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
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.
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
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.
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.
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 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 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
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
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.
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.
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.
