Naff Symposium

50th Annual Naff Symposium: The Mechanobiology of the Genome

mnlo230 — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 14:37:13 +0000

50th Annual Naff Symposium: The Mechanobiology of the Genome mnlo230 Fri, 02/14/2025 - 09:37 am

8:00am	Registration and Continental Breakfast Healthy Kentucky Research Building
8:30am	Welcome
9:00am	Dennis E. Discher, Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania From curvature sensing and rupture to chromosome loss
10:15am	Andrew Stephens, Ph.D. University of Massachusetts Amherst Interphase based changes from G1 to G2 in actin and nuclear mechanics dictate nuclear integrity
11:30am	Coffee Break Healthy Kentucky Research Building Atrium
12:00pm	Lunch and Poster Competition Healthy Kentucky Research Building Atrium
2:30pm	John Marko, Ph.D. Northwestern University Self-organization of DNA-protein complexes and chromosomes
3:30pm	Presentation of Poster Awards
4:00pm	Close of 50th Annual Naff Symposium

Speakers

Dennis E. Discher, Ph.D.

Robert D. Bent Professor, and Director, Physical Sciences Oncology Center/Project

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Biography: The Discher lab has sought to identify and elucidate some soft matter concepts across cell, molecular and tissue biology. They also have, occasionally, used biological approaches to inject some biological insights into soft matter science and engineering. Early discoveries included matrix elasticity effects on stem cell maturation and differentiation (Cell 2006), mechanosensing by a cell’s nucleus (Science 2013), and properties scaling of amphiphilic polymer assemblies for nano-delivery (Science 2002). Current efforts focus on physics-driven evolution of mutations (Cell 2016) and engineering of macrophages to attack solid tumors (Nat BME 2023). The latter followed molecularly detailed studies of ‘foreign’ versus ‘self’ recognition (Science 2013). Dozens of trainees have secured positions in academia or industry around the world. Discher has been elected to the US National Academy of Medicine, the US National Academy of Engineering, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and he serves on Editorial Boards of Science, Molecular Biology of the Cell, and PNAS Nexus among other journals.

Andrew Stephens, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Department of Biology

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Biography: Prof. Andrew Stephens was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri, Kansas City and studied dynein processivity in single molecule assays. Stephens completed his Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in Dr. Kerry Bloom's lab where he studied the pericentromeric chromatin spring's essential role in yeast mitosis. He continued as a Post Doc in Dr. John Marko's lab at the University of Northwestern to adapt micromanipulation force measurements to single nuclei and study the importance of chromatin mechanics in controlling abnormal nuclear morphology which is present in many human diseases. He is now an Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The Stephens Lab was started in 2020 and uses a combination of nuclear force measurements and cell biology to determine the mechanical force balance between the nucleus and the cytoskeleton which controls nuclear shape, integrity, and function.

John F. Marko, Ph.D.

Departments of Physics & Astronomy and Molecular Biosciences

Northwestern University

Biography: John Marko is a professor of Physics & Astronomy and Molecular Biosciences at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He graduated from the University of Alberta, Edmonton with a B.Sc. in physics in 1984, then received his Ph.D. in physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1989. Prof. Marko’s research interests include biological physics, statistical mechanics and theoretical soft matter physics applied to problems of self-organization in molecular and cell biology.

The Marko lab uses biophysical methods, with particular emphasis on micromanipulation of single DNA molecules and single chromosomes, to study the internal structure of chromosomes in vivo, and to study chromosome-organizing proteins and DNA topoisomerases in vitro. They also develop mathematical models relevant to these types of experiments. Projects in progress involve combining fluorescence microscopy and force microscopy in experiments on DNA-protein complexes and whole chromosomes, and in-vivo studies of coupling of chromosome dynamics to gene expression.

