2008 Santa Cruz Developmental Biology Meeting: Transitions in Development

Since 1992, this has been one of the premier meetings in developmental biology. Meeting on the beautiful UC Santa Cruz campus, it offers graduate students, postdocs, and junior faculty the chance to interact in an intimate setting with leaders in the field of developmental biology from labs around the world. The event features 49 platform talks, 21 of which will be chosen from the abstracts, and 2 poster sessions.

June 26-29
UC Santa Cruz

Web site: http://www.bio.unc.edu/SCDB/

9th Annual UC System-Wide Bioengineering Symposium

A stimulating confluence of bioengineering faculty, students, and researchers from the University of California and private industry, featuring 12 broad tracks inclusive of the research throughout the UC system. Over $5,000 in prizes will be awarded to student presenters.

June 20–22, 2008
UC Riverside
Reception and registration Friday evening, followed by 1-1/2 days of keynote talks, podium sessions, and poster sessions.

Keynote speakers: 
Don P. Giddens, Dean, Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Christine A. Kelley, Director, Division of Discovery Science and Technology, NIBIB/NIH/DHHS
John L. Anderson, President, Illinois Institute of Technology

CBSE education forum: student achievement in STEM subjects

Forging partnerships between public schools, higher education institutions, businesses, and community organizations is an important part of an effective strategy for UCSC to raise student success, particularly in science, technology, mathematics, and engineering (STEM). This forum will explore the opportunities for providing effective and collaborative outreach to our local K-12 schools, especially to students from historically underserved groups. The aim is to foster a working dialog among local educators and community leaders that promotes post-secondary enrollment in our region by addressing local educational needs.

Keynote speaker: Diana Pérez, Deputy Director, White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans

Wednesday, May 21, 5:30–8:00 pm
National Steinbeck Center
1 Main Street, Salinas, CA
Free and open to all

For more information, please contact Luis Sandoval at (831) 459-1702 or luis@soe.ucsc.edu

Sponsors:
Monterey County Office of Education
EDvolution
UCSC Center for Biomolecular Science & Engineering
CBSE Research Mentoring Institute
National Human Genome Research Institute

Workshop on the use of racial categories in the life sciences

Forensic anthropologists, epidemiologists, geneticists, and genealogists are all interested in the way specific human variations, such as prevalence of diseases or skeletal morphology, correlate to social race categories and geographic origins. Each of these fields have goals—from from aiding in the identification of a homicide victim to indicating which human beings are at higher risk for a disease—that involve both working with and re-working racial categories. How can responsible scientists recognize and reflect upon the effects of this race work, take ownership of the categories we use, and take an active role in the way they are understood and defined? The panel will begin to expose and discuss the inherent problems of working with race concepts and categories.

Monday, May 12, 2:00–5:30 pm
Porter Fireside Lounge
UC Santa Cruz

MORE...Science and Justice Working Group

Science & Justice Working Group

Bridging the historical divide between scientists and social justice advocates, this working group explores the ethical issues surrounding science.

Wednesday afternoons
599 Engineering 2
UC Santa Cruz

April 23, 5:00–6:30 pm
Criminal justice, genomic justice?
Troy Duster, Professor of Sociology & Director of Institute for the History of the Production of Knowledge, New York University

April 30, 4:30–6:00 pm
When science and justice meet
Donna Haraway & Karen Barad, UCSC

May 7, 4:30–6:00 pm
Environmental justice, genomic justice?
Sara Shostak, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Brandeis University

May 28, 4:30–6:30 pm
Solar-powered personal rapid transit (PRT)
Robert Baertsch, a graduate student in the Haussler laboratory at UCSC, is currently on leave at NASA Ames, working as a member of their Green Team. He will discuss, PRT, an imaginative attempt to create a new form of transportation that entails solar-powered computerized driverless vehicles that run along guideways over major highways.

June 4, 4:30–6:00 pm
Race workshop revisited
We will be showing clips of the workshop on the use of racial categories in the life sciences (May 12) and continuing our discussions.

