Life Sciences Café - New Faculty Seminars

Robin Harris, assistant professor, ASU School of Life Sciences
Talk title: Damage-Activated Regeneration Enhancers (DAREs) permit control of regenerative capacity in developing tissues 
Abstract: Regeneration is the ability to replace tissues and organs following loss or damage, and it can vary significantly between different species. Yet, this ability can also vary within a single tissue; frequently, regenerative capacity is lost as an organism matures. Understanding why is essential to developing novel strategies with which to promote regeneration, and potentially induce it in tissues that normally do not regenerate. His lab is using the model organism Drosophila to explore this phenomenon. Using classical genetics combined with imaging and next-generation sequencing technology, we have identified genomic regulatory elements called Damage-Activated Regeneration Enhancers, or DAREs, which not only control the activation of multiple genes required for regeneration in younger tissues but also their progressive inactivation with maturity. Thus, DAREs enable the coordinated and dynamic regulation of multiple genes that comprise a regeneration program, thereby dictating a tissue’s regenerative potential through development.

Samantha Cheng, research assistant professor, ASU School of Life Sciences
Talk title: Advancing evidence-based decision-making in conservation
Abstract: Addressing threats in the Anthropocene will increasingly require multi-dimensional solutions that address the interplay between natural and human systems to achieve sustainable and equitable solutions. Critical to this effort is ensuring that decision-making for conservation policy and practice is informed by scientific evidence regarding what works to achieve desired outcomes. For conservation planning, this is important for understanding tradeoffs between different approaches and minimizing negative consequences. While the need and value of evidence is recognized, it is rarely incorporated into policy – resulting in a sustained “knowledge-action gap”. In this talk, she will present on-going projects that aim to systematically examine the role of evidence, knowledge generation, and stakeholder engagement in bridging this gap.

Maitrayee Bose, assistant professor, ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration
Talk title: NanoSIMS: elemental and isotopic imaging at the nanoscale
Abstract: The NanoSIMS at ASU can map elemental and isotopic distributions in biological samples with exceptional spatial resolution better than 50 nanometers. She will talk briefly about why the NanoSIMS has these unique capabilities, followed by a discussion of some unique studies where the use of NanoSIMS with stable isotope labels led to striking discoveries in processes prevalent in cells and tissues. 

Light refreshments will be served.

Seminar: 11:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m.
Treat and Greet: 12:45 –1:15 p.m.

Left to right: Robin Harris, Samantha Cheng and Maitrayee Bose