Georgia Gosnell Seminar Series

Organismal plasticity in the colors and behaviors of an African cichlid fish

Monday, December 2
1:00 - 1:50 PM
Gosnell A300

Sebastian Gaston Alvarado, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Queens College
City University of New York

An individual’s ability to adapt to a changing environment is fundamentally important for survival. Animal pigmentation has been long studied for its importance in facilitating defensive camouflage and social communication. While developmental genetics has revealed mutants that shape pigmentation at a population level, they do not represent an individual’s potential for morphological plasticity. As such, the phenotypic plasticity and dynamic regulation of underlying genes remain understudied in animals capable of changing colors to adapt to their environment. The African cichlid demonstrates phenotypic plasticity across body colors, with males presenting as yellow or blue. I will describe how plastic changes in pigmentation can be facilitated by DNA methylation and how territorial and non-territorial color morphs develop behavioral signatures that modulate fighting tactics.

Genetic Engineering Techniques to Study and Enhance Crop Plant Systemic Acquired Resistance

Monday, November 25
1:00 - 1:50 PM
Gosnell A300

Benjamin Merritt
University of Florida

This seminar will discuss the presenter’s current research projects surrounding plant systemic acquired resistance (SAR) as well as his career path from RIT to UF. The two major projects he will discuss include characterizing crop plant extracellular NAD(P)+ [eNAD(P)] receptors and the use of CRISPR/Cas9 to develop disease resistant tomatoes. Receptors of eNAD(P) were discovered in Arabidopsis and constitute a critical part of the plant’s SAR immune response, yet it is unclear if this pathway is conserved in crop plant species. In tomatoes, CRISPR/Cas9 was used to enhance levels of the master regulator of plant resistance, known as NPR1, to increase resistance to bacterial spot disease.

Parents, porches, and Pb policy: Cycles of engagement and research

Katrina Korfmacher, Ph.D.
Professor of Environmental Medicine
Director of Community Engagement
Environmental Health Services Center
University of Rochester

Childhood lead poisoning remains a global environmental health threat.  However, effective, efficient, equitable solutions differ from place to place.  Rochester’s 2005 lead law is hailed as a ‘gold standard’ for preventing housing-based exposures to lead. This talk will explore how ongoing interactions between researchers, community groups, and government over 25 years have contributed to rapid declines in childhood lead poisoning in Rochester while contributing to federal policy and setting a national model for locally-based primary prevention.

Combining isotopic and molecular approaches to understand patterns of methane emissions across high latitude peatlands

Carrie McCalley, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences
Rochester Institute of Technology

A challenge for improving future climate predictions is to develop an understanding of the sinks and sources of methane (CH4). High latitude ecosystems are a large source of atmospheric CH4 and are undergoing rapid change. One solution for identifying drivers of changing atmospheric CH4 has been to use tropospheric observations of CH4 concentration and isotopic signature to attribute changes in atmospheric CH4 to specific sources and regions. We characterized methane cycling microbial communities and associated CH4 isotope biogeochemistry from well-studied high-latitude peatlands across North America and Scandinavia, including sites with well documented habitat shifts associated with permafrost thaw.

The Peculiar Lifestyle of an Important Opportunistic Fungal Pathogen

Terry Wright, Ph.D.
Pediatrics Infectious Disease and Microbiology and Immunology
University of Rochester Medical Center

Pneumocystis are a family of respiratory fungal pathogens that cause life-threatening pneumonia (PCP) in immunocompromised patients. Pneumocystis has evolved a unique host-dependent lifestyle that ensures its’ widespread persistence throughout the human population. Our laboratory works to understand how host-pathogen interactions lead to effective immunity in healthy individuals or severe disease in patients with compromised immune function. We have used our findings to identify vaccine targets and to design and evaluate treatment regimens.

