculty member. He ran a basic science laboratory for many years but now primarily focuses his efforts on clinical practice (with expertise in genitourinary pathology) and as one of the primary administrative leads for his department.

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What We Were Missing: How Studying the Whole Skeleton Changes our Understanding of Carnivore Evolution and Ecology

with Emily Bogner, Ph.D. candidate UC Berkeley

WHEN?: Wednesday, November 13th, 2024 – TLHS Innovation Hub – 7:30 – 8:30pm

A carnivore on the hoof

Description: In paleontology, the skull, arms, and legs can provide valuable insights into the diversity of diets and movements in extinct animals. As animals evolve, all parts of their skeleton evolve simultaneously as a coordinated whole, however, the research paleontologists conduct often examines these parts of the skeleton independently. Emily Bogner’s research unveils the intricate interplay of the integrated evolution between the skull, arms, and legs. This broadens our understanding of how animals evolved to be best suited for their environments.

Bio: Emily is a fourth year PhD candidate at UC Berkeley and affiliate of the University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) and Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ). She is broadly interested in evolutionary biomechanics and functional morphology of vertebrates. Her dissertation focuses on how the carnivoran skeleton has evolved for prey acquisition and processing. Prior to working in the Functional Anatomy and Vertebrate Evolution (FAVE) Laboratory at Cal, she received her B.S in Geology and Biology from Kutztown University, and her M.S. in Geosciences with a concentration in Paleontology from East Tennessee State University.

Emily Bogner

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Marine Wildlife off our Coasts: Studying Sea birds, Marine Mammals and More

with Meredith Elliott M.S. of Point Blue Conservation Science

WHEN?: Wednesday, October 30th, 2024 – TLHS Innovation Hub – 7:30 – 8:30pm

Point Blue Conservation Science

Description: Our oceans are facing many threats, including warming temperatures, ocean acidification, and overfishing (to name a few). At Point Blue Conservation Science, we have over 50 years of experience studying marine wildlife and what they can tell us about the health of our ocean. We work with federal agencies (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) to monitor seabirds and marine mammals on the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge (located ~30 miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge) and to conduct at-sea surveys in the National Marine Sanctuaries off our coast. Come hear how we are finding ways to protect seabirds from hot weather, using diet data from seabirds and sea lions to help make our fisheries more sustainable, what we are learning about ocean acidification, and what we are doing to save whales from ship strikes.

Bio: Meredith earned a B.S. in Zoology from the University of California, Davis and an M.S. in Marine Biology from San Francisco State University, the latter investigating the diet of the California Least Tern colony at Alameda Point (formerly the Naval Air Station, Alameda). After finishing undergraduate work she was advised to apply for a seabird research assistant position on the Farallon Islands, and she has been hooked on seabirds ever since! She was then hired to help monitor Double-crested Cormorant populations on the Richmond-San Rafael and San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridges. Other Point Blue projects she has worked on include monitoring breeding success and diet of the Alameda Point Least Tern colony and documenting seabird mortality during oil spills as part of the Processing Strike Team within the Oiled Wildlife Care Network.

As a Principal Scientist in Point Blue’s California Current Group, Meredith investigates the diet of marine predators to understand changing forage species communities in coastal California. She is a Program Leader with ACCESS (www.accessoceans.org), a partnership among Point Blue, our two national marine sanctuaries (Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank), and several other entities to conduct ocean research in our region. In addition to overseeing and synthesizing the many datasets related to the ACCESS partnership, Meredith examines the effects of varying oceanographic conditions on various zooplankton taxa in our marine environment. She also supervises the Point Blue marine laboratory, where marine predator diet and zooplankton studies happen with the help of awesome lab research assistants and volunteers!

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Through the Fantastic Eyes of Frogs and Toads: How Scientists Study what Frogs and Toads See

with Rayna Bell Ph.D., Assistant Curator of Herpetology, California Academy of Sciences

NEW DATE! Wednesday, November 15th, 2023 – TLHS Innovation Hub – 7:30 – 8:30pm

Green tree frog. Photo by Andrew Stanbridge
A Hyperolius molleri frog on São Tomé Island. Photo by Andrew Stanbridge

Dr. Rayna Bell grew up in Marin County and her love of science was nurtured by several wonderful teachers at Drake (now Archie Williams) High School. Rayna attended College of Marin and the University of California, Berkeley where she studied biology and interned at U.C. Berkeley’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology where she started doing research on Australian frogs and lizards. She received her Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Cornell University, during which she conducted research on African tree frogs, and joined the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History as Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles. In 2019, Rayna moved back home to the California Academy of Sciences where she is the Associate Curator of Herpetology. Rayna’s research focuses on the ecology, evolution, and conservation of amphibians and reptiles with an emphasis on island biogeography, hybrid zones, and coloration.

