The BES Seminar Series offers students a unique opportunity to engage with leading experts, promoting intellectual growth and fostering meaningful connections. These seminars provide invaluable insights into global research trends, paving the way for future academic partnerships.

Faculty and students from across the university, as well as the Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine, are encouraged to contact Dr. Tristan Fiedler (fiedler@fit.edu) to meet with BES seminar speakers and explore potential research collaborations & career opportunities.

Spring 2025 Research Seminar Series

Biomedical Engineering & Science Graduate Program

Nelson Health Sciences Bldg. Rm. 141 & simulcast via Zoom (https://fit.zoom.us/j/92696688612)

11 a.m.–12:15 p.m. unless otherwise noted

Date	Seminar Details
Jan 14	Modeling Rare Human Diseases in the Nematode Model Caenorhabditis elegans: from Genetics to Mechanism Dr Xiaofei Bai Genetics Institute Dept. of Biology University of Florida
Jan 21	Medical Imaging & Computational Molecular Biology Projects Dr. Debasis Mitra Professor of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Florida Tech
Feb 4	Dr. Andrew Kennard Postdoctoral Fellow Howard Hughes Medical Institute Laboratory of Dr. Lillian Fritz-Laylin UMass - Amherst
Feb 11	AI in Healthcare Special Joint Research Seminar w/ Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Dr. Zahra Nematzadeh Visiting Assistant Professor Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Florida Tech
Feb 18	Rapid induction of place fields in retrosplenial cortex via holographic stimulation during spatial learning in VR environments Dr. Alex Attinger Postdoctoral Fellow Laboratory of Dr. Lisa Giocomo Professor of Neurobiology Howard Hughes Medical Institute Stanford University School of Medicine
Feb 25	Natural variation in antihelmintic resistance using the C. elegans model Dr. Amanda Shaver Postdoctoral Fellow Laboratory of Dr. Erik C. Andersen Johns Hopkins University
Mar 4	Basis for childhood leukemia (subject to change) Dr. Anna-Lena Neehus Howard Hughes Medical Institute Laboratory of Dr. Vijay Sankaran Broad Institute Harvard Medical School
Mar 11	Dr. Mary Gehring Howard Hughes Medical Institute MIT
Mar 11	Advancing Drug Discovery through Targeted Protein Degradation Dr. Poulami Dutta Aragen Life Sciences & Sai Schrodinger Research Lab Faculty Candidate Seminar
Mar 18	Spring Break - No Seminar
Mar 24	Dr. Victor Ikumawoyi Scripps Institute of Biomedical Innovation & Technology University of Florida Faculty Candidate Seminar
Mar 25	Barcoding of episodic memories in the hippocampus of a food-caching bird Dr. Selmaan Chettih Senior Postdoctoral Fellow Lab of Dr. Dmitriy Aronov Howard Hughes Medical Institute Columbia University
Mar 28	Lost City: Implications on Medicine & Astrobiology Dr. Anthony El-Khouri St Georges University School of Medicine 2p ET OLS 201 & https://fit.zoom.us/j/91478065421 Faculty Candidate Seminar
Mar 31	Study of Aortic root hemodynamics for LVAD-implanted patients to minimize thrombosis risk Vikash Shukla 4p ET NHSB 340 MS Thesis Seminar Advisor: Dr. Chivukula
Apr 1	Glymphatic Dysfunction Drives Aging and Neurodegeneration Dr. Wenzhen Duan Professor of Neuroscience & Psychiatry Translational Neurobiology Lab Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Apr 1	Optimization of LVAD Inflow Cannula Angulation to Improve Hemodynamics Benjamin Diaz 11:30a ET NHSB 340 MS Thesis Seminar Advisor: Dr. Chivukula
Apr 3	Control of pancreatic β-cell physiology by mitochondrial dynamics Dr. Vaibhav Sidarala University of Michigan [Ann Arbor] 3p ET OLS 201 & https://fit.zoom.us/j/97142872929 Faculty Candidate Seminar
Apr 8	An evolutionary approach to studying the human parasite Schistosoma mansoni Dr. George Wendt Senior Postdoctoral Fellow Lab of Dr. James J. Collins Howard Hughes Medical Institute University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center
Apr 15	Transposable elements at the origins of RNA-guided mechanisms Dr. Chance Meers Postdoctoral Fellow Lab of Dr. Sam Sternberg Howard Hughes Medical Institute Columbia University
Apr 18	Developing a small molecule to inhibit HSF1 expression in cancer and evaluating natural genetic variation in small-molecule toxicity Michaela Foley 11a-12p ET CRF 403 Doctoral Seminar Advisor: Dr. Timothy Crombie
Apr 22	Transdisciplinary Approach in Trust Consideration in Human-Agent Medical Collaboration for Human Spaceflight Ms. Anna Wojdecka Innovation Design Engineer, Royal College of Art (UK) Doctoral Student, Human Centered Design (Florida Tech) Dr. Don Platt Florida Tech Spaceport Education Center Director Associate Professor, APSS Florida Tech
Apr 23	Chronic Treatment with Curcumin Modulates the HSP70 Ratio & Prevents Vascular Hypercontractility in the Aorta of Type 1 Diabetic rat Anna Grimm 1-3p ET NHSB 226 MS Thesis Seminar Advisor: Dr. Kenia Pedrosa Nunes
Apr 29	The days of our lives - building a molecular approach to study & enhance circadian rhythms Dr. Carrie Partch Howard Hughes Medical Institute Dept. of Chemistry & Biochemistry University of California Santa Cruz

Past Seminars