Speakers

Keynote Speakers

• Cell Biology: Dr. Daniel Lew, Duke University, Durham, NC
  "Cell Polarity and Chemotropism"
  

  Dr. Daniel Lew obtained a BA in genetics from Cambridge University (UK) and then a PhD in molecular biology working with James Darnell on interferon-stimulated transcription at the Rockefeller University (NY). After postdoctoral training on yeast genetics and cell cycle control with Steve Reed at the Scripps Research Institute (CA), he joined the Duke University faculty in 1994. His work has focused on the control of the cell cycle by cell shape and cytoskeletal stress, as well as on polarity establishment, with a view to understanding the universal problems of symmetry breaking and singularity (i.e. why a polarized cell has one and only one “front”). His group combines mathematical modeling with genetics/biochemistry/cell biology approaches to understand the design principles of the polarity machinery, and more recently the basis for effective tracking of pheromone gradients.

• Public Health: Dr. Belinda Seto, NIH/OD, Bethesda, MD
  "Journeys from Discoveries to Translation: Cancer Therapeutics and Treatments for Eye Diseases"
  

  Dr. Belinda Seto earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry from Purdue University in 1974 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the renowned Stadtman Lab of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). She researched hepatitis B and vaccine development at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and oversaw the analysis and reporting of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants data through the Office of Extramural Research (OER). Her experience in database management and analysis led her to serve on the executive committee of the NIH Big Data to Knowledge Initiative (BD2K) and its oversight body, the NIH Scientific Data Council, which are equipping researchers with better tools and training for dealing with big data. She joined the National Eye Institute (NEI) as its deputy director in April 2014 after serving as a deputy director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB). She has since left the NEI to act as the Senior Advisor in the Office of the Director (OD, NIH). Dr. Belinda Seto is a lifelong advocate for women in biomedicine and in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). 
  
  **Updated from NIH's page

Invited Speakers

• Dr. Aaron Bowman, School of Health Sciences, Purdue University
  "Manganese-induced AKT signaling occurs via direct effects on insulin growth factor receptor signaling and is impaired in Huntington's Disease"
  
  
• Dr. Stanton B. Gelvin, Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University
  "A plant myb transcription factor negatively regulates Agrobacterium-mediated transformation"
  
  
• Dr. Rebecca A. Wingert, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame
  "Prostaglandin signaling regulates kidney development"
  
  
• Dr. Christopher J. Staiger, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University
  "Motors take a pause: The role of plant myosin in vesicle tethering during secretion of cell wall materials"

Graduate Student & Postdoctoral Fellow Speakers

• MeeJung Ko, Graduate Student, Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Purdue University
  "Brain region-selective signal transduction of the δ-opioid receptor differentially modulates anxiety- and conditioned fear-related behaviors"
  
  
• Dr. Christina Ramires Ferreira, Lipodomics Research Scientist, Bindley Bioscience Center - Metabolite Profiling Facility, Purdue University
  "MRM-profiling for exploratory lipidomics of cell membranes"
  
  
• Peiyi Zhang, Graduate Student, School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University
  "Understanding complex single molecule emission patterns with information based deep learning"
  
  
• Satarupa Bhaduri, Graduate Student, Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University
  "Lipid-protein interactions in the hetero-oligomeric cytochrome b₆f integral membrane lipoprotein"