Speakers
2025 Science and Engineering Lecture Series
Speaker: Stephen V. Gliske, Associate Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, University of
Nebraska Medical Center
Title: Data Science Meets Human Neuroscience: How to Teach a Computer to Read Brain Waves
Abstract: Clinical human neuroscience research addresses some of the hardest scientific challenges of our day. Addressing these problems involves the ultimate of team science, integrating a diversity of fields from physics to physiology and from medicine to mathematics. We use the most advanced computational methods to analyze the most advanced compututation tool itself鈥攖he human brain. In this talk, I will discuss multiple career trajectories that can prepare students to engage in this research. I will also provide an overview of several of my exciting research projects, including live monitoring of depth of sleep from premature infants to older individuals with Parkinson's disease, and mapping of function and dysfunction in patients with epilepsy.
Bio: Dr. Gliske is an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. His work spans computational and translational neuroscience, applied data science, biomedical engineering and computational physics. He holds a bachelors degree in Physcs and Applied Mathematics from the University of Iowa, and a PhD in Physics from the University of Michigan. He completed a fellowship at the Physics Division of Argonne National Laboratory, working in the area of medium/high energy nuclear physics, with a focus on theory and big data analysis. Upon switching applications to neuroscience, he received additional training via a fellowship in the University of Michigan, Department of Neurology. He later joining the faculty there, working within the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program and Sleep Disorders Center. Dr. Gliske was also one of the few recipients of the NIH Big Data to Knowledge Mentored Training Grant (K01), which provided additional research support and training in epilepsy, sleep medicine, brain anatomy/physiology, and other relevant aspects of neuroscience and clinical applications. Dr. Gliske continues to advocate for the critical role of cross-trained, PhD researchers leading interdisciplinary research teams within clinical departments.
Speaker: Otavio de Toledo, Salvador Gutierrez-Aguirre, Montserrat Lara-Velasquez, Lyerly Neurosurgery,
Baptist Neurological Institute
Title: Research Experience at Lyerly Neurosurgery: Insights from the Research Team
Abstract: Join us for a brief and engaging discussion on the impactful journey within the research department of Lyerly Neurosurgery. You will share our insights into the challenges and successes of the research field. Whether you are an aspiring researcher or just curious, this is a great opportunity to gain valuable knowledge about the exciting world of neurosurgery research.
Bio: Otavio is currently a Research Fellow at Lyerly Neurosurgery where he is working
on projects related to cerebrovascular diseases, with a special focus on stroke and
aneurysm treatment. He is a Brazilian graduate physician with prior clinical experience
as a military physician in the Brazilian Army and as a general practitioner in the
Brazilian Universal Health System. Throughout his medical career, Otavio has always
prioritized patient education, humanism, and comprehensive care as his core beliefs.
Salvador is a research fellow at Lyerly Neurosurgery-Baptist Health, focusing on projects related to Cerebrovascular & Stroke research. He is a physician from Mexico and wishes to pursue his career further by getting into a neurology residency program. He believes that continuing education and innovation are the keys to bringing about a positive change in the healthcare industry and significantly impacting patients' lives.
Montse Lara is a Research Specialist at Lyerly Neurosurgery. She was born and raised
in Mexico City and graduated from med school with a Ph.D. in Neuroscience in 2020.
Since she started as a health professional, she began in neurosurgery, and I immediately
knew that was her passion. She has experience in research in brain and spine cancer,
and cerebrovascular diseases. At Lyerly Neurosurgery she coordinates the Florida Familial
Brain Aneurysm Study.
Speaker: Natasha Vanderhoff, Department of Biology and Marine Science, 麻豆传媒社区
Title: To find our voice, you must listen to the voices of animals!! What is language & how did it evolve in the only extant bipedal naked ape? 鈥︹�nd what the heck does a rat have to do with it!!!!
Abstract: In this riveting SELS talk I will discuss the evolution of language, with an emphasis on Darwin鈥檚 insights and animal communication. Like many other topics, Darwin had something to say about language. His original ideas on language may not be far from reality. How did gestures or music potentially lead to a trait that distinguishes us from the rest of the animal world? And how might animal vocalizations help us to understand human language? Want to know more, well you鈥檒l just have to come and find out (and get cake to celebrate Chuckie D鈥檚 216th birthday!!!!!!)!