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We Need New Antibiotics – Why Do We Have So Few?

with Julia Schaletzky Ph.D. of the Center for Emerging and Neglected Diseases and the Drug Discovery Center at UC Berkeley

Wednesday, November 1, 2023, Terra Linda High School Innovation Hub

Center for Emerging and Neglected Diseases
Center for Emerging and Neglected Diseases

Description: Antibiotics are one of the triumphs of science and we have become used to them as “silver bullets”, fighting potentially life-threatening infections. As drug-resistant pathogens continue to emerge, what are our options? Why are so few new antibiotics being developed and how do we have to think about the market-driven model of drug development in this context? Dr. Schaletzky will provide an overview about chemistry, discovery/development, overuse and the economics of antibiotic development, and discuss potential solutions to a problem that should be on everyone’s mind.

Bio.: Dr. Julia Schaletzky is the Executive Director of the Center for Emerging and Neglected Diseases and the Drug Discovery Center at UC Berkeley. After studying biochemistry in her native Germany, she moved to Harvard Medical School for graduate school. Interested in applied science, Dr. Schaletzky joined a biotechnology company, Cytokinetics, to develop new therapies for heart disease and neurodegenerative disorders, with several molecules in late-stage clinical trials. In her role at UC Berkeley, she focuses on interdisciplinary approaches and public/private partnership for the discovery and development of new therapies and tools, particularly for unmet medical needs. Dr. Schaletzky is also is a lecturer at the Haas School of Business, teaching Bioentrepreneurship, Access to Medicines and Drug Development for Neglected Diseases. She has received NIH-funded grants to support underrepresented minorities and women in STEM in the U.S. and runs a program in Uganda to build local research capacity. Dr. Schaletzky is broadly interested in global public health, bioethics, and the governance of processes that end up influencing who gets care and who does not.

Julia Schaletzky Ph.D. of the Center for Emerging and Neglected Diseases and the Drug Discovery Center at UC Berkeley
Julia Schaletzky

Links

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Machine Vision for Medical Monitoring

with Art Wallace M.D. Ph.D. of the San Francisco VA Medical Center and UCSF Medical School

Wednesday, April 26, 2023 7:30-8:30pm, Terra Linda High School Innovation Hub

Touchless Medical Monitoring

This presentation will discuss the use of artificial intelligence and machine vision to create a new platform for medical monitoring. Many patients in the hospital are not monitored continuously and the medical monitors that we have now (ECG, pulse oximetry, blood pressure cuffs) require the patient to we wired or attached to a monitor. Dr. Wallace is developing a remote, non-contact patient monitor that relies on machine vision to continuously monitor patients. The monitor is designed to reduce morbidity and mortality by identifying patient deterioration prior to cardiac or respiratory arrest.

Art Wallace, M.D, Ph.D is a cardiac anesthesiologist, professor and vice-chairman of anesthesiology and perioperative care at the University of California San Francisco, and Chief of Anesthesia at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. Dr Wallace has developed medications, surgical procedures, medical devices, and medical informatics software.

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Arachnophilia! Using Museums to Understand and Conserve Arachnids

with Katherine Montana and Jacob Gorneau of the California Academy of Sciences

Traveling the world through collections: Using museums to understand and conserve arachnids

Wed., February 8, 2023 @ Terra Linda HS’s Innovation Hub, 7:30 – 8:30 pm

Arachnids are an incredibly diverse group of animals found throughout the world, exhibiting adaptations that allow them to thrive in even the most extreme habitats. Spiders, scorpions, mites, ticks, daddy long legs, camel spiders, whip scorpions, and other eight-legged creatures comprise this remarkable group. Our research focuses on collecting arachnids and using existing museum specimens. The Bay Area is home to one of the most extensive arachnid collections, with over 1 million spider specimens at the California Academy of Sciences. From these collections, we can understand how species are related to one another and how to best conserve them.

Kate Montana
Kate Montana in the field.

Kate Montana is a graduate student researcher in the arachnology lab at the California Academy of Sciences. She is advised by Dr. Lauren Esposito and is working toward her master’s degree in integrative biology at San Francisco State University. Her research utilizes morphological and molecular data to revise the evolutionary relationships between genera in a group of small brown spiders called the marronoids. Kate also recently worked on a project called the Untold Stories from the Archives in which she and her team used the Academy archives to illuminate the stories of marginalized scientists throughout the history of the Academy. Kate grew up in Folsom, CA and attended UC Berkeley for her undergraduate degree in biology and anthropology. Kate considers herself a lifelong learner and wants to do all she can to get to know the natural world and how it operates.