2025 Naff Committee:

Dr. Ryan Cheng, Chair

Department of ��ɫ��Ƶ

Date:

Friday, April 4, 2025 - 08:30 am - Friday, April 4, 2025 - 04:30 pm

Location:

Healthy Kentucky Research Building

Event Series:

Naff Symposium

��ɫ��Ƶ Department Seminar

��ɫ��Ƶ Department Poster Session

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49th Annual Naff Symposium - Energetic Foundations and Futures of Life

mnlo230 — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 16:38:05 +0000

49th Annual Naff Symposium - Energetic Foundations and Futures of Life mnlo230 Fri, 02/02/2024 - 11:38 am

Energetic Foundations and Futures of Life Schedule of Events - March 28, 2024 To view this year's program, click here.
8:00am	Registration and Continental Breakfast W.T. Young Library Alumni Gallery
8:30am	Welcome - Dr. Lisa Cassis, Vice President for Research, ��ɫ��Ƶ Dr. Anne-Frances Miller, Organizer, 49th Annual Naff Symposium, ��ɫ��Ƶ
9:00am	Dr. Wolfgang Nitschke, CNRS, Marseille, France "How and Why Life Emerged: Insights from Microbial Bioenergetics or Erwin Schrödinger meets Peter Mitchell"
10:15am	Dr. Gary W. Brudvig, Yale University "Learning from Nature How to Make Solar Fuels"
11:30am	Lunch and Poster Competition - Abstract booklet Jacobs Science Building, Atrium
2:30pm	Dr. Shelley Minteer, Missouri University of Science and Technology "Enzymatic Bioelectrocatalysis for Electrosynthesis"
3:30pm	Presentation of Poster Awards W.T. Young Library Auditorium
4:00pm	Close of the 49th Naff Symposium W.T. Young Library Auditorium

Speakers
	Dr. Gary W. Brudvig Department of ��ɫ��Ƶ and Energy Sciences Institute, Yale University Honors: Searle Scholar, 1983-86, Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar, 1985-90, Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow, 1986-88, Elected Fellow of the AAAS, 1995, Outstanding Achievement Award, University of Minnesota, 2016, Elected Member, Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, 2019, Graduate Mentor Award in the Natural Sciences, 2021 Biography: Gary Brudvig is the Benjamin Silliman Professor of ��ɫ��Ƶ, Professor of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, and Director of the Yale Energy Sciences Institute at Yale University. He received his B.S. (1976) from the University of Minnesota, his Ph.D. (1981) from Caltech and was a Miller Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley from 1980 to 1982. Professor Brudvig has been on the faculty at Yale since 1982. Brudvig served as Chair of the ��ɫ��Ƶ Department from 2003-2009 and 2015-2018. Since 2012, Brudvig has been the Director of the Energy Sciences Institute located at Yale’s West Campus where he oversees the development of new research programs and facilities related to renewable energy, alternative fuels, and materials science. His research involves study of the chemistry of solar energy conversion in photosynthesis and work to develop artificial bioinspired systems for solar fuel production.
	Dr. Wolfgang Nitschke Research Director, Bioenergetics and protein engineering laboratory (BIP)/CNRS Prof. Nitschke has been studying bioenergetics all his academic life, beginning with a Ph. D. on photosynthetic electron transfer in plants at the University of Regensburg in Germany and, after drifting towards prokaryotic photosynthesis during 5 years as post-doctoral fellow in Paris, serving as a professor in Freiburg Germany. Upon moving to Marseille, France, he addressed electron transport and the implied energetics in an expanding repertoire of biochemical processes and bacterial species. He led the “Evolution of Bioenergetics" research group from 1995 until his retirement in 2023 and was vice-director of the department “Bioenergetics and Protein Engineering” from 2002 to 2006. Through a career dedicated to biological energy conversion, he was convinced of the fundamental importance of energy to life (and beyond). His professional bio reports that since his retirement he is 'able to finally do research without the crazy administrative workload'.
	Dr. Shelley Minteer Dale and Susan Poulter Endowed Chair of Biological ��ɫ��Ƶ and Associate Chair of ��ɫ��Ƶ Director, Kummer Institute Center for Resource Sustainability at Missouri University of Science and Technology Honors & Awards: 2020 Bioelectrochemistry Prize of the International Society of Electrochemistry, 2020 University of Utah Distinguished Research Award, 2020 Charles N. Reilley Award of the Society of Electroanalytical ��ɫ��Ƶ, 2019 Fellow of the International Society of Electrochemistry, 2019 Grahame Award of the Electrochemical Society, 2018 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2018 American Chemical Society Analytical Division Electrochemistry Award, 2015 Luigi Galvani Prize of the Bioelectrochemical Society, 2013 Fellow of The Electrochemical Society, 2010 Tajima Prize of the International Society of Electrochemistry, 2008 American Chemical Society St. Louis Award, 2008 Scientific American Top 50 Award, 2008 Society of Electroanalytical Chemists Young Investigator Award, 2006 U.S. Department of Defense Okaloosa Award, 2006 Missouri Inventor of the Year Award, 2005 Academy of Science of St. Louis Innovation Award

Speakers

Dr. Gary W. Brudvig

Department of ��ɫ��Ƶ and Energy Sciences Institute, Yale University

Honors: Searle Scholar, 1983-86, Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar, 1985-90, Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow, 1986-88, Elected Fellow of the AAAS, 1995, Outstanding Achievement Award, University of Minnesota, 2016, Elected Member, Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, 2019, Graduate Mentor Award in the Natural Sciences, 2021

Biography: Gary Brudvig is the Benjamin Silliman Professor of ��ɫ��Ƶ, Professor of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, and Director of the Yale Energy Sciences Institute at Yale University. He received his B.S. (1976) from the University of Minnesota, his Ph.D. (1981) from Caltech and was a Miller Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley from 1980 to 1982. Professor Brudvig has been on the faculty at Yale since 1982. Brudvig served as Chair of the ��ɫ��Ƶ Department from 2003-2009 and 2015-2018. Since 2012, Brudvig has been the Director of the Energy Sciences Institute located at Yale’s West Campus where he oversees the development of new research programs and facilities related to renewable energy, alternative fuels, and materials science. His research involves study of the chemistry of solar energy conversion in photosynthesis and work to develop artificial bioinspired systems for solar fuel production.

Dr. Wolfgang Nitschke

Research Director, Bioenergetics and protein engineering laboratory (BIP)/CNRS

Prof. Nitschke has been studying bioenergetics all his academic life, beginning with a Ph. D. on photosynthetic electron transfer in plants at the University of Regensburg in Germany and, after drifting towards prokaryotic photosynthesis during 5 years as post-doctoral fellow in Paris, serving as a professor in Freiburg Germany. Upon moving to Marseille, France, he addressed electron transport and the implied energetics in an expanding repertoire of biochemical processes and bacterial species. He led the “Evolution of Bioenergetics" research group from 1995 until his retirement in 2023 and was vice-director of the department “Bioenergetics and Protein Engineering” from 2002 to 2006. Through a career dedicated to biological energy conversion, he was convinced of the fundamental importance of energy to life (and beyond). His professional bio reports that since his retirement he is 'able to finally do research without the crazy administrative workload'.

Dr. Shelley Minteer

Dale and Susan Poulter Endowed Chair of Biological ��ɫ��Ƶ and Associate Chair of ��ɫ��Ƶ

Director, Kummer Institute Center for Resource Sustainability at Missouri University of Science and Technology

Honors & Awards: 2020 Bioelectrochemistry Prize of the International Society of Electrochemistry, 2020 University of Utah Distinguished Research Award, 2020 Charles N. Reilley Award of the Society of Electroanalytical ��ɫ��Ƶ, 2019 Fellow of the International Society of Electrochemistry, 2019 Grahame Award of the Electrochemical Society, 2018 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2018 American Chemical Society Analytical Division Electrochemistry Award, 2015 Luigi Galvani Prize of the Bioelectrochemical Society, 2013 Fellow of The Electrochemical Society, 2010 Tajima Prize of the International Society of Electrochemistry, 2008 American Chemical Society St. Louis Award, 2008 Scientific American Top 50 Award, 2008 Society of Electroanalytical Chemists Young Investigator Award, 2006 U.S. Department of Defense Okaloosa Award, 2006 Missouri Inventor of the Year Award, 2005 Academy of Science of St. Louis Innovation Award

2024 Naff Symposium Committee

Prof. Anne-Frances Miller - (��ɫ��Ƶ) [Chair]

Prof. Marcelo Guzman - (��ɫ��Ƶ)

Prof. Kenneth Graham - (��ɫ��Ƶ)

Prof. Isabel Escobar - (Chemical & Materials Engineering)

Date:

Thursday, March 28, 2024 - 08:00 am - Thursday, March 28, 2024 - 04:30 pm

Location:

W.T. Young Library Auditorium

Event Series:

Naff Symposium

��ɫ��Ƶ Department Seminar

��ɫ��Ƶ Department Poster Session

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47th Annual Naff Symposium

ech275 — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 17:48:25 +0000

47th Annual Naff Symposium ech275 Wed, 12/15/2021 - 12:48 pm

Innovation in Molecular Neuroscience Schedule of Events - April 1, 2022
8:00am	Registration and Continental Breakfast WT Young Library Gallery
8:50am	Welcome - TBD
9:00am	Dr. Erin Calipari "A novel mechanism for hormonal regulation of reward circuits in the brain contributes to addiction vulnerability in females"
10:00am	Break WT Young Library Gallery
10:30am	Dr. Tim Harris "High capacity electrophysiology: How we got here and where we can go"
11:30am	Lunch & Break
1:00pm	Dr. Elizabeth Hillman "Understanding the brain with high-speed 3D imaging of cell structure, function and identity"
2:00pm	Break & Poster Session Set-Up WT Young Library Gallery; Jacobs Science Building, Atrium
2:30pm	Dr. Baljit Khakh "Cells that tile your brain: Astrocyte roles in neural circuits"
3:30 - 5:00pm	Poster Session Jacobs Science Building, Atrium

Speakers
	Dr. Erin Calipari Vanderbilt University Dr. Calipari received her PhD in Neuroscience in 2013 in the laboratory of Dr. Sara Jones at Wake Forest University School of Medicine where she studied how self-administered drugs altered dopaminergic function to drive addictive behaviors. She then went on to complete her postdoctoral training with Dr. Eric Nestler at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she used circuit probing techniques to understand the temporally specific neural signals that underlie motivation and reward learning. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University in the Department of Pharmacology. Her independent work seeks to characterize and modulate the precise circuits in the brain that underlie both adaptive and maladaptive processes in reward, motivation, and associative learning. *Group Page*
	Dr. Tim Harris Johns Hopkins University Timothy Harris is a research professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. He leads the Applied Physics and Instrumentation Group at the HHMI Janelia Research Campus, and is the originator of the project that produced the Neuropixels Si probe for extracellular recording in animals, mostly mice, and rats. He shares his time between Janelia and Johns Hopkins and is working on projects to enable recording 10-20,000 neurons in rodents and 30-50,000 neurons in non-human primates, as well as stimulate with high resolution. He received a BS in ��ɫ��Ƶ at California Polytechnical State University, San Luis Obispo, and a PhD in Analytical ��ɫ��Ƶ at Purdue University. *Group Page*
	Dr. Elizabeth Hillman Columbia University Elizabeth Hillman is professor of biomedical engineering and radiology at Columbia University and a member of the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute and Kavli Institute for Brain Science at Columbia. Hillman received her undergraduate degree in physics and Ph.D. in medical physics and bioengineering at University College London and completed post-doctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. In 2006, Hillman moved to Columbia University, founding the Laboratory for Functional Optical Imaging. Hillman’s research program focuses on the development and application of optical imaging and microscopy technologies to capture functional dynamics in the living brain. Most recently, she developed swept confocally aligned planar excitation (SCAPE) microscopy, a technique capable of very high speed volumetric imaging of neural activity in behaving organisms such as adult and larval Drosophila, zebrafish, C. elegans and the rodent brain. Hillman’s research program also includes exploring the interrelation between neural activity and blood flow in the brain, as the basis for signals detected by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Hillman is a fellow of the Optical Society of America (OSA), the society of photo-optical instrumentation (SPIE) and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). She has received the OSA Adolf Lomb Medal for contributions to optics, as well as early career awards from the Wallace Coulter Foundation, National Science Foundation and Human Frontier Science Program. *Group Page*
	Dr. Baljit Khakh University of California, Los Angeles Baljit Khakh completed his Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge in the laboratory of Patrick PA Humphrey. He completed postdoctoral fellowships in the laboratory of Graeme Henderson at the University of Bristol, and then in the laboratory of Henry A. Lester and Norman Davidson at California Institute of Technology. In 2001, Khakh became Group Leader at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, and in 2006 he moved to the University of California, Los Angeles where he is Professor of Physiology and Neurobiology. Khakh’s work has been recognized, including with the NIH Director's Pioneer Award, the Paul G. Allen Distinguished Investigator Award, and the Outstanding Investigator Award (R35) from NINDS. *Group Page*