Breaking the Silence: Interaction of Acinetobacter sp. RIT 592 induces the production of broad-spectrum antibiotics in Exiguobacterium sp. RIT 594

André Hudson, Ph.D.
Dean and Professor
College of Science
Rochester Institute of Technology

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most alarming global public health challenges of the 21st century. Over 3 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur in the United States annually, with nearly 50,000 cases being fatal. Innovations in drug discovery methods and platforms are crucial to identify novel antibiotics to combat AMR. We present the isolation and characterization of potentially novel antibiotic lead compounds produced by the cross-feeding of two rhizosphere bacteria, Acinetobacter sp. RIT 592 and Exiguobacterium sp. RIT 594. The supernatant from RIT 592 induced RIT 594 to produce a cocktail of antimicrobial compounds active against Gram-positive and negative bacteria. This work emphasizes the utility of microbial community-based platforms to discover novel clinically relevant secondary metabolites.

Microbiological predictive modeling for food safety risk assessment: State of the art and way forward

Nurul Hawa Ahmad '10, Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer
Food Science and Technology
Universiti Putra Malaysi

Predictive modeling can be described as mathematical expressions that reflect the growth, survival, or inactivation behaviors of foodborne pathogens under certain conditions. When kinetic parameters of microbial behaviors can be estimated, this information is valuable as scientific evidence to support risk-based decision making in food safety. This talk will cover concepts of predictive modeling, available web-based tools, and the roles of predictive modeling in food safety risk assessment. This talk will also discuss our works inactivation and growth of foodborne pathogens in selected food commodities as well as future recommendations for predictive modeling in food safety.

A bubbling cauldron of antibiotic resistance: Commensal Neisseria, a persistent threat for DNA donation to important human pathogens

Crista Wadsworth, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences
RIT

Alongside the crisis of antimicrobial resistant gonorrhea is the threat of bystander selection on commensal Neisseria. As Neisseria species are all permissive to gene flow across lineages, their evolutionary fates are irrevocably intertwined. Current projects in the Wadsworth Lab focus on defining the Neisseria resistome, or all available resistance mechanisms present in the genus. We will discuss past and ongoing experimental evolution, population genomics, and experimental work all focused on elucidating the mechanisms of resistance in commensals, and how they have transmitted between Neisseria populations.

Can I Borrow a Gene?

Fernando Rodriguez, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences
RIT

Bdelloid rotifers are microscopic freshwater invertebrates able to survive desiccation and to reproduce asexually. The genome of the bdelloid rotifer Adineta vaga is unusual in having over 8% of its genes originated from non-metazoan (predominantly bacterial) sources. This suggests that genetic and epigenetic mechanisms play a crucial role in maintaining genome stability. My research proposes that bdelloid rotifers not only effectively regulate the integration of foreign genes acquired at a high rate, but also uniquely "borrow" both simple and complex genes, harnessing them for their own advantage.

Student Seminar: "What I did this summer" (Part 2)

Student Seminar: "What I did this summer" (Part 1)

GSoLS Student Seminar

Skye Bixler ’24 BS / ’25 MS (biotechnology BS / bioinformatics MS)
“Understanding how the Vesicular Stomatitis Virus matrix protein blocks cellular translation using Comparative Molecular Dynamics”

Zack Black '24 (biotechnology)
“NFkB is not solely regulated by the matrix protein in prostate cancer cells that resist VSV oncolysis”

Aneesh Nallani '24 (biology)
“Demystifying ATP Hydrolysis”

Jack Smerczyski '24 (biotechnology)
“NFkB is not solely regulated by the matrix protein in prostate cancer cells that resist VSV oncolysis”

Shreya Sujith ’25 (biotechnology)
“Demystifying ATP Hydrolysis”

McKenzie Watts '25 (biotechnology)
“Biological characterization of novel tanzawaic acid bacterial conjugation inhibitors” 

From Bench to Bedside: Developing a novel therapeutic against the deadly brain eating amoeba Balamuthia mandrillaris

Kaitlin Marquis, Ph.D. '15 (biotechnology)
Scientist
Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Network

Unlocking the Genetic Repertoire of a Cultivated Megaphage

Richard Allen White III, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Bioinformatics and Genomics
University of North Carolina at Charlotte

T Cell Immunometabolism in Function and Disease

KayLee Steiner (Biotechnology ’20)
Ph.D. Candidate
Cancer Biology
Vanderbilt University

Living on the edge: Pollinating insects and plant communities along highways

Kaitlin Stack Whitney, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Science, Technology, & Society
Rochester Institute of Technology

Building Quantitative Skills in Biology Students

Melissa L. Aikens, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
University of New Hampshire

Co-sponsored with the Center for Advancing Scholarship to Transform Learning (CASTLE).

