Chemistry Seminar: Engineering Approaches to Alzheimer’s Disease and Opportunities at NSF

Engineering Approaches to Alzheimer’s Disease and Opportunities at NSF at the interface between Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Molecular and Cellular Biosciences

Dr. Theresa A. Good
Deputy Division Director
Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences
National Science Foundation

Dr. Good will discuss her career arc, Alzheimer’s research, and share some thoughts about how NSF is responding to President Biden’s priorities of economic recovery, pandemic prevention, climate change and racial equity and inclusion.

Register Here for Zoom Link

Abstract:
I have had the good fortune to have a career in science and science policy that has spanned disciplines and decades starting with an internship at Xerox in a polymer photophysics lab to academia to the National Sciences Foundation. I will provide you with a vignettes from different parts of that career. My research in academia focused on beta amyloid, the primary protein component of senile plaques in Alzheimer’s disease. I’ll provide examples of the work I’ve done addressing the relationship between beta amyloid structure and its interaction with cells and its relevance to Alzheimer’s disease, focusing on examples that highlight the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to address biological problems. I’ll also talk about opportunities at NSF, including the new opportunities for mid-career researchers, opportunities in the advanced biotechnology/bioeconomy space. Finally, I’ll provide some thoughts about how NSF is responding to President Biden’s priorities of economic recovery, pandemic prevention, climate change and racial equity and inclusion.

Speaker Bio:
Theresa Good is currently the Deputy Division Director in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences at the National Science Foundation. She is trained as Chemical Engineering with degrees from Bucknell, Cornell and the University of Wisconsin Madison, all in Chemical Engineering. Her first faculty position was at Texas A&M where she was promoted to Associate Professor in Chemical Engineering prior to her departure to the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Her research focused on the application of engineering tools to solve biomedical problems with an emphasis on Alzheimer’s disease. She was the recipient of an NSF CAREER award, and has received funding from NIH, NSF, NASA, FDA and private foundations, She was the chair of the Food, Pharmaceutical and Bioengineering Division of AIChE and the Biochemical Technology Division of ACS. Since 2010, Dr. Good has served science as either a rotating or permanent program director at NSF, first in the Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering program in the Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems, and then in the Systems and Synthetic Biology program in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences. For the past 6 years she has played various roles in leading that division’s efforts targeting protein kinases, with a strong emphasis on characterizing oncogenic mutant-selective inhibitors.

Intended Audience:
All are welcome.
To request an interpreter, please visit myaccess.rit.edu