Speaker List Announced for CRASR Biology Seminar Series at Baylor University

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WACO, Texas (Sept. 28, 2012) - The Center for Reservoir and Aquatic Systems Research (CRASR), a partnership between Baylor University and the City of Waco, has announced the guest speakers featured in its Fall 2012 Seminar Series. Lectures will be given at 12:20 p.m. in the Baylor Sciences Building, Room A.108.
CRASR Director Robert Doyle, Ph.D., is excited to feature speakers from other universities who are renowned in their field, along with Baylor professors who are conducting cutting-edge research. "As we move to the Pro Futuris phase of our work at Baylor, I'm pleased that the biology department has a number of faculty members who are already firmly established in producing 'compelling scholarship' that contributes both to basic science and values our institutional commitment to social responsibility and service to society," Doyle said.
The schedule of guest lecturers is as follows:
Sept. 28, 2012: Cheolho Sim, Ph.D.
Sim is a biology professor in the College of Arts & Sciences at Baylor University, where he researches vector biology of human pathogens. His lecture, "The Reemergence of West Nile virus infection in US," is based on his expertise in vector-borne transmission of WNV and other diseases carried by mosquitos.
Oct. 5, 2012: Peter Dijkstra, Ph.D.
As a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, Dijkstra lectures on comparative animal physiology and researches the physiological and molecular basis of phenotypic variation. His seminar is titled "The endocrine system and diversification in life history traits in East Africa cichlid" and will address evolution and genetics.
Oct. 12, 2012: Michel Slotman, Ph.D.
Slotman, an entomology professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University, researches the evolutionary and population genetics of medically important insects, especially Anopheles mosquitoes. He will speak on "The genetic basis of human host preference in the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae."
Oct. 26, 2012: Nicholas Conrad, Ph.D.
Conrad is a microbiology professor and Southwestern Medical Foundation Scholar in Biomedical Research at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He will discuss his research in RNA biology and mechanisms of post- and co-transcriptional gene regulation in his lecture "A viral tale about a poly(A) tail."
Nov. 2, 2012: Martin Husemann
Husemann researches the origin of biodiversity as a Ph.D. candidate in the College of Arts & Sciences at Baylor University, specifically focusing on the speciation of Lake Malawi rock-dwelling cichlids. His seminar is entitled "The roles of selection and drift in the evolution of species rich animal groups."
Nov. 30, 2012: Terry Gentry, Ph.D.
Gentry, a professor at Texas A&M University, researches the development and use of molecular technologies to enhance the detection and remediation of environmental contamination. He will speak on "Soil microbial impacts on arsenic in rice and lignite mine reclamation."

by Brent Salter, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
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