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Monday, August 25
Stefan Sarafianos - University of Missouri
An HIV Resistant Flavor Enhancer
Dr. Stefan Sarafianos, associate professor of molecular microbiology and immunology in the Bond Life Sciences Center at MU and joint associate professor of biochemistry in the University of Missouri School of Medicine, received his bachelor of science degree in chemistry at the University of Patras, Greece, and his PhD in biochemistry from Georgetown University. His work focuses on unraveling the molecular details of how biomedically-relevant enzymes function, how they are inhibited, how they develop drug resistance and towards developing drugs that will treat human disease including HIV/AIDS. Target proteins include HIV-1 reverse transcriptase, SARS RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, SARS 3cl protease, Hepatitis C virus replicase, Hepatitis B reverse transcriptase, and bacterial RNA polymerases.
Tuesday, August 26
Steven Schandler - Chapman University
The Genetics of Addiction
Completing his fourth decade at Chapman University, Dr. Steven Schandler is the senior Professor of Psychology and Director of the Cognitive Psychophysiology and Addiction Research Laboratories at Chapman University. He received his M.A. in 1974 and Ph.D. in 1976 from the University of Southern California. With over three decades of funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Alcohol Beverage Medical Rresearch foundation, Professor Schandler has directed a program that examines the interplay of brain and behavior in humans. As a cognitive psychophysiologist, Professor Schandler uses behavioral, physiological, and brain imaging measures to evaluate the brain’s ability to process information while healthy and after deterioration or damage due to aging, substance abuse, or injury. Professor Schandler is a recipient of the Hua-Cheng Wang/Fradkin Distinguished Professorship and twice recipient of the Valerie Scudder Award for outstanding faculty achievement in scholarship and teaching.
Wednesday, August 27
Dana Burde - New York University
Early Education in Afghanistan
Dana Burde is an assistant professor of international education at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, an affiliated faculty of the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service, and an affiliated research scholar at the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies at Columbia University. Her research and teaching focus on humanitarianism, education, human rights, and political violence in countries and regions affected by conflict. In this context, she examines how non-state actors and transnational networks challenge and change norms and institutions. Her book Schools for Conflict or for Peace in Afghanistan will be published in October. For more information, please visit DanaBurde.com.
Thursday, August 28
Andrew Mendelson - Temple University
Cell Phone Journalism
Dr. Andrew Mendelson is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Journalism at Temple University’s School of Media and Communication. He is an expert on visual images and the role they play in society. He recently published a chapter entitled “The Indecisive Moment: Snapshot Aesthetics as Journalistic Truth,” in Assessing Evidence in a Postmodern World (Marquette University Press).
Friday, August 29
Robert Latzman - Georgia State University
Chimps Have Personality
Dr. Robert D. Latzman is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Georgia State University where he holds appointments in the Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology and Behavioral Neurosciences programs and is an Associate Member of the Neuroscience Institute. Dr. Latzman received a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa and a B.S. in Human Development with Honors from Cornell University. His program of research focuses on characterizing the neurobehavioral mechanisms underlying the development and persistence of psychopathological behaviors (e.g., aggression, substance use, psychopathy).