Advanced Cryotechnologies for Conservation: Ethics and Justice Considerations

Evelyn Brister, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy
Rochester Institute of Technology

Coastal Wetlands in a Changing World: Impact on carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas release

Inke Forbrich, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
University of Toledo

Determining the socio-ecological impact of field station conservation initiatives

Sydney VanWinkle, M.S. (RIT '19 '21)
Fulbright U.S. Student Fellow
Madagascar Researcher

Biology Without Walls: Student Research Presentations

Microbial Assembly: Using ecology to deconstruct pandemics and build healthy amphibian microbiomes

Dr. Elle Barnes
Assistant Professor
RIT Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences

New Strategies for Antibiotic Dosing in the Age of Multidrug-Resistance

Zackery P. Bulman, PharmD
Assistant Professor
University of Illinois Chicago
College of Pharmacy

The Green Diversity Under Our Feet: Secrets and Surprises of Green Microalgae

Dr. Elena L. Peredo
Assistant Professor
Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences

Understanding Learning Strategies and Metacognition in Genetics Students

Dr. Jenny Knight
Associate Professor
Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology
University of Colorado Boulder

Understanding and Modulating Immune Responses to Adeno-associated virus (AAV) Gene Therapy

Dr. Allison Keeler-Klunk
Assistant Professor
Horae Gene Therapy Center
University of Massachusetts
Chan Medical School

ATOMDANCE: machine learning denoising and resonance analysis for functional and evolutionary comparisons of protein dynamics

Dr. Greg Babbit and Dr. Maureen Ferran
RIT Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences

GSoLS Student Seminars: What I did this Summer

Part 2

• Hannah DeFelice participated in an REU at the University of New Hampshire. As part of the program, Hannah traveled to norther Sweden to perform vegetation assessments and collect pore water samples in an area of permafrost transition/thaw. Her results showed considerable change in vegetation cover, pH, and methane concentrations between 2015 and 2023.
• Sydney Purcell conducted research at RIT in Dr. Ferran's viral genetics lab. She focused on using targeted molecular imaging agents to image breast cancer cells and infecting C. elegans with VSV to overexpress a specific gene. Zak Azad conducted research in Dr. Thomas' lab at RIT. The research project focused on optimizing parameters that impact phage growth and yield.
• Tori Russell was involved in several research projects in Dr. Ferran's lab at RIT, including a mechanobiology project, a breast cancer imaging project, and a C. elegans/VSV project.
• Maggie Muldoon participated in the RIT Wetlands REU, with her research project focusing on the impact of the Emerald Ash Borer on bird species and habitat in forested wetlands.

Part 1

• Natalie Siwek completed a co-op with VHB, a company that specializes in civil engineering, urban planning, and environmental consulting. She supported the Natural Sciences team by assisting with wetland delineations, rare species surveys, construction compliance inspections, permit application preparation, and data collection and synthesis.
• Leah Robinson was part of an NSF EFRI REM program in the Material Science and Engineering Department at the University of Michigan, researching how organic vapor jet printed active pharmaceutical ingredients impacted the cell growth and viability of ovarian cancer cell spheroids.
• Zach Black spent the summer doing research at RIT in Dr. Ferran's viral genetics lab. He worked on optimizing two transfection reagents and determined whether transfecting cells activates NF-kB, with the goal of understanding NF-kB regulation in human prostate cancer cells.
• Katie Chrisbacher had an Emerson research fellowship at RIT this summer and completed research in Dr. Skuse's lab. She worked on a chemotherapeutic rhodcyanine dye, MKT-077.