MORE...Science and Justice Working Group

Sponsored by the UCSC Center for Biomolecular Science and Engineering

Bruce Alberts, 6th Robert L. Sinsheimer Distinguished Lecture

Spreading science throughout our nation and the world: a challenge for the 21st century

Bruce Alberts is editor-in-chief of Science Magazine, former president of the National Academy of Sciences, and professor of biochemistry and biophysics at UC San Fransisco

May 1, 2008, 7:00 pm
Media Theater M110
UC Santa Cruz
This event is open to the public

 Map

Sponsors:
UCSC Physical & Biological Sciences
UCSC Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology
UCSC Office of Research

Troy Duster: DNA fingerprinting and civil liberties—the CSI effect and the social and political implications of the ever-expanding DNA databases

Troy Duster is Professor of Sociology & Director of Institute for the History of the Production of Knowledge, New York University, and he holds an appointment as Chancellor's Professor at UC Berkeley.

Wednesday, April 23, 3:00-4:30 pm
102 Interdisciplinary Sciences Building

After this talk, he speaks on "Criminal justice, genomic justice?" at the Science and Justice Working Group meeting in 599 Engineering, 5:00–6:30 pm.

MORE...Science and Justice Working Group

Sponsored by the UCSC Center for Biomolecular Science and Engineering

Baskin School of Engineering 10th Anniversary Celebration

The Baskin School of Engineering celebrates its 10th anniversary with a yearlong series of events and activities. In its first 10 years, the school has emerged as a vibrant and innovative center for research and education. The school looks forward to the next 10 years, as it builds interdisciplinary programs to tackle the challenges of the 21st century.

For additional details on all of the planned 10th Anniversary events call (831) 459-2158 or email drecept@soe.ucsc.edu.

Calendar of events:

National Engineer’s Week—February 19-23

Open House—February 23, 2:00–4:00 pm, Engineering Courtyard
Lab tours, research poster display, refreshments, and more!

Distinguished Lecture: Larry Smarr—March 22, 2:00 pm, E2 room 599
"How global-scale personal lightwaves are transforming scientific research"
Smarr is Director, California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology and Harry E. Gruber professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, UC San Diego

Distinguished Lecture: Richard Buckius—April 12, 2:00 pm, E2 room 599
"Engineering and national priorities"
Buckius is Assistant Director, Directorate for Engineering, National Science Foundation

Banana Slug Spring Fair—April 21, 2:00–3:30 pm, Engineering Courtyard
alumni reunion and scholarship event

Distinguished Lecture: Don Francis—May 22, 3:00 pm, Periodicals Room, Science & Engineering Library
"Confronting deadly epidemics around the world"
Francis is Executive Director, Global Solutions for Infectious Diseases

Research Symposium @ Baskin Engineering—October 12, all day

Distinguished Lecture: R. Stanley Williams—October 25, 4:00 pm, Silicon Valley Center
"Computing at the nanoScale will employ different physics and logic operations"
Williams is a Senior Fellow at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories and founding Director of the Quantum Science Research (QSR) group

Baskin Engineering Banquet—November 3, 7:00 pm, University Center
Featuring David Haussler, "Reconstructing 100 million years human evolutionary history"
Haussler is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Director of CBSE

For additional details on all of the planned 10th Anniversary events call (831) 459-2158 or email drecept@soe.ucsc.edu.

MORE INFORMATION

Grand opening symposium: UCSC Chemical Screening Center

A grand opening symposium to introduce UCSC's new chemical screening center to the many faculty and staff who participated in its creation and to celebrate the exciting biomedical research planned for the Center—research that will facilitate the discovery of biologically active compounds as potential therapeutics and research tools.

Friday, September 21, 2007
2:30–7:00 pm
Physical Sciences Building (PSB) Atrium room 339
University of California, Santa Cruz

Our keynote speaker, Professor Jim Wells from UCSF, was the founding member of the Protein Engineering Department at Genentech, Inc., where he worked for 16 years. His research focused on designing new functional properties into enzymes and hormones and developing new technologies for engineering proteins. In 1998, Wells founded Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, where he served as President and Chief Scientific Officer and developed a novel fragment discovery technology known as disulfide trapping or Tethering. In 2005, he joined UCSF as the Harry W. and Diana Hind Distinguished Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences. He is a joint Professor in the Departments of Cellular & Molecular Pharmacology, and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, and is the director of the UCSF Small Molecule Discovery Center.

