The Office of Faculty Affairs & Faculty Development and the Medical School Office of Research are launching a Research Faculty Seminar Series (RFSS). The RFSS will provide a platform to disseminate scientific findings, facilitate networking, and provide resources for research track faculty.

Please register for sessions you'd like to attend - in the event that we need to update, change, or cancel the session, you will be notified. Faculty are welcome to attend without registering if they understand they may miss important updates prior to the session.

Want to learn more? Check out our flyer.

January

Development and Testing of a Novel Patient-Reported Outcome Metric for End-Stage Kidney Disease Dialysis Patients

Claudia Dahlerus, Ph.D.
Assistant Research Scientist
Department of Internal Medicine

This talk will describe the conceptual development and preliminary validation testing of a new patient-reported outcome (PRO) survey that asks end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on chronic dialysis about their life goals. It will highlight some of the qualitative and quantitative data collected from patients and report on results to date.  The talk will also describe how measure scores from the Patient Life Goals PRO have the potential to facilitate treatment planning that better aligns with patient life goals. 

December

The December 9th session has been canceled.

Should I stay or should I go (or grow)?
Using live cell imaging to discover policies that govern single-cell decisions

Kathy Luker, Ph.D.
Associate Research Scientist
Department of Radiology

Individual cells and collections of cells make decisions of critical importance for our health, such as the decision to respond to signals governing cancer metastasis.  Cells vary widely in their responses to these signals, even cells that are genetically identical.  Recent work suggests that this variation is not random, but is regulated in individual cells by networks of signaling pathways that create and maintain diversity in the responsiveness of the population.  Using combinations of fluorescent biochemical reporters in live cell microscopy, we can watch as cells make these decisions and use this data to create predictive models of heterogeneous responsiveness.  With multiple approaches to modeling, including ODE and AI based models, we are working to understand and control the biochemical mechanisms and cellular policies that govern single-cell decisions.  

November

Editing the Rabbit Genome for Translational Research

November 11  |  4 p.m. - 5 p.m.  |  Zoom

Dongshan Yang, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor
Department of Internal Medicine

Gene editing has accelerated biotechnology at an unprecedented pace. This enhanced capacity to rewrite genomic information has accelerated not only scientific research, but also the translation into novel therapies. In this talk, Dr. Yang will introduce his work using gene editing technology to model human diseases in rabbits to facilitate translational research of novel therapies including the gene editing therapy.

October

Patient Demographics and Disease Mechanisms
Sex and age alter immunity in ALS

October 14  |  4 p.m. - 5 p.m.  |  Zoom

Benjamin Murdock, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor
Department of Neurology

The rates and severity of numerous diseases vary based on the sex and age of affected patients, and yet the impact of patient demographics is rarely explored. In our own studies examining the impact of the immune system on amyotrphic lateral sclerosis (ALS), we find that immune responses are altered based on sex and age suggesting differening disease mechanisms among demographic groups. Our findings highlight the need to examine demographic-specific mechanisms in disease research. 

September

Newly Navigated Territory
The risks, isolation, and rewards of family caregiving in the time of COVID-19

September 9  |  4 p.m. - 5 p.m.  |  Zoom

Amanda Leggett, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor
Department of Psychiatry

In this talk, Dr. Amanda Leggett will describe mixed-methods research findings on family caregiving during the COVID-19 pandemic. She will highlight both barriers and facilitators to caregiving for patients who were hospitalized and incubated with COVID-19, for persons living with dementia, and in a national poll sample of older adults. Implications for care both in and outside of pandemic contexts will be offered.