There is a mental health crisis among undergraduate and graduate students in the sciences, owing to the extraordinary percentages of students who report anxiety and depression. These conditions disproportionately affect students who the scientific community is trying to recruit and retain, including women, students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, LGBTQ+ students, and students with disabilities.

Join us for our winter 2024 grad student seminar series!

Presenting...
A Tale of Tangled Turbinals
By: Vaibhav Chhaya (Santana Lab)

Exploring the Role of FLP1 as a Far-Red Light Induced Developmental Signal
By: Andy Hempton (Imaizumi Lab)

Neither wing morphology nor body mass predicts degree of gene flow in bats
By: Edú Guerra (Santana Lab)

Educational inequities remain one of the most persistent and intractable problems in our society. Without equity, the STEM workforce will be unable to meet the needs of the growing economy and will also suffer from stunted innovation. Despite widespread efforts to increase access to and inclusion in STEM, minoritized students remain excluded from both STEM majors and STEM professions. The reasons for this exclusion are complex but instructors can play an active role in disrupting these inequities.

Join us for our fall 2023 grad student seminar series!

Presenting:
The Flower Meristem Identity Gene LEAFY affects the development of the haploid and diploid phase in ferns
Hannah McConnell (Di Stilio Lab)

A history dependent, integrase circuit for tracking gene expression during cell differentiation events
By: Cassandra Maranas (Nemhauser Lab)

It Takes Two: Predicting Outcomes as Things Heat Up
By: Jack Litle (Carrington Lab)

Join us for our fall 2023 grad student seminar series! Our November presentations:

Contextual fear recall re-establishes abnormal circadian-related activity in the absence of fear stimuli
By: Asad Beck (de la Iglesia Lab)

Identifying the genetic basis of avian iridescence
By: Yasmeen Erritouni (Leache Lab)

Inferring the paleobiology of a Triassic stem-crocodylian from a fossil bonebed in Arizona
By: Elliott Armour Smith (Sidor Lab)

Hosted by Vaibhav Chhaya

Join us for our fall 2023 grad student seminar series!

The CuticleTrace Toolkit: An automated method for leaf epidermal cell shape analysis
By: Ben Lloyd (Strömberg Lab)

Uncovering the molecular controls of flowering in a native seagrass
By: Christine Nolan (Imaizumi Lab)

Contrasting Topological and Quantitative Structures Drive Stability in Mutualistic Networks
By: Chris Anderson (Brosi Lab)

My work in teaching, scholarship, and service utilize a systems thinking approach. I will provide a framework for my approach to institutional change and efforts to reduce the structural and systemic inequities students and faculty face. I will outline the value of systems thinking as an organizing principle in the classroom. I will share strategies based on this approach that improve student engagement in classes and result in increased academic performance in our rigorous Biology classes.