Schedule of events:
2:30–3:00 pm  Opening remarks, Scott Lokey, 240 PSB
3:00–4:00 pm  Keynote address, Jim Wells,  240 PSB
4:00–4:15 pm  Break
4:00–7:00 pm  Poster session, PSB Atrium
4:15–5:00 pm  Tour, ribbon cutting, 339 PSB
5:00–6:00 pm  Reception , PSB Atrium

The UCSC Chemical Screening Center is funded by the National Institutes of Health, with matching support from QB3 and the U.S. Department of State.

8th Annual UC System-Wide Bioengineering Symposium

A stimulating confluence of bioengineering faculty, students, and researchers from the University of California and private industry

Mission Bay Campus, UC San Francisco
June 15–17, 2007
Reception and on-site registration Friday afternoon, followed by 2-1/2 days of plenary talks, podium sessions, and poster sessions.

Speakers (initial list): 
Tejal Desai, Professor, Physiology; Director, Laboratory of Therapeutic Micro and Nanotechnology, UC San Francisco
Joe DeRisi, Assistant Professor, Biochemistry and Biophysics, UC San Francisco

Stem cells & justice: Joe Tayag
Joe Tayag, health program manager for the Greenlining Institute, will discuss his organization's efforts to get issues of social justice on California's stem cell agenda.

May 30, 2007
Time and place TBA

Sponosored by the Science & Justice Working Group

Genomics & justice: promises, perils, and paradoxes

The Science & Justice Working Group presents a two-day workshop of in-depth exploration of the effects of translating genomic information into practice in the lives of human beings. The first day kicks the program off with a public forum to bring the social justice and science communities together. The second day is an in-depth workshop for social justice thinkers and genomic scientists.

This emergent new life science—genomics—challenges us to think about the complexity and multiple facets of the social forms that are emerging along with it.  This workshop is designed to explore the ambivalence, dilemmas, and paradoxes that face us in practice as we try to create a genomics that serves the goals of justice and democracy.  The workshop takes as its first premise that just as genomics challenges us to re-think received understandings of the order of nature, so it challenges us to rethink our understandings of social order, including what might be meant by a just or democratic social order.  The workshop will thus not assume we know what is meant by 'just,' or 'democratic,' but will instead ask what such terms might mean and how they might be enacted in the context of genomics, which now contributes to contemporary understanding of what it means to be human.

May 17 & 18, 2007
starting at 4:00 pm on May 17, ending 5:00 pm on May 18
participants must register for the Friday, May 18 workshops: email reardon1@ucsc.edu by April 30

Opening Forum: Genomics & Justice   Printable poster
May 17, 4:00–6:00 pm, Namaste Lounge, College Nine
Open to the public
A forum to bridge the historic divide between communities engaged in science and in social justice:
How can we ensure that our expanding stores of genomic information benefit rather than harm people?
Why should those concerned with social justice care about genomics?

DIRECTIONS TO NAMASTE LOUNGE

Participants:
Moderator—Donna Haraway, Professor, History of Consciousness and Feminist Studies, UCSC
Robert Cook-Deegan, Director, IGSP Center for Genome Ethics, Law & Policy, Duke University
Caitlin Deck, Director, Office of Research Compliance Administration, UCSC
David Haussler, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator; Professor, Biomolecular Engineering; Director, Center for Biomolecular Science & Engineering, UCSC
Maile Taualii, Associate Director, Urban Indian Health Institute, Seattle Indian Health Board
Vivian Ota Wang, Ethical, Legal and Social Implications Program Officer, National Human Genome Research Institute

Workshop Sessions
May 18, 9:00 am–5:00 pm, UCSC University Center, Alumni Room
Registration required: email reardon1@ucsc.edu by April 30
This workshop for social justice thinkers and genomic scientists features four sessions devoted to a consideration of instruments and approaches currently being used to create a more just and democratic genomics.

