2014 Biology Symposium
The 2014 Biology Department Research Symposium was a great success, with diverse posters, talks and workshops. Special thanks to our speakers and workshop leaders!
Use the links below to navigate to different information on the Symposium.
Answers to The Year in Pictures challenge
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Managing code, data, and more like a professional: a quick introduction to Git and GitHub by Ethan White
Generating transgenics using CRISPR/Cas by Adam Cockrell
The “holy grail” of biology can be considered the accurate and efficient manipulation of genomes. Recently, it was discovered that a naturally occurring bacterial immune system could be used to edit genomes. This discovery kickstarted the “CRISPR craze” with the accurate editing of genomes for many organisms, from drosophila to zebrafish to mice. Come find out what the craze is all about and how to go about designing your own CRISPR/Cas experiment.
Breaking free from Esri: using R to analyze spatial data by Brian Evans
There’s a reason why R has become the preferred statistical package of ecologists: it does so much more than just statistics. In this workshop we will explore using R as a GIS to acquire, analyze, and display environmental raster data. Little prior knowledge of R is necessary, but please have R installed on your laptops prior to attending this workshop.
What you can learn from fossils- a hands on experience by Pat Gensel
How fossils are preserved and the techniques used to prepare them determines the information one can obtain from them; this will be demonstrated and you will learn how to identify and interpret ancient plants preserved in a calcium carbonate matrix (coal balls).
Plant Biodiversity at Your Fingertips by Carol Ann McCormick and Shanna Oberreiter
The UNC Herbarium in 401 Coker Hall is a collection of plant biodiversity over time and space. We have plant fossils from the Devonian (419-358 million years ago) and pressed, dried rare plants collected last year. We have vascular plants from every continent, and algae from every ocean. Work with Herbarium staff and learn how to mount vascular plant specimens for inclusion in our research collection.
Social Media for Scientists by Emily Darling
Social media is a tool that is growing in popularity but also shrouded in mystery and misunderstanding. In this workshop, we will discuss how social media can be used for science ‘in reach’ (building networks with other scientists) and ‘outreach’ communication to the general public, resource managers and decision makers. This will be a hands-on workshop to dig into Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn: please bring your computers or smart phones.
Speaker Descriptions
Stephanie Nowotarski with “Enabled and Diaphanous direct distinctive protrusive behavior in neighboring tissue types during Drosophila dorsal closure”
Stephanie Nowotarski is a grad student in Mark Peifer’s lab.
Jessica Higgins with “The Times They Are a-Changin: Larval Adaptation of Physiological Traits Due to Climate Change”
Jessica Higgins is a 5th year grad student in Joel Kingsolver’s lab.
Dr. Erin Mordecai with “The role of niche differences and fitness differences in maintaining virus diversity in barley yellow dwarf viruses”
Erin Mordecai is a post-doc in Charles Mitchell’s lab.
Dr. Amy Maddox with “Regulation of myosin during cytokinesis”
Amy Maddox is a new UNC Biology faculty member with interests in cell shape change during cell division and development.
Dr. Corbin Jones with “Something from nothing: how non-coding regions of the genome give rise to new genes”
Corbin Jones is interested in the molecular basis of adaptation, and uses a combination of experimental and computational approaches.