Bio: Dr. V enjoys watching birds, cuddling with her million cats and Hector (huge white fluffy over-protective dog you may have seen or heard in her office), eating ice cream and watching Star Trek. Oh, and jetting off to the tropics whenever she has two pennies to rub together. She has shared her passion for animals and behavior with students at JU for 15 years, teaching intro diversity courses, animal behavior, evolution, ornithology and vertebrate biology. Originally from Louisville, KY, she attended college at Loyola in Chicago, ran off to Suriname for a few years, and did her graduate work back home at the University of Louisville. Her formal training is as a behavioral ecologist and she is easily distracted by any interesting critter, hence she has worked with birds, mammals, reptiles, spiders and even plants. Her current research interests include margay population dynamics at Wildsumaco Wildlife Sanctuary in Ecuador, anthropogenic noise pollution and animal calls (especially the robin), and of course the topic of this talk, temporally coordinated interactive vocalizations in non-primate mammals and the evolution of language.
Speaker: Filip Bergabo, Departments of Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics, 麻豆传媒社区
Title: The Beautiful and Mysterious World of Particle Physics
Abstract: The best fundamental description of nature that humans have ever produced is that of particle physics. The dynamic interplay between the various species of quarks and leptons, all mutually interacting via exchanges of photons, gluons, and more, yields all the rich and complicated structure of our universe. Despite the tremendous success of particle physics, there is much that remains poorly understood! In this talk, you will be introduced to the basics of particle physics through the beautiful language of Quantum Field Theory (QFT) and discover the challenges that keep us from fully understanding everything that it is trying to tell us. We will learn about concepts like antimatter, particle annihilation, and why the nucleus of every atom mysteriously looks different depending on how fast it is moving.
Bio: Filip Bergabo is a theoretical physicist specializing in particle physics. He earned his B.S. at the University of Connecticut, and his Ph.D. from the City University of New York Graduate Center. His interest in physics comes from a deep desire to understand the structure and laws of the universe at their most fundamental level, which naturally leads to the mathematical theories underlying particle physics. His research is in quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the fundamental theory describing the strong nuclear force which binds quarks and gluons together to form larger structures like protons and neutrons. His research uses this theory to make predictions in high energy particle collisions with a higher level of precision that will soon be testable in the next generation of collider experiments. He has a strong passion for teaching physics and mathematics and enjoys working with students to make classes engaging and fun. His teaching style focuses on placing students at the forefront, making them feel like discoveries in math and physics are understandable through logical steps and connections to the real world.
Speaker: Si Wu, Department of Chemistry, University of Alabama
Title: High-throughput quantitative top-down MS
Abstract: Protein post-translational modifications (PTMs) have emerged in the post-genomic era as critical features in regulating and diversifying protein biological activity. In addition, various PTMs on the same protein tend to physically interact with each other, PTM crosstalk, that drives many signaling pathways. Thus, analysis of intact proteoforms is necessary for in-depth knowledge of the significance of various PTMs and related crosstalk. The overall purpose of my research program is to establish a high-throughput quantitative top-down proteomics platforms that combine top-down mass spectrometry (TD-MS) with novel sample handling and separation technologies. We have developed methods for high-resolution reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC)-based separations (high pH and/or low pH) for analysis of complex protein mixtures such as cell lysates and serum samples. We also established and optimized a quantitative top-down proteomics workflow using intact protein-level tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling. Moreover, we have developed a novel analytical tool, 鈥渟pray-capillary鈥�, for quantitative ultra-low volume sampling (e.g., pL volume and sub-ng sample amount). The spray-capillary is capable of single-cell metabolomics or proteomics via the direct coupling of CE separation and MS detection requiring no additional devices. Overall, we envision these techniques as novel analytical tools to apply to the rapidly expanding field of real-life proteomics. To this end, we have applied quantitative top-down proteomics to the analysis of serum autoantibodies in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This research holds the potential to provide new insights regarding the autoantibody affinity maturation process and may lead to novel biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of SLE.
Bio: Dr. Wu received her Ph.D. in 2006 from Washington State University under the direction of Prof. James Bruce, working on developing novel MS tools for studying proteins in complex samples. She then worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory with Drs. Ljiljiana Pasa-Tolic and Richard D. Smith on top-down proteomics and later became a research scientist at PNNL in 2008. In 2015, she joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Oklahoma as an assistant professor and was later promoted to associate professor. In 2023, she joined the University of Alabama as a full professor. She was named a "2017 ASMS Emerging Investigator" by the Journal and American Society for Mass Spectrometry (JASMS) and received the USHUPO "Robert J. Cotter New Investigator Award" in 2020. She is also the editor of the Journal of Mass Spectrometry (JMS). Her current research focuses on developing and applying high-throughput quantitative top-down and functional proteomics techniques for addressing important clinical and biological questions.