DIRECTIONS TO UNIVERSITY CENTER

Opening Remarks (9:00–9:15 am)
Jenny Reardon, Assistant Professor, Sociology, Center for Biomolecular Sciences and Engineering, UCSC

Session 1: New Participatory Forms (9:15–10:45 am)
Moderator—Sandra Lee, Senior Research Scholar, Center for Biomedical Ethics, Stanford University
Vivian Ota Wang, Ethical, Legal and Social Implications Program Officer, National Human Genome Research Institute
Joon-Ho Yu, Doctoral Candidate, Institute for Public Health Genetics and Research Assistant, Center for Genomics and Healthcare Equality, University of Washington
Nicky Teufel-Shone, Associate Professor, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona

Break (10:45–11:00 am)

Session 2: Property (11:00 am–12:30 pm)
Moderator—Kaushik Sunderrajan, Assistant Professor, Anthropology, UC Irvine
Robert Cook-Deegan, Director, IGSP Center for Genome Ethics, Law & Policy, Duke University
Cori Hayden, Assistant Professor, Social Cultural Anthropology, UC Berkeley
Maile Taualii, Associate Director, Urban Indian Health Institute, Seattle Indian Health Board

Lunch (12:30–1:45 pm)

Session 3: Sovereignty (1:45–2:45 pm)
Moderator—S. Malia Fullerton, Assistant Professor, Department of Medical History and Ethics, University of Washington School of Medicine
Rebecca Tsosie, Lincoln Professor of Native American Law and Ethics; Executive Director,
Indian Legal Program, Arizona State University
Laura Arbour, Pediatrician, Clinical Geneticist, Vancouver Island Health Authority, Victoria, BC; Associate Professor, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia

Break (2:45–3:00 pm)

Session 4: Emergent Epistemologies (3:00–4:00 pm)
Moderator—Jenny Reardon, Assistant Professor, Sociology, Center for Biomolecular Sciences and Engineering, UCSC
Karen Barad, Professor, Feminist Studies, History of Consciousness, and Philosophy, UCSC
Astrid Schrader, Graduate Student, History of Consciousness, UCSC

Wrap-up (4:00–5:00 pm)

Event sponsors
National Science Foundation and these UCSC entities: Science and Justice Working Group Division of Social Sciences Jack Baskin School of Engineering Center for Biomolecular Science & Engineering Sociology Department Philosophy Department Feminist Studies Department Anthropology Department College Nine College Ten Cowell College Center for Global, International & Regional Studies Institute for Humanities Research Center for Cultural Studies Center for Justice, Tolerance & Community

DNA for the rest of us

A diversity-aware viewing and discussion of the national DNA Day webcast. National DNA Day was created for students, teachers, and the public to learn more about genetics and genomics. It commemorates the completion of the Human Genome Project in April 2003 and the discovery of the DNA double helix.

April 25, 2007
2:30–3:30 pm
Bay Tree Conference Room D
UCSC

Introduction:
The value of genetics and diversity   Phoenix Eagleshadow, CBSE outreach coordinator
Webcasts and discussion:
The genome era: what it means to you    Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)
Genomics: toward a healthier you    genetic counselor Barb Biesecker, NHGRI
Unleashing the dog genome    Elaine Ostrander, chief of NHGRI's Cancer Genetics Branch

MORE... about national DNA Day

Sponsored by the Center for Biomolecular Science & Engineering
Supported by the National Human Genome Research Institute

RECOMB 2007: 11th Annual International Conference on Research in Computational Molecular Biology

April 21-25, 2007
Marriott Oakland City Center
Oakland, CA
(near the UC Berkeley campus)

Call for papers: July 1, 2006
Deadline to submit papers: September 30, 2006
Registration opens: December 1, 2006
Notification of paper acceptance: December 10, 2006

http://www.qb3.org/recomb07/index.html

Hosted by the California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research

Thursdays, 12:00–1:45 pm
January 18–March 22
Physical Sciences Building, room 305

VIEW THE SCHEDULE

Nikolas Rose talk—Neuropolitics: susceptibility as a form of life

Science & Justice Lecture Series
Nikolas Rose is the James Martin White Professor of Sociology and Director, BIOS Research Centre for the study of Bioscience, Biomedicine, Biotechnology, and Society at the London School of Economics & Political Science. He has published widely on the social and political history of the human sciences, on the genealogy of subjectivity, on the history of empirical thought in sociology, on changing rationalities and techniques of political power, in law and criminology, and on cities and citizenship. His current research concerns the political, social, and ethical implications of recent developments in the life sciences, notably molecular genetics, neuroscience, and psychopharmacology. His new book is The Politics of Life Itself.

