Georgia Gosnell Seminar Series

The art of making 100 heads: The known (and unknown) mechanisms of jumbo phage head assembly

Julie Thomas, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences

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The POPSTAR project: an ancient evolutionary calculus for attention signaling retained in modern music

Greg Babbitt, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences

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Let’s move beyond the bars: How biology students interpret variability in graphs

Lauren Stoczynski, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Biological and Environmental Sciences
LeMoyne College

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Triggering toxicity: How antibiotics enhance the release of extracellular vesicles from Escherichia coli

Lea Vacca Michel, Ph.D.
Professor
RIT School of Chemistry and Materials Science

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Beyond the Lens: New Frontiers and Accelerating Diagnostics

Julie Feldstein, MD
Chief Pathologist
Histowiz

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Decoding Plant Defense Signals: Oxylipins in Maize and Beyond

Eli Borrego, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
T.H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences RIT

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Microbial Messages, Human Lessons: What Archaea Teach Us About Communication

Mecky Pohlschroder, Ph.D.
Professor of Biology
University of Pennsylvania

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Water to Wine - Climate Change Issues Facing Wineries in the Finger Lakes Region (NY) and Franconia, Germany

Karl Korfmacher, Ph.D.
Professor
RIT Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences

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GSoLS Student Seminar: What I Did This Summer - Part 2

From left to right: Virginia Lawrence, Lorelei Robinson, and Pranav Bhagavatula

GSoLS Student Seminar: What I Did This Summer - Part 1

From left to right: Leah Robinson, Isabelle Leonard, and Maleah Sena 

To be or not to be orange: Discovering carotenoid genes in crops

Emalee Wrightstone
(RIT Biotechnology '21)
Ph.D. Candidate
Plant Breeding and Genetics
Cornell University

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GSoLS Student Seminar

Katherine Palmatier ’26
Biotechnology and Molecular Bioscience
“Revisiting protein glycosylation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa reveals distinct phenotypes in motility and biofilm formation for different O-glycosylation pathway mutants”

Maleah Sena ’26
Biotechnology and Molecular Bioscience Biochemistry
“Impact of Salt Stress on Growth and Astaxanthin Production in a Suite of Algae within the Scenedesmaceae”

Caitlin Morrison ’26
Biotechnology and Molecular Bioscience
“Unraveling the diversity of biological soil crusts”

April Soule ‘25
Biology
“The Physiological Role of a Lake Ontario Stopover Site for Swainson’s Thrushes”

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Leveraging students’ and instructors’ beliefs about students’ abilities to improve biology undergraduates’ outcomes

Lisa Limeri, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Texas Tech University

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Bacteria host replicating RNA plasmids

Andrew Varble, Ph.D.
(RIT Biotechnology '08)
Assistant Professor
Department of Microbiology and Immunology
University of Rochester School of Medicine

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Enhancing VSV for Oncolytic Virus Therapy: A Transcriptomic Approach to Decipher Primed Resistance by Some Prostate Cancer

Alaa Abdelmageed Ahmed
(RIT Biotechnology '20)
Ph.D. Candidate
Genetics
University of Rochester

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GSoLS Graduate Student Seminar

Impacts of permafrost thaw on methane cycling and emission in a Northern Peatland

Hannah DeFelice
Environmental Science (BS '24, MS '25)

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Green microbial communities, physiology, and stress response in retention ponds in the Lake Ontario watershed

Francesca Molee
Environmental Science (BS '25, MS '26)

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Bad to the Bone (Marrow): Macrophages in Leukemia

Benjamin Frisch, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Pathology
University of Rochester
School of Medicine and Dentistry

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Partners in Crime: Hydrosphere-Pathobiome of Fusarium Wilt

Sanjay Antony-Babu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Texas A&M University

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Bad Blood (feat. organ-on-chip): Recreating the bone marrow in the lab to study acute myeloid leukemia

Azmeer Sharipol ('17 biotechnology)
Ph.D. Candidate and NCI F99 Fellow
Biomedical Engineering
University of Rochester Medical Center

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An adventure in molecular-scale bio-musicology

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

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Quality Control to Find Hidden Genomic Gems in Vitis

Michael Osier, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences
RIT

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Smash the Crash: An Interdisciplinary Initiative to Study and Prevent Bird-Window Collisions

Richard Fadok, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Humanities Center
University of Rochester

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Humanizing biology to promote equity in STEM education

Robin Costello, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
University at Buffalo

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

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

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

Benjamin Merritt
University of Florida

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Can I Borrow a Gene?

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

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

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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