GSoLS Student Seminar: “Closing the gap on sources and sinks of anthropogenic debris across an urban to rural gradient in the Great Lakes Basin”

Speakers:
Paige Arieno ‘23 BS, ’24MS
Evan Batte ‘23 BS, ‘24 MS
Nikki Fuller, ’24 MS
Jayson Kucharek ‘23BS, ‘24 MS
Environmental Science

“Pairing is Sharing: Critical thinking improves when working in pairs”

Speaker:
Sam Conflitti '23
Biotechnology and Molecular Bioscience

“Isolation, Whole-Genome Sequencing, Annotation and Characterization of Two Antibiotic-Producing and -Resistant Bacteria, Pantoea rodasii RIT 836 and Pseudomonas soli RIT 838, Collected from the Environment.”

Speaker:
Serena Tuytschaevers '25
Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

"Unveiling the Signaling Pathways of Mother of Millions, an emerging Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) model”

Speaker:
Shui Li Eu-Balint '24
Biology

Dr. Jacqueline Clark Ludwig, RIT: Can moth muscles make robots move? Examining metamorphosis in the tobacco hawkmoth to identify tissue engineering targets

Speaker:
Dr. Jacqueline Clark Ludwig
Inclusive Excellence Program Manager
RIT

Dr. Farid Halim: Unraveling the Role of Formate Dehydrogenase in Methanogenesis: Insights into Microbial Energy Metabolism

Speaker:
Dr. Farid Halim '10 (biotechnology)
Postdoctoral Research Associate
University of Minnesota

Dr. Andrew Newhouse: Using Genetic Engineering to Rescue Threatened Native Trees

Speaker:
Dr. Andrew Newhouse
American Chestnut Research and Restoration Project
SUNY ESF

Trevor Penix: Applied Biomedical Genomics and Bioinformatics at the Genomics Research Center

Speaker:
Trevor Penix (Biotechnology ’20)
Ph.D. Candidate
St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Melissa Duhaime

Speaker:
Melissa Duhaime
Assistant Professor
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of Michigan

Elizabeth Pritchett and Dr. Dalia Ghoneim: Applied Biomedical Genomics and Bioinformatics at the Genomics Research Center

Speakers:
Elizabeth Pritchett, Operations Director
Dr. Dalia Ghoneim (bioinformatics '07)
Genomics Research Center 
University of Rochester

Erik Dopman: Genetic causes and population consequences of behavioral and life history evolution

Speaker: Erik Dopman
Tufts University

Shawn Fahl: Applications of Cryopreserved Human Dissociated Tumor Cells (DTCs) for Drug and Diagnostic Development

Speaker: Shawn Fahl '05 (biotechnology)
Vice President of Lab Operations, Cell Services, and R&D, Discovery Life Sciences

Dr. Julie Thomas, RIT: Building on “déjà vu” to understand giant phage head assembly and function

Speaker: Dr. Julie Thomas, Associate Professor
RIT Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences

Dr. Daniel Grunspan: Biases and Partnerships: Learning from Student Social Networks

Speaker: Dr. Daniel Grunspan, Assistant Professor
Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph

Douglas Lyles: Trafficking of viral ribonucleoproteins in the cytoplasm of host cells

Speaker: Douglas Lyles, Professor of Biochemistry
Wake Forest School of Medicine

GSoLS Faculty Slide Slam

Speaker: GSoLS Faculty Slide Slam
Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences, RIT

Stefan Schulze, RIT: Comprehensive prokaryotic glycoproteomics: challenges, solutions, and their application to pathogenic bacteria

Speaker: Stefan Schulze, Assistant Professor
Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences, RIT

Dr. Girish Kumar: Impact of extraction methods, filter pore sizes, and primers on eDNA metabarcoding results

Speaker: Dr. Girish Kumar, Genomics Research Associate
Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences, RIT

Dr. Leslie Kate Wright, RIT: Representations and Visualizations in Molecular Biology

Speaker: Dr. Leslie Kate Wright
Professor and Interim Head of Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences