Department Seminars
If you would like to speak with any of these people during their visit, or need additional information, please contact Stephanie Scoville.
DBB Seminar: "Eukaryotic Ribonucleases in Gene Regulation"
Monica Pillon, PhD - Assistant Professor, Department of Structural Biology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Dec 10, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6408)
Host: Dr. Mitch O’Connell and Dr. Makaía Papasergi-Scott (co-sponsored by Graduates Working in Science (GWIS) and the RNA Structure & Function Cluster)
"Application of Molecular Dynamics for the Development of Therapeutics Against Opioid Overdose" - Thesis Defense
Emily Weed-Nichols, MS - PhD Candidate, PhD Program in Biophysics, Structure & Computational Biology
Dec 04, 2025 @ 1:00 p.m.
Medical Center | Adolph (Lower) Auditorium (1-7619)
Hybrid Event LinkHost: Advisor: Alan Grossfield, PhD
DBB Seminar: "Molecular Insights into Human RNA 3’-end Processing"
Liang Tong, PhD - William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY
Dec 03, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6408)
Host: Dr. Clara Kielkopf and Dr. Eric Wagner (co-sponsored by the RNA Structure & Function Cluster)
DBB Seminar: "Decoding the Untranslated"
Wendy Gilbert, PhD - Maxine F. Singer '57 Ph.D. Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Nov 19, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6408)
Host: Dr. Lynne Maquat (co-sponsored by Graduates Working in Science (GWIS) and the Protein Synthesis Cluster)
DBB Seminar: "Searching for Messages Carried by Messenger RNAs"
Xinnian Dong, PhD - HHMI investigator; Arts & Sciences Professor of Biology, Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC
Nov 12, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6408)
Host: Dr. Dmitri Ermolenko and Dr. Peng Yao (co-sponsored by the Protein Synthesis Cluster and the RNA Structure & Function Cluster)
Symposium on Translation Regulation
Elizabeth Grayhack, PhD - Keynote speaker
Nov 06, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | Neuman Room (1-7619)
Host: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics and Protein Structure Cluster
DBB Seminar: "Living Long and Happily Ever After – On Aging, Fat, and Alzheimer’s Disease"
Min-Hao Kuo, PhD - Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Faculty, Genetics & Genome Sciences Program; Faculty, Neuroscience Program; Faculty, Cell & Molecular Biology Program; Professor, BioMolecular Science Gateway; Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Nov 05, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6408)
Host: Dr. Elizabeth Grayhack and Dr. Eric Phizicky
DBB Seminar: "Modulating Opioid Receptor Activity to Improve Therapeutic Potential"
Laura Bohn, PhD - Chair and Professor of the Department of Molecular Medicine; Professor, Dembling Endowment Fund for Drug Discovery and Human Health Research; Professor, Neuroscience; Chair, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, University of Florida, Jupiter, FL
Oct 29, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6408)
Host: Dr. Makaía Papasergi-Scott
DBB Seminar: "Herpesviruses Induce Transcriptional Trickery to Control RNA Abundance and Fate"
Britt A. Glaunsinger, PhD - HHMI Investigator; Professor and Chair, Department of Plant & Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA
Oct 15, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6408)
Host: Dr. Mitch O’Connell (co-sponsored by Graduates Working in Science (GWIS))
Fall Retreat
Dr. Mariano Garcia-Blanco; Dr. Gaëlle Talross; Dr. Makaía Papasergi-Scott - University of Virginia; Yale University; University of Rochester
Location:
Genesee Country Village and Museum
1410 Flint Hall Road, Mumford, NY 14511
Directions
Faculty Organizers: Dr. Josh Munger & Dr. Mitchell O’Connell
Student Organizers: MaryClaire Haseley, Abby Manning, Tom Ossevoort, Keegan Proctor, and Nick Rugeli
Oct 13, 2025 @ 8:30 a.m.
Genesee Country Village and Museum | Genesee Country Museum
Register by 9/26Host: Paul LaCelle, M.D. Endowed Lectureship Fund
Modeling CDK12 and CDK13 Loss-of-Function to Investigate Their Roles in Alternative Polyadenylation and Neoantigen Expression - Thesis Defense
Molly Hulver, MS - PhD Candidate, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology PhD Degree Program
Oct 09, 2025 @ 10:00 a.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6408)
Hybrid EventHost: Advisor: Paul Boutz, PhD
DBB Seminar: Functional Roles of glycoRNAs
Ryan Flynn, MD, PhD - Assistant Professor, Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology Department, Harvard University; Principal Investigator, Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology Program, Boston Children’s Hospital
Oct 08, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6408)
Host: Dr. Paul Boutz (co-sponsored by the RNA Society & Lexogen and the RNA Structure & Function Cluster)
DBB Seminar: Mechanistic Insights for Human Gene Expression Through Biochemical Reconstitution and Transcriptomics
Dylan Taatjes, PhD - Professor, Department of Biochemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
Oct 01, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6408)
Host: Dr. Eric Wagner (co-sponsored by the RNA Society & Lexogen)
DBB Seminar: Global Analysis of the Networks Regulating mRNA Translation and Decay
Nicholas Ingolia, PhD - Professor, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA
Sep 24, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6408)
Host: Dr. Dmitri Ermolenko (co-sponsored by the Protein Synthesis Cluster and the RNA Structure & Function Cluster)
Functional Roles of Pseudouridine in Nonsense Suppression and Translational Recoding - Thesis Defense
Yi Pan - PhD Candidate
Aug 25, 2025 @ 1:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6408)
Host: Advisor: Yi-Tao Yu, PhD
Dynamic U2AF cycling defines two phases of co-transcriptional splicing
Xiang-Dong Fu, PhD - Chair Professor, RNA Biology and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, Westlake University, Hangzhou, China
Aug 15, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6408)
Host: Drs. Lynne Maquat & Yi-Tao Yu
“The role of the Type VI CRISPR-Cas accessory protein Csx27 in CRISPR-Cas13 mediated antiviral immunity” - Thesis Defense
Julia Nicosia - PhD Candidate
May 15, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | Class of '62 Aud. (G-9425)
Hybrid EventHost: Mitch O’Connell, Ph.D. – Advisor
Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics Awards Ceremony
The Biochemistry & Biophysics Department will hold our annual Department Awards Ceremony on Thursday, May 15, 2025 at *10:30 am* in the Neuman room 1-6823.
*Please note this time is earlier than usual*
We invite and encourage all current and past members of the department, any other interested parties, to attend this celebration, and help us congratulate our outstanding graduating students and award-winners from the past year.
We are looking forward to seeing you there!
May 15, 2025 @ 10:30 a.m.
Medical Center | Neuman Rm. (1-6823)
DBB Seminar: “Degron-tagging of an Endogenous Repressor Defines the Mechanism for Turning Genes On and Off”
Scott Hiebert, PhD - Professor, Department of Biochemistry; Associate Professor, Department of Medicine; Hortense B. Ingram Chair in Cancer Research, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
May 08, 2025 @ 1:00 p.m.
Medical Center | Ryan Case Method Rm. (1-9576)
Host: T32 trainee Hannah Clary, Dr. Clara Kielkopf, NIH NIGMS T32 Training Grant in Cellular, Biochemical and Molecular Sciences, Dr. Lynne Maquat, PI & Dr. Jeffrey Hayes, Co-PI and GWIS
“The Cytoplasmic Assembly of Nuclear RNA Endonucleases” - Thesis Defense
Madeline Jensen - PhD Candidate
May 06, 2025 @ 1:00 p.m.
Medical Center | Ryan Case Method Rm. (1-9576)
Hybrid Zoom LinkHost: Eric Wagner, Ph.D. – Advisor
DBB Seminar: “m6A is Decoded by Modified tRNAs to Coordinate mRNA Decay”
Sebastian Leidel, PhD - Research Group for RNA Biochemistry, Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences (DCBP), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Apr 30, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6804)
Host: Dr. Eric Phizicky and Dr. Beth Grayhack (co-sponsored by the Protein Synthesis Cluster and the RNA Structure & Function Cluster)
BCBP Department Social
Apr 25, 2025 @ 4:30 p.m.
Medical Center | Neumann Rm. (1-6823)
Host: Ermolenko Lab
DBB Seminar: “A Conserved Intra-Bundle Salt Bridge in the OATP1B Subfamily Controls Uptake Kinetics and Transporter Conformation”
Aviv Paz, PhD - University at Buffalo Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute; Assistant Professor, Department of Structural Biology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo; Adjunct Associate Professor of Oncology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY
Apr 23, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6804)
Host: Dr. Mark Dumont (co-sponsored by the Department of Pharmacology & Physiology)
DBB Seminar: “Long noncoding RNAs: Strength in Numbers”
Nadya Dimitrova, PhD - Associate Professor, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, and of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
Apr 16, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6804)
Host: Dr. Lynne Maquat (co-sponsored by Graduate Women in Science and the RNA Society & Lexogen)
RNA Collaborative Seminar Series - Virtual
Doug Anderson, PhD; Grace McIntyre; Adrien Chauvier, PhD
Virtual event featuring presenters from University of Rochester and the University of Michigan Center for RNA Biomedicine
“Discovery and Therapeutic Applications of RNA "Stitching" ”
Doug Anderson, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI)
Member, University of Rochester Center for RNA Biology: From Genome to Therapeutics
“High-Throughput Identification of Small Molecule Inhibitors Targeting OncoMiR-181a for Cancer Therapy”
Grace McIntyre
PhD Student
Analisa DiFeo laboratory - Department of Pathology, University of Michigan
Center for RNA Biomedicine
“Real-time Monitoring of Ligand Recognition by a Riboswitch during Transcription”
Adrien Chauvier, PhD
Research Lab Specialist
Nils Walter laboratory - Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan
Center for RNA Biomedicine
Apr 09, 2025 @ 4:00 p.m.
DBB Seminar: “Toward Sub-Nanometer Visualization of Endogenous Chromatin-Associated Complexes in Action”
Yasuhiro Arimura, PhD - Assistant Professor, Basic Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA
Apr 09, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6804)
Host: T32 trainee Elizabeth Lucas and Dr. Jeff Hayes (co-sponsored by the NIH NIGMS T32 Training Grant in Cellular, Biochemical and Molecular Sciences, Dr. Lynne Maquat, PI & Dr. Jeffrey Hayes, Co-PI)
DBB Seminar: “The Role of RNA Modification in the Formation of Nucleoli and Cajal Bodies”
U. Thomas Meier, PhD - Professor, Department of Cell Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY
Apr 02, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6804)
Host: Dr. Yi-Tao Yu (co-sponsored by the RNA Structure & Function Cluster)
Annual Retreat of the NIH NIGMS Predoctoral T32 in Cellular, Biochemical and Molecular Sciences (CBMS): “New insights into Xist structure and function”
Jeannie T. Lee, MD, PhD - Endowed Chair in Molecular Biology; Chair, Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital; Vice Chair & Professor, Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Dr. Lee is the keynote speaker.
Mar 19, 2025 @ 1:00 p.m.
Medical Center | Class of ‘62 Aud (G-9425)
Host: Graduate Student NIH NIGMS T32 Retreat in Cellular, Biochemical and Molecular Sciences Hosts: Dr. Lynne Maquat and Dr. Jeffrey Hayes (co-sponsored by Graduate Women in Science)
CANCELLED Faculty Candidate DBB Seminar: “Investigating Nuclear Compartment Function Using RNA Proximity Labeling”
Nadiya Khyzha, PhD - Postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Henikoff lab, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA
Mar 12, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6809)
Host: Dr. Dmitri Ermolenko
DBB Seminar: “Recognition of Self Versus Nonself dsRNA in Vertebrates and Invertebrates”
Brenda L. Bass, PhD - Distinguished Professor & Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Chair, Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Mar 05, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6804)
Host: Dr. Eric J. Wagner (co-sponsored by the Protein Synthesis Cluster and the RNA Society & Lexogen)
Faculty Candidate DBB Seminar: “Reading and Editing the Tubulin Code”
Jiayi Chen, PhD - Research Fellow, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Feb 26, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6809)
Host: Dr. Dmitri Ermolenko
Special Seminar (General Talk): “This NPR Life: What it’s like to be a public health reporter these days”
Pien Huang - Health Reporter, Science Desk, National Public Radio, Washington, D.C.
Feb 20, 2025 @ 3:00 p.m.
Medical Center | Lower Adolph Aud. (1-7619)
Special Seminar: "The art of science communication: How to share your passion and excitement for your work"
Pien Huang - Health Reporter, Science Desk, National Public Radio, Washington, D.C.
Feb 20, 2025 @ 1:00 p.m.
Medical Center | Class of '62 Aud.
Host: Dr. Lynne Maquat
Faculty Candidate DBB Seminar: “Beta-arrestin-mediated Signaling: Allosteric Activation of Non-Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Src”
Natalia Pakharukova, PhD - Postdoctoral Associate, EMBO and HFSP fellow, Department of Cardiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
Feb 19, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6804)
Host: Dr. Dmitri Ermolenko
Faculty Candidate DBB Seminar: “Neuronal Long Non-Coding RNAs: Insights from the Fly Olfactory System”
Gaëlle Talross, PhD - Associate Research Scientist, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
Feb 12, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6804)
Host: Dr. Dmitri Ermolenko
Faculty Candidate DBB Seminar: “Metabolic Control of Inflammatory and Cell Cycle Signaling Mediated by a Network of Co-Regulated Lipids”
Marielle S. Koeberlin, PhD - Basic Life Research Scientist/postdoctoral fellow, Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Feb 05, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m.
Medical Center | K307 (3-6804)
Host: Dr. Dmitri Ermolenko and Dr. Josh Munger