Jacob Gorneau
Jacob Gorneau in the field.

Jacob Gorneau is a research assistant in the Entomology department. While he loves anything with an exoskeleton, his research focuses on using museum collections to answer questions about arachnid biodiversity. He recently received his master’s in Biology at San Francisco State University studying the evolutionary history of the marronoid clade – a group of mostly small, brown spiders with little unifying characteristics. Before coming to the California Academy of Sciences for his master’s, he received a bachelor’s in entomology from Cornell University.

Wednesday, February 8, 2023 @ Terra Linda High School’s Innovation Hub, 7:30 – 8:30 pm

Join us & Learn!

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Blinded by the Lack of Light

Meredith Protas and student

Genetics of Pigmentation and Eye Loss in the Cave-dwelling Crustacean, Asellus aquaticus

with Meredith Protas, Ph.D. of Dominican University of California, San Rafael

Join us for a Zoom session with Dominican University’s Dr. Meredith Protas. Dr. Protas’s lab investigates the genetics and evolution of cave dwelling animals, specifically crustaceans. The isopod crustacean, Asellus aquaticus, has two different forms: a cave dwelling form and a surface dwelling form. Interestingly, these two forms can be mated together which ultimately allows for an understanding of the genetics behind characteristics found in the cave form such as eye and pigment loss. The questions the lab are asking include:

  • What are the genes and mutations responsible for cave-specific characteristics like eye loss, pigment loss and increased appendage length?
  • In different cave populations are the same or different genes responsible?
  • Where does the variation that causes cave-specific characteristics come from?

To register for this event ask your teacher to contact us, or send a request for registration information via our contact form.

Meredith Protas PhD
Meredith Protas PhD

Before joining the Dominican faculty, Dr. Protas did research at UC Berkeley on cave-dwelling crustaceans and studied the genetic basis of human eye disease in her research work at UCSF. Currently, she uses genetic, molecular, and developmental techniques to answer evolutionary questions about cave animals. Dr. Protas holds a BA in Biology from Pomona College and a PhD in Genetics from Harvard University.

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Photo of Asellus aquaticus, a crustacean
Asellus aquaticus, a crustacean

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CSI Humpbacks: Decoding Whale Scars

Title: “CSI Humpbacks: Decoding Whale Scars“ with Allison Payne of San Francisco State’s Estuary and Ocean Science Center

Date: Wed. March 4th, 2020; 7:30 – 8:30 pm at Terra Linda HS in San Rafael, Room 207

Description: Coming soon

Bio: Allison Payne is a graduate student researcher with the Hines Lab at San Francisco State’s Estuary and Ocean Science Center, where she is working on her M.S. in Marine and Estuarine Science. Her thesis is looking at the scars on humpback whales in the Gulf of the Farallones to assess their interactions with fisheries, small vessels, natural predators, and more. She is also a researcher with the Marine Mammal Center Cetacean Field Research team, where she studies harbor porpoises, humpback whales, gray whales, and bottlenose dolphins. She collects much of the data for these projects while working as a naturalist for San Francisco Whale Tours.

Allison received her undergraduate degree in Cognitive Science from UC Berkeley and has worked in labs around the world studying everything from squirrels to ancient whale fossils.

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Facebook event: RSVP here

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Biologics and Me: A Career in the Biotech Industry

Title: “Biologics and Me: A Career in the Biotech Industry” with Terry Hermiston Ph.D. of Coagulant Therapeutics and GLAdiator Biosciences 

Date: Wed. February 26th, 2020; 7:30 – 8:30 pm at Terra Linda HS in San Rafael, Room 207

“Biologics” are substances made from a living organism or its products which are used in the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of cancer and other diseases. Biologic drugs include antibodies, interleukins, replacement factors and vaccines. Dr. Hermiston will discuss his training and career in biologics and the Biotech industry.

Bio: Dr. Hermiston has over 20 years of industrial experience in research and drug development. His experience includes drug development focused on idea conception and concept validation, as well as Scientific Advisory Board and Board of Directors service for biotechnology companies. Dr. Hermiston is currently CEO of Coagulant Therapeutics and GLAdiator Biosciences developing assets acquired from his time working at Bayer. Dr. Hermiston holds a Ph.D. in Medical Microbiology from University of Iowa.

Dr. Terry Hemiston

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Facebook event: RSVP here

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