Seminar Series
Ideas that spark curiosity and connect our community
The Biological Sciences Seminar Series brings students, faculty and visiting scholars together to explore new ideas, discoveries and perspectives in biology. Hosted each semester, these talks are a core part of how our department shares research, builds community and stays connected to the wider scientific world.
All seminars take place:
🗓️ Thursdays at 11:15 a.m.
📍 222 Natural Sciences Complex
Join us this fall for research talks and presentations featuring UB faculty, visiting scholars and members of the Biological Sciences community.
* Guest speaker from outside the UB community
August 27
Dr. Denise Ferkey
Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
Host: Dr. Laura Rusche
September 3
*Dr. Antoine Louveau
Assistant Professor
Cleveland Clinic
Host: Dr. Alfredo Oliveros Amaya
September 10
Dr. Tatsuaki Kurosaki
Assistant Professor
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Host: Dr. Soo-Kyung Lee
September 17
Dr. Spiros Stavrou
Associate Professor
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Host: Dr. Alfredo Oliveros Amaya
September 24
*Dr. Wei Xu
Professor of Oncology
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Host: Dr. Michael Yu
October 1
Dr. Spiros Stavrou
Assistant Professor
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Host: Dr. David Hoekstra
October 8
Dr. Andrew Lombardo
Assistant Professor
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Host: Dr. Paul Cullen
October 15
Biological Sciences Research Showcase
Lian Cai, Lee Lab, Sydney Brongo, Xu-Friedman Lab
October 22
*Dr. Christine Lattin
Associate Professor
Biological Sciences, LSU
Host: Dr. Robin Costello
October 29
Dr. Rebekah Charney
Assistant Professor
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Host: Dr. Jae Lee
November 5
Dr. Monica Pillon
Assistant Professor
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Host: Dr. Sarah Walker
November 12
*Dr. Emily Arsenault
Assistant Professor
Environmental Biology, SUNY ESF
Host: Dr. Corey Krabbenhoft
November 19
*Dr. Ahmad Jomaa
Associate Professor
University of Virginia
Host: Dr. Sarah Walker
February 12
UB BIO Research Showcase
Carolyn Graham, Costello Lab
Host: Department of Biological Sciences
February 19
Chloroplast lipid metabolism under stress
Dr. Christoph Benning
MSU Foundation Professor, Michigan State University
Host: Dr. Zhen Wang
Sponsored by the Orrin Foster Lecture Fund
February 26
Dr. Suyog Pol
Director of MRI Integration, Center for Biomedical Imaging
Host: Dr. Matthew Xu-Friedman
March 5
"It takes a lot of nerve to keep a T cell down! New insights into the role of thermal stress in immunosuppression and pre-clinical mouse models"
Dr. Elizabeth Repasky
Dr. Lawrence J. Minet Endowed Chair in Immunology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Host: Dr. Alfredo Oliveros
March 26
How cells make decisions
Dr. Paul Cullen
Professor, UB Department of Biological Sciences
Host: Dr. Matthew Xu-Friedman
April 2
UB BIO Research Showcase
Bowen Liu, Rusche Lab
Kendra Scheer, Gokcumen Lab
April 9
Genetically engineering microbial consortia and non-model microbes with programmable RNA tools
Dr. James Chappell
Associate Professor, Rice University
Host: Dr. Eric Strobel
Sponsored by the Orrin Foster Lecture Fund
April 23
UB BIO Research Showcase
Sarah Chang, Trevor Krabbenhoft Lab
Sina Sarsarshahi, Alfredo Oliveros Lab
Spotlight Symposia Series
Hear talks from leading researchers exploring how genes shape brain development, health and disease. Share your work and connect with other during the student poster session.
📅 Friday, April 24 | ⏰ 2:45–5 p.m. | 📍 Lippse Hall, Slee Hall
📅 Saturday, April 25 | ⏰ 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. | 📍 Natural Sciences Complex | 🥗Meals Included
Register now
The symposium honoree and speaker is Soo-Kyung Lee, PhD
April 30
Structural basis for repeat-associated non-AUG translation initiation on C9orf72 mRNA in ALS and FTD
Dr. Jailson Brito-Querido
Assistant Professor, Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan Medical School
Host: Dr. Sarah Walker
Sponsored by the Orrin Foster Lecture Fund
Thursday, 3:45 p.m.
NSC 216
8/28/25
Hung Nguyen, UB Chemistry
"Structure and dynamics of RNA in biomolecular condensate"
Host: Z Wang
9/4/25
Eric Strobel, UB Biology
"The mechanism of cotranscriptional glycine sensing by a tandem aptamer riboswitch"
Host: Gokcumen/Walker
9/11/25
Elizabeth Thomas, UB Earth Sciences
"What lies beneath: Climate and ecosystems during ancient ice-free periods recorded in sediments from beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet"
Host: C Krabbenhoft
9/18/25
Genevieve Konopka, UCLA
"Cell type-specific transcriptional networks related to autism"
Host: Jae Lee
10/2/25
Lisa Limeri, Texas Tech University
"Instructor beliefs' roles in shaping student experiences and outcomes"
Host: Costello
10/9/25
Graduate Student Research Showcase:
Sydney Brongo, "CRIP3 variant confers fitness advantage early in life at the cost of hearing-loss risk later in life"
Sai Wu, "Serine phosphorylation of protein arginine methyltransferase Hmt1 is critical for controlling its protein levels"
10/16/25
Walter Dodds, Kansas State University
"Laws, Theories, and Patterns in Ecology"
Host: C Krabbenhoft
10/23/25
Yasir Ahmed-Braimah, Syracuse University
"The evolution of reproductive incompatibilities in Drosophila"
Host: Gokcumen
10/30/25
Yolanda Huang, UB Microbiology
"Functional genomics to assess how gut anaerobes tolerate stress"
Host: Rusche
11/6/25
Todd Rideout, UB Exercise and Nutrition Sciences
"Targeting the developmental origins of metabolic disease through maternal natural health product supplementation"
Host: Z Wang
11/13/25
María Recuerda, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
"From SNPs to Structural Variation: Using Pangenomics to unravel the speciation of Capuchino Seedeaters"
Host: Baiz
11/20/25
Dheeraj Roy, UB Physiology & Biophysics
"From anterior thalamic cell types to cognition"
Host: Xu-Friedman
12/4/25
Erik Andersen, Johns Hopkins University
"From GWAS to gene: adventures from pangenomes to drug resistance"
Host: Ferkey