Speaker: Adam Campbell, Department of Chemistry and Physics, 麻豆传媒社区
Title: From Photons to Fragrances: Use of Light and Organic Molecules to Release Fragrances, Steroids, and Other Compounds
Abstract: A cycloaromatization reaction driven by relief of excited state antiaromaticity to photouncage aldehydes and ketones was developed using several synthetic routes towards the synthesis of photocaged carbonyls as allylically substituted 3-(2-(arylethynyl)phenyl)prop-2-en-1-ols. A library of photocaged aryl aldehydes and ketones containing donors and acceptors, as well as several photocaged fragrance aldehydes and the steroid 5伪-cholestan- 3 -one, were synthesized and demonstrated photouncaging in good to excellent yields.
Bio: Adam Campbell is an organic chemist who teaches general and organic chemistry at Jacksonville University. He received his bachelor鈥檚 degree in chemistry from JU and then received his master鈥檚 degree in organic chemistry from Florida State University where he published research describing the synthesis of allylically-substituted conjugated enynols and their use as photoremovable protecting groups for light-controlled release of ketones and aldehydes including fragrance aldehydes and ketone-bearing steroids.
Speaker: Elizabeth Florida, Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University
Title: The Effects of Low and High-Dose Estrogens in Breast Cancer Cells
Abstract: The McDonnell laboratory has recently identified the effects of high- and low-dose androgens on prostate cancer cells. During this process, the androgen receptor (AR) undergoes morphological changes, regulating critical cellular signaling and growth pathways. The mTOR pathway plays a pivotal role in cellular metabolism by directly influencing protein translation, while c-Myc serves as a transcription factor regulating genes involved in cell cycle progression. These two pathways collaborate to support cellular survival and proliferation. At varying androgen levels, AR functions as a biosensor, enabling cells to detect and respond through receptor oligomerization, suppression of c-Myc expression, and inhibition of cellular growth.
My research has demonstrated similar but distinct processes in estrogen receptor (ER) biology in breast cancer cells. Using two breast cancer cell lines, I have observed contrasting effects of high- and low-dose estrogens on mTOR activation, cell cycle regulation, estrogen receptor dimerization, and breast cancer cell proliferation. Unlike androgen receptor biology, ER oligomerization induced by high-dose estrogens does not inhibit breast cancer cell proliferation, which we hypothesize may be due to the absence of c-Myc downregulation. Future studies will investigate c-Myc signaling in response to high-dose estrogens and the effects of ER overexpression on cancer cell growth.
In this talk, I will present highlights of the work I have conducted during my graduate school journey, along with contributions from my colleagues. Additionally, I plan to share insights into the path that led me here, the lessons I've learned, and the people who supported me along the way.
Bio: Elizabeth Florida is a 1st-year graduate student at Duke University, where she was awarded the Deans Graduate Fellowship to earn her Ph.D. in Molecular Cancer Biology. In 2021, she gained her B.S. in Biological Sciences from 麻豆传媒社区 (Go Dolphins!). While a student JU, she conducted 3-years of microbiology research with Dr. William Penwell. Following her graduation, Elizabeth received the Intramural Research Training Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). During her time at the NIH, Elizabeth conducted 3-years of clinical research in two (very) different specialties. Her research began with cardiometabolic disease and autoimmunity before shifting to Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), a genetic lung disease with cancer-like characteristics. In just a few years, Elizabeth contributed to more than 10 research articles, including a first-author manuscript published in the Journal of the American Heart Association on Soluble Lectin-like Receptor-1 (sLOX-1) and Inflammation in Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). Her published work has now been cited in over 100 other research papers. A Jacksonville native, Elizabeth is from Arlington and attended the nearby high school. She is the first in her family to graduate from college, working full-time throughout her undergraduate studies to financially support herself.