2022 Naff Symposium Committee

Dr. Chris Richards - Chair

Jason DeRouchey (��ɫ��Ƶ)

Lance Johnson (Physiology)

Brandon Henderson (Marshall University)

Date:

Friday, April 1, 2022 - 08:00 am - Friday, April 1, 2022 - 05:00 pm

Location:

WT Young Library Auditorium

Tags/Keywords:

chemistry

Event Series:

��ɫ��Ƶ Event

Naff Symposium

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45th Annual Naff Symposium

cagi232 — Thu, 16 Aug 2018 18:15:27 +0000

45th Annual Naff Symposium cagi232 Thu, 08/16/2018 - 02:15 pm

For more information, and the complete schedule visit /2019-naff-symposium.

Date:

Friday, April 5, 2019 - 08:00 am - Friday, April 5, 2019 - 05:00 pm

Location:

WT Young Library / JSB

Event Series:

Naff Symposium

��ɫ��Ƶ Event

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44th Annual Naff Symposium

cagi232 — Mon, 11 Dec 2017 21:24:07 +0000

44th Annual Naff Symposium cagi232 Mon, 12/11/2017 - 04:24 pm

Schedule of Events - March 23, 2018
8:00 a.m.	Registration & Continental Breakfast Gallery, W.T. Young Library
8:50 a.m.	Welcome - President Eli Capilouto
9:00 a.m.	Prof. Richard M. Crooks, University of Texas at Austin Quantitative electrochemical detection of analytes at sub-picomolar levels using a simple paper sensor Auditorium, W.T. Young Library
10:00 a.m.	Break (refreshments available)
10:30 a.m.	Prof. Shelley Minteer, University of Utah Enzymatic Bioelectrocatalysis: From Metabolic Pathways to Metabolons Auditorium, W.T. Young Library
11:30 a.m.	Lunch & Break
1:00 p.m.	Prof. James Rusling, University of Connecticut Microfluidic arrays for protein-based cancer diagnostics and toxicity screening Auditorium, W.T. Young Library
2:00 p.m.	Prof. David Cliffel, Vanderbilt University Electrochemically Instrumenting Organs on a Chip Auditorium, W.T. Young Library
3:00 p.m.	Poster Session Set-Up
3:30 p.m.	Poster Session Jacobs Science Building

Date:

Friday, March 23, 2018 - 08:00 am - Friday, March 23, 2018 - 04:00 pm

Location:

W. T. Young Library

Event Series:

Naff Symposium

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Naff Symposium

cagi232 — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 20:27:31 +0000

Naff Symposium cagi232 Mon, 01/09/2017 - 03:27 pm

Schedule of Events - March 31, 2017
8:00 a.m.	Registration & Continental Breakfast Gallery, W.T. Young Library
8:50 a.m.	Welcome
9:00 a.m.	John A. Rogers, PhD Materials for Biodegradable Electronics Auditorium, W.T. Young Library
10:00 a.m.	Break (refreshments available)
10:30 a.m.	Zhenan Bao, PhD Skin-Inspired Organic Electronic Materials and Devices Auditorium, W.T. Young Library
11:30 a.m.	Lunch & Break
1:00 p.m.	George Malliaras, PhD Interfacing with the Brain using Organic Electronics Auditorium, W.T. Young Library
2:00 - 2:30 p.m.	Coffee Break & Poster Session Set-up
2:30 - 3:15 p.m.	Alon Gorodetsky PhD, Naff Young Investigator Dynamic Materials Inspired By Cephalopods Auditorium, W.T. Young Library
3:15 - 4:30 p.m.	Poster Session Jacobs Science Building

For additional information, click here.

Date:

Friday, March 31, 2017 - 08:00 am - Friday, March 31, 2017 - 04:00 pm

Location:

W. T. Young Library

Event Series:

Naff Symposium

��ɫ��Ƶ Department Seminar

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Naff Symposium

50th Annual Naff Symposium: The Mechanobiology of the Genome

49th Annual Naff Symposium - Energetic Foundations and Futures of Life

47th Annual Naff Symposium

45th Annual Naff Symposium

44th Annual Naff Symposium

Schedule of Events - March 23, 2018

Naff Symposium

Schedule of Events - March 31, 2017