Thursday, March 1, 2007
4:00–6:00 pm
Engineering 2, room 599

Sponsors:
UCSC Science & Justice Working Group
Santa Clara University Center for Science, Technology & Society
UCSC Center for Cultural Studies
UCSC Department of Anthropology
UCSC Departement of Sociology
Center for Biomolecular Science & Engineering

Troy Duster lecture—A post-genomic surprise: the molecular reinscription of race in clinical medicine and forensic science

Nationally-renowned sociologist Troy Duster will speak as part of Crown College’s 40th Anniversary celebration. Duster will be speaking about how developments in emerging DNA technologies are reconstructing race as a category in biology, clinical medicine, and criminal forensics. Despite the fact that the Human Genome Project has recently provided definitive evidence that racial categories have no meaning at the level of DNA, crime scene investigators and drug companies are reconstructing race. What will this mean for Americans in the 21st century?

Thursday, February 22
4:00–5:30 pm
Merrill Cultural Center
Merrill College, UCSC
Free and open to the public

MORE INFORMATION

Critical Friends Series: Jenny Reardon & David Haussler
Science & Justice Working Group

How should scientists label samples and present data involving controversial and contested categories such as race and heritage? How do new insights into human genetic history challenge or support such categories?

Jenny Reardon, assistant professor of sociology at UCSC, studies the new forms of governance emergent with genomic sciences. Her book Race to the Finish critically examines the Human Genome Diversity Project.

David Haussler, professor of biomolecular engineering at UCSC, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, and director of CBSE studies comparative and evolutionary genomics. His group designed and built the program that assembled the first working draft of the human genome sequence and produces the UCSC Genome Browser.

Thursday, February 1, 2007
4:00 pm
Engineering 2, room 599

http://www2.ucsc.edu/scienceandjustice/

UCSC/QB3 Symposium on Bioinformatics: Predicting the structure and function of proteins (Informal post-CASP Workshop)

All bioinformatics researchers and students are welcome to attend this free symposium--a perfect opportunity for the attendees of the CASP7 Conference to stay on the Central Coast an extra couple of days for informal talks at UCSC. Researchers are invited to present any interesting work they have done recently as half-hour talks (25 minutes plus 5 minutes for questions). Ideally, speakers will be talking about something different from any presentation they might give at CASP. By scheduling the symposium after CASP there will be no "scooping" of CASP results.

December 2-3, 2006
Engineering Auditorium
UC Santa Cruz

We won't be arranging hotels, meals, or any of the other things that can complicate running a conference. (It is the off-season for Santa Cruz hotels, so finding a reasonably-priced room should not be hard.) You can also search Google for Santa Cruz hotels.

Prospective speakers: contact Kevin Karplus (karplus@soe.ucsc.edu) with your name and contact info, your title and short abstract, and whether you can talk Saturday, Sunday, or either

More information: http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/research/compbio/workshop-2006.html

Sponsored by the California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research

2006 Santa Cruz Conference on Developmental Biology

A highly interactive small meeting presenting the latest research in a beautiful and intimate setting. The conference emphasizes molecular advances in development and pattern formation. This promises to be a superb course in advanced developmental biology that will help those working with each particular organism keep abreast of exciting new developments in the study of other organisms. This meeting is designed to facilitate collaborations that can lead to rapid research progress. Participants include established investigators, students, and postdoctoral fellows.

August 3-7, 2006
UC Santa Cruz

http://www.fhcrc.org/science/labs/moens/SCDB_conference/index_content.html

Life: A Journey Through Time, Scientific Forum

The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music offers a free scientific forum in conjunction with the world premiere of a photographic–orchestral production featuring the photographic works of Frans Lanting. The scientific forum will engage scholars from UCSC in the field of evolutionary sciences, Frans Lanting, and community members, for a public discussion. The panel discussion will be moderated by David Deamer (biophysicist investigating the origins of life), and includes David Haussler (bioinformatics pioneer, Human Genome Project), Sandra Faber (astronomer, discoverer of “Faber-Jackson relation”), and Jonathan Trent (astrobiologist studying extremophilic bacteria, NASA Ames Research Center). This event offers an extraordinary opportunity to delve deeper into the fascinating discoveries that illuminate our understanding of life on the planet.

MORE... the program was reviewed on National Public Radio
MORE... read the UCSC press release

Monday, July 31, 2006
7:00 pm
Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
Free and open to the public

http://www.cabrillomusic.org/2006/scientific-forum-2006.html

4th Annual CBSE Summer Workshop on Genome Research

For high school students, college undergraduates and graduate students, high school teachers, and community members with a background in science or engineering. This day-long workshop includes scientific sessions on hot new research areas as well as a session on the social impact and science ethics of new discoveries and technologies. The program includes a student panel, tours of computer and biological laboratories, and special interest discussion sections.

July 12, 2006
8:30 am to 4:00 pm
UCSC University Center
Free, but space is limited

Speakers:
Alex Zambon, PhD, Gladstone Institutes, UC San Francisco
“Embryonic stem cells and genomics: a powerful set of tools for discovery and therapy” 

Sally Tobin, PhD, MSW, Center for Biomedical Ethics, Stanford University
“Ethical Dilemmas in delivering the benefits  of genetic and genomic research”

Undergraduate & graduate student panel: Noah Wilson (Computer Engineering), MaryAnn Dassah (MCD Biology), Monica Lares (Chemistry)

RSVP to hold your place in the workshop: Phoenix Eagleshadow at phoenix@soe.ucsc.edu or (831) 459-1702.

Supported by a grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute

7th Annual UC System-Wide Bioengineering Symposium

A stimulating confluence of bioengineering faculty, students, and researchers from the University of California, private industry, and NIH

Tom Bradley International Hall, UCLA
June 24-26, 2006
Reception and on-site registration Saturday evening, followed by two days of plenary talks, podium sessions, and poster sessions.

Speakers: 
Dan Hammer, Chair, Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania
A. Hari Reddi, Professor & Ellison Chair of Orthopedic Research, UC Davis School of Medicine
Cyrus Safinya, Professor of Materials & Physics, UC Santa Barbara
Kenneth M. Yamada, Chief, Craniofacial Developmental Biology and Regeneration Branch National Institutes of Health/NIDCR

5th Annual Robert L Sinsheimer Distinguished Lecture: Irving L. Weissman

Stem Cells: Units in Regeneration, Cancer, & Natural Selection

Irving L. Weissman is Professor of Pathology and Developmental Biology and Director of the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine
Read more
Printable poster

May 11, 2006, 4:30 pm
Media Theater
UC Santa Cruz
This event is open to the public

Click for map

Sponsors:
UCSC Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology Department
California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research (QB3)

QB3 Biomedical Engineering Symposium

Tremendous advances in microfluidics, nanotechnology, and tissue engineering are enabling exciting new opportunities in medical devices, stem cell therapy, and biological research. This symposium will bring together engineers, clinicians, and biologists working at this exciting frontier to promote cross-discipline collaborations. Poster presentations are encouraged.

Saturday, April 22, 2006, 8:45 am–6:30pm
Byers Auditorium, Genentech Hall
UCSF Mission Bay

Please register at http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaID=108495

Speakers:
Jeffrey Bluestone, Professor, Director, Diabetes Center, UCSF
Richard Mathies, Professor of Chemistry, Director, Center for Analytical Biotechnology, UC Berkeley
Arun Majumdar, Professor in Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley
Lydia Sohn, Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley
Luke Lee, Professor of Bioengineering, Director, Biomolecular Nanotechnology Center, UC Berkeley
Daniel Fletcher, Assistant Professor, Department of Bioengineering, UC Berkeley
Kevin Healy, Professor, Departments of Materials Science & Engineering, and Bioengineering, UC Berkeley
Wentai Liu, Professor of Electrical Engineering, Campus Director of NSF-ERC on Biomimetic MicroElectronic Systems (BMES), UCSC
Michael J. Mann, M.D., Assistant Professor in Residence, UCSF
Tejal Desai, Professor Physiology, Director , Laboratory of Therapeutic Micro and Nanotechnology, UCSF
Kimberly P. Cockerham, M.D., FACS Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, UCSF

Forum on stem cell ethics: Laurie Zoloth

Laurie Zoloth is Professor of Medical Ethics and Humanities and of Religion at Northwestern University. She directs the Center for Bioethics, Science, and Society at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Among numerous other affiliations, Professor Zoloth is on the Executive Committee of the International Society for Stem Cell Research and serves as the Chair of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Bioethics Advisory Board.
Read about this event in the Santa Cruz Sentinel