Speaker: Brian Kopp, School of Engineering and Technology, 麻豆传媒社区
Title: Hunting Ghosts in Low-Earth Orbit
Abstract: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), working in partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) is investigating the feasibility of implementing small satellite remote sensing in low-earth orbit (LEO). The small satellite remote sensing platform will use the Data Collection System (DCS) transponder onboard the NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) as a relay to earth. Two experimental LEO spacecraft have been flown so far. The initial tests, while promising have occasionally been impacted by spectral anomalies, known as ghosts, that appear to track alongside the desired signal in the three dimensional received-energy plots known as waterfall displays. The characteristics of the ghosts suggest they are generated by the small satellites but are being altered by the environment before being received by the GOES 16 spacecraft. The most likely explanation for the presence of the ghosts appears to be doppler-shifted, multipath reflections of the small satellite transmissions by the earth itself. This is believed to be the first small satellite LEO-to-GEO-to earth relay link to be studied and the ghost phenomenon remains an open research topic. More tests are planned with the GOES 18 and GOES 17 spacecraft as well as the new but similar EUMETSAT Meteosat 12 satellite. Another small satellite experimental platform is also planned for launch in the near future.
Bio: Brian Kopp is a communications engineer and Florida-licensed professional engineer. He received his BS, MS, and Ph.D., all in electrical engineering, and all from New Mexico State University. His undergraduate and graduate research involved bandwidth efficient, high-order modulation schemes that were of interest to NASA. Throughout his college career he worked at the NASA satellite ground station 30 minutes away from his university at White Sands, New Mexico. After leaving New Mexico he worked briefly for the navy before cofounding a company that manufactured the first explosion-proof unlicensed data radio, a predecessor to WiFi used in hazardous environments. Turning next to consulting, since 1997, Brian has worked with both government and commercial clients designing, building, and fixing both wired and wireless communications networks. More recently, since 2011, Brian has been teaching engineering, and now does it full time at JU. Brian serves on the American Meteorological Society radio frequency spectrum committee and is an associate editor of the journal New Space. He also volunteers his time working on amateur radio communication systems for the Florida Department of Emergency Management. He lives in Jacksonville with his wife Air, a progressive care unit nurse at Baptist South Hospital. Brian and Air enjoy scuba diving and are currently building their retirement house 3 hours north of Bangkok Thailand. Their daughter Irada is in her final year at FIU and hopes to work in health care.
Speaker: Stephanie Turner, Blue Origin
Title: Redefining the Right Stuff 鈥� Expanding Access to Careers in Human Spaceflight
Abstract: Have you ever dreamed of going to space, or working in the space industry? Today there are more opportunities than ever to accomplish those dreams. In this presentation I鈥檒l discuss how progressions in our space programs over time have resulted in more and more fields having applications in spaceflight operations. I鈥檒l share information about how commercial space companies, like Blue Origin, have changed what it takes to be an astronaut and why it鈥檚 important that we increase the exposure of suborbital flight. We鈥檒l also look at how expanding access to space has impacted research, payloads, and hardware development career opportunities.
Bio: Stephanie Turner is the Training Cognizant Engineer for the New Shepard program at Blue Origin. She has degrees in Management of Technical Operations, Aviation Safety, and Accounting. Prior to joining Blue Origin, Stephanie worked for United Space Alliance at Johnson Space Center in Houston for twelve years in positions supporting astronaut crew training for both the Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs. She also has training management experience in oil and gas and manufacturing industries.
Title: Non-Reproductive Vocalizations & Flocking Behaviors in Hybridizing Songbirds
Abstract: Avian song learning has been widely studied in songbirds, while the role of calls in speciation remains largely unknown. Avian calls, although primarily associated with non-reproductive behaviors, are learned and important for many aspects of survival, and are therefore important for fitness. Thus, like song, avian calls could influence reproductive isolation. My work is aimed at examining call learning and non-reproductive behaviors associated with the 鈥渃hick-a-dee鈥� call in hybridizing black-capped (Poecile atricapillus) and Carolina (Poecile carolinensis) chickadees. I examined how calls and call learning might affect pre- and postzygotic reproductive isolation. Parent species originating from sympatry show a stronger bias towards learning their conspecific call relative to their conspecifics in allopatry. In addition, hybrids showed reduced variability in call learning. This suggests calls could contribute to pre- and postzygotic reproductive isolation, potentially through mechanisms of ecological character displacement and hybrids exhibiting constraints on plasticity in call learning, respectively. I also examined whether mobbing behavior, an anti-predator behavior initiated by flocks using the 鈥渃hick-a-dee鈥� call, differs between natural sympatric and allopatric populations. I documented a lack of chickadee flocks in sympatry, relative to the black-capped and Carolina allopatric populations. Although the lack of chickadee flocks cannot be explained, I discuss potential impacts of hybridization on flocking behaviors from an ecological perspective. This work is some of the first evidence of call learning as well as different ways calls and call learning could indirectly affect reproductive isolation in a hybridizing songbird system. Overall, I present new avenues of research on understanding the effects of hybridization on non-reproductive behaviors from an ecological viewpoint, and further, the potential impacts on reproductive isolation.
