Seminars

January 26

Lauren Palmer, PhD, University of Illinois

“Amino Acid Competition Shapes Acinetobacter baumannii Gut Carriage”

Hosted by Jannell Bazurto
 

February 2

Robert (Bob) Seder, M.D., NIH

Hosted by Dave Masopust

February 9

Alison Kell, PhD, University of New Mexico

“Host-specific immune modulation in hantavirus infections”

Hosted by Ryan Langlois

February 16

Francesco Marangoni, PhD, University of California, Irvine

February 23

Jade Wang, PhD, University of Wisconsin, Madison

“Decoding Stress Responses: How Gram-Positive Bacteria Persist Under Antibiotic Pressure” 

Hosted by Jannell Bazurto

March 2

Maki Nakayama, M.D., University of Colorado, Anschutz

Hosted by Brian Fife 

March 9 

No Seminar: Spring Break

March 16

Chrysothemis Brown, M.D., PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Hosted by Ryan Nelson

March 23

Andrew Hryckowian, PhD, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Hosted by Caity Holmes

March 30

Anne Sperling, PhD, University of Virginia

Hosted by Jesse Williams

April 6

Kellie Ann Jurado, PhD, University of Pennsylvania 

“Understanding mechanisms of early life immunity”

Hosted by Craig Bierle

April 13

Matthew Burchill, PhD, University of Colorado, Anschutz

April 20

Michael Niederweis, PhD, University of Alabama

“Master control of protein secretion in Mycobacterium tuberculosis”

Hosted by Anna Tischler

April 27

Williams (Bill) Hawse, PhD, University of Pittsburgh

Hosted by Craig Byersdorfer

May 4

Boo Shan Tseng, PhD, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

“Bacterial neighborhoods: understanding biofilm heterogeneity using probe-based single-cell RNA-sequencing.”

Hosted by Julia Willett and Ruth Isenberg

Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology Student Seminar Series
Spring 2026
THURSDAYS, Noon-1:00 p.m.

Hybrid seminar held in 1-110 LRB/MTRF and available by livestream Zoom Link

JANUARY 22: **ROOM CHANGE to 2-102 CMRR
Paarth Dodhiawala
“Turning the tide: Leveraging KRAS inhibition to potentiate NK cell anti-tumor response in pancreatic cancer”
Advisor: Jeff Miller
Student Host: Mark Salnikov
Faculty Reviewers: Anthony Baughn, Xavier Revelo, Hai Dang Nguyen

JANUARY 29
Adrianna Rivera-Leon
“Understanding tolerance to type I interferons”
Advisor: Kris Hogquist
Student Host: Parker Wiegert
Faculty Reviewers: Peter Southern, Ryan Nelson, Hongbo Pang

FEBRUARY 5
Beatriz Baselga-Cervera, PhD, Department of Ecology, Evolution, & Behavior, MICaB Graduate Faculty Candidate
“Phenotypic signatures that define microbial diversity: Lessons from the field and the lab”
Faculty Advocate: Jeff Gralnick

FEBRUARY 12
Rita Perlingeiro, PhD, Department of Medicine, MICaB Graduate Faculty Candidate
“Bench-to-bedside: iPS cell-based therapy for muscular dystrophies”
Faculty Advocate: Kris Hogquist

FEBRUARY 19
Monica Campo Patino, MD, MPH, Department of Medicine, MICaB Graduate Faculty Candidate
Title: TBD
Faculty Advocate: Marc Jenkins

FEBRUARY 26
Cari Vanderpool, PhD, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, MICaB Graduate Faculty Candidate
“Phages Everywhere: Discovering Rules of Engagement Across Diverse Bacterial Hosts”
Faculty Advocate: Jeff Gralnick

MARCH 5
Marley Bishop, “Sensing During Oropouche Virus Infection”
Advisor: Michael Gale Jr.
Julia Pritchard, “Modeling Powassan Virus Pathogenesis: From Reservoir Hosts to Human Disease”
Advisor: Matt Aliota
Student Host: Gabi Farulla-Bastian
Faculty Reviewers: Craig Bierle, Bryce Binstadt, Craig Byersdorfer

MARCH 12: NO SEMINAR, SPRING BREAK

MARCH 19
Celeste Phillips, “Characterization of Noncoding RNAs in the Opportunistic Pathogen Enterococcus faecalis”
Advisor: Julia Willett
Max Hellrung, “Investigating Lyve-1 + Macrophage Efferocytosis in Breast Cancer”
Advisor: Kaylee Schwertfeger
Student Host: Maryah Glover
Faculty Reviewers: Kristina Burrack, Tom Griffith

MARCH 26
Matthew Watowich, “Role of persistent T cell receptor signaling in shaping CD8+ T cell residency, fate, and function against solid tumors”
Advisor: Dave Masopust
Elise Femino, “Optimal Evaluation of NK Cell Immunotherapy in Novel Humanized Murine Models of Cancer”
Advisor: Jeff Miller
Student Host: Catherine Andres
Faculty Reviewers: Jeff Gralnick, Kim Mansky

APRIL 2
Hunter Houseman-Eddings
Advisor: Kathleen Boris-Lawrie
Hannah Bergom, “Targeting IL 13Ra2 in breast cancer brain metastases (BCBMs)”
Advisor: David Largaespada
Student Host: Christopher Zajac
Faculty Reviewers: Alon Herschhorn, Christina Camell, Masato Yamamoto

APRIL 9
Soumba Traore , “Zika Virus Control of LIF-mediated JAK/STAT3 Signaling in Placental Development”
Advisor: Michael Gale Jr.
Victor Yu, “Investigating the function of Tregs with an interferon-stimulated gene signature”
Advisor: Mike Farrar
Student Host: Melanie Barksdale
Faculty Reviewers: Yuying Liang, Steve Friedenberg, Scott McIvor

APRIL 16
Emma Dehm, “Elucidating the role of activin receptor signaling in the formation of CD8+ virtual memory T cells during aging”
Advisor: Christina Camell
Hudson Li, “Unraveling the mechanisms linking atopic dermatitis and food allergy”
Advisor: Ryan Nelson
Student Host: Micala Hammond
Faculty Reviewers: Anna Selmecki, Kris Hogquist, David Potter

APRIL 23
Mariajose Franco, “Evaluating FGFR-targeted therapies in patient-derived breast cancer organoid models”
Advisor: Kaylee Schwertfeger
Student Host: Dani Lee
Faculty Reviewers: Pam Skinner, Drake Williams, Subree Subramanian

APRIL 30
Dani Vasquez Rico, “Elucidating the Formaldehyde Stress Response in Methylobacterium extorquens PA1”
Advisor: Jannell Bazurto
Student Host: Suad Mohamed
Faculty Reviewers: Chris Staley, Nathan Schuldt, Carol Lange

Cancer Center Seminar Series

Presented by Masonic Cancer Center. This interdisciplinary seminar series provides a venue for basic-science and clinical researchers to hear about cutting-edge work in all areas of cancer. The series features invited speakers and MCC faculty with expertise in selected topics related to cancer.

Seminars occur on Tuesdays, 9:00-10:00 a.m. in 1-125 CCRB.
Also available via Zoom.  Please use this URL to join virtually: umn-private.zoom.us/j/98692713230
Meeting ID: 986 9271 3230