Bio: Dr. Spinelli completed her Bachelor of Science with a minor in Visual Arts at Jacksonville University (JU) in 2018. She worked under Dr. Vanderhoff, performing a research study on the effects of urbanization on avian abundance and diversity, which is published in the Florida Field Naturalist. She then went to Lehigh University to pursue her Ph.D., which was recently completed in January 2025. She worked under the direction of Dr. Amber Rice, studying different potential reproductive isolating barriers between the naturally hybridizing black-capped and Carolina chickadees. Her dissertation work focused on non-reproductive vocalizations and behaviors in the two chickadee species and their hybrids, as these have been overlooked when considering mechanisms that can affect reproductive isolating barriers between species. For her dissertation work, she was awarded multiple fellowships and the Sigma Xi: Grants in Aid of Research. She also spent time volunteering at Lehigh for the Biological Organization of Graduate Students and the Graduate Student Senate to help advocate the graduate student鈥檚 needs to higher administration. She was awarded the Lehigh Graduate Life Leadership Award for the work she did improve conditions for graduate students. She is now exploring different potential career paths in conservation or environmental work.
Speaker: Wolfdieter Springer, Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and
Science
Title: Selective Mitochondrial Autophagy in Health, Aging, and Disease
Abstract: The ubiquitin (Ub) kinase PINK1 and the E3 Ub ligase PRKN together mediate a cytoprotective mitochondrial quality control that selectively eliminates damaged mitochondria via the autophagy-lysosome system (mitophagy). Loss of function mutations in either gene are the most common cause of early-onset Parkinson鈥檚 disease (PD) and it is thought that failure to identify and clear damaged mitochondria eventually results in neuronal death. Beyond PD, mitophagy impairments seem to contribute more broadly to risk, onset, and progression of many age-related disorders of the brain and of other tissue with high metabolic demand. PINK1 surveys organelle health through its continuous import into mitochondria where it is cleaved and degraded. However, upon mitochondrial damage, PINK1 rapidly accumulates on the outer mitochondrial membrane. This leads to phosphorylation of the small modifier protein Ub and the Ub-like domain of the E3 Ub ligase PRKN at a conserved Ser65 residue. The phosphorylation of Ub (pS65-Ub) serves as an allosteric activator of and receptor for PRKN on damaged mitochondria. Once translocated to mitochondria, PINK1 and PRKN jointly act as an enzymatic pair amplifying the formation of phosphorylated Ub chains that serve as the 鈥榤itophagy tag鈥�. As such pS65-Ub is a specific and quantitative marker of mitochondrial damage and further facilitates transport to and elimination of damaged mitochondria in lysosomes. We have recently developed means to assess and follow pS65-Ub in cells and tissues as well as in blood samples from animal models and patients. In addition, we started exploiting pS65-Ub as a quantitative trait for genetic and cell-based screening to identify novel mitophagy modifiers and candidate risk factors. Additional efforts are underway to determine the suitability of pS65-Ub as a potential disease or pharmacodynamics marker and to capitalize on structure-function relationships for drug development to activate the protective enzyme pair PINK1-PRKN.
Bio: Dr. Wolfdieter Springer is a Consultant and Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. His main research focus is on the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying aging and age-related neurodegenerative disorders. He received his MSc from the University of Regensburg and his PhD from the Ludwig-Maximilian-University in Munich, Germany. His postdoctoral training at the Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research in Tuebingen, Germany, led to the seminal discovery of the PINK1-PRKN pathway that orchestrates the selective degradation of damaged mitochondria via the autophagy-lysosome system (mitophagy). Dr. Springer鈥檚 laboratory at Mayo Clinic continues to study this ubiquitin kinase-ligase pair on a structural, cellular, and organismal level with a focus on relevance of mitochondrial autophagy in health, aging, and disease. Current efforts aim at dissecting the genetic architecture and regulation of mitophagy and the development of biomarkers and future therapeutics for diseases where mitochondrial, autophagic, or lysosomal dysfunctions emerge as a common theme. Dr. Springer鈥檚 research is funded by multiple sources including the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson鈥檚 Research, and others. Dr. Springer strives to create and maintain an equitable, diverse, and inclusive research environment, and is committed to training and mentoring the next-generation scientists. For more information on his Laboratory for Translational Cell Biology, please visit .