May we make the world? Bioethics, stem cells, and the new biology
Watch a video of this program
Introductions by UCSC professors
Ellen Suckiel, Philosophy
and Manuel Ares Jr. , Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology

April 17, 2006, 4:00 pm
Stevenson College Event Center
UC Santa Cruz
This event is open to the public

Must we always tell the truth? Integrity in science
This talk, aimed at scientists and science students, is a part of the MCD Biology Spring 2006 Seminar Series. Hosted by Manuel Ares Jr. , Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology

April 17, 2006, 12:30 pm
Engineering Auditorium 101
UC Santa Cruz

UC Santa Cruz sponsors:
CIRM Stem Cell Training Program
Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology Department
Stevenson College
Philosophy Department
Center for Biomolecular Science & Engineering
California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research (QB3)

CBSE 2005 Fall Seminar Series in Bioinformatics and Genomics
Biomolecular Engineering 280B, Fall Quarter 2005

This informal weekly seminar series features scientists presenting their research in bioinformatics and genomics. Course instructor David Haussler introduces the speakers.

Thursdays, 12:05–1:45 pm
September 22–December 1
Baskin Engineering 156

VIEW THE SCHEDULE

3rd Annual CBSE Summer Workshop on Genome Research

Free to high school students, college students, and teachers of every level

July 12, 2005
9:00 am to 4:00 pm
UCSC University Center

Sessions include “The Importance of DNA and Genes,” “The Human Genome Project,” the “Ethical, Legal & Social Implications of Genome Research,” a student panel, tours of computer and biological laboratories, and special interest discussion sections on topics such as nanotechnology, the UCSC Genome Browser, microarrays, and opportunities in genome research.

Contact: Phoenix Eagleshadow at phoenix@soe.ucsc.edu or (831) 459-1702.

Supported by a grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute

6th Annual UC System-Wide Bioengineering Symposium

A stimulating confluence of bioengineering faculty, students, and researchers from the University of California, private industry, and NIH
Read about it and view photos from the event

Envisioning the Biomedical Future

UC Santa Cruz
June 25-27, 2005

Reception and on-site registration Saturday evening, followed by two days of plenary talks, podium sessions, and poster sessions.

Speakers: 
Terry Dishongh, Proactive Health Research Team, Intel Corporation
Rick Ellinger, Managing Director, Innovative Growth Partners
Stephen Fodor, CEO and Founder, Affymetrix
David Haussler, Professor of Biomolecular Engineering, UCSC
William Heetderks, Associate Director for Extramural Science Programs, NIBIB
Jim Hollenhorst, VP & Director, Molecular Technology Laboratory, Agilent Laboratories
Roderic Pettigrew, Director, NIBIB
Joseph H. Schulman, President, Alfred Mann Foundation

Special CBSE Seminar: Accurate annotation of non-coding RNAs in practical time

Zasha Weinberg, Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington

Tuesday, May 24, 2005 
2:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Engineering 2 Building, Room 599

To accommodate a disability, please contact Katy Elliott, 459-4366 or katye@soe.ucsc.edu

Abstract
The biological significance of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs)—functional RNA molecules not coding for proteins—has been recognized only very recently. This has come with an explosion in the number and variety of known ncRNAs.  The best way to search a genome sequence database for novel ncRNAs that resemble a given family of evolutionarily related ncRNAs seems to be to use statistical models like covariance models (CMs). CM searches are highly accurate, but are much too slow to be used in practice, as they would take years of computer time.  My work has developed sequence filters to run the CM only on the most promising subsequences. I will describe two techniques. The first technique is a "rigorous filter," which eliminates only sequences that provably would be rejected by the CM. The second technique is a heuristic, which permits faster searches at a small cost to sensitivity. These techniques allow an 8-Gbase genome database to be scanned in days or weeks instead of years. They yield new ncRNAs missed by the ad hoc filters that were necessary for practical CM searches until now. 

I will also discuss my work to apply these techniques to recently discovered ncRNAs. Among other contributions, these homology searches led to the first discovery of a naturally occurring RNA (a glycine-binding riboswitch) that uses cooperative binding.

Joint work with Larry Ruzzo

QB3 Symposium on Cell Membrane Systems and Technology

An intense one-day symposium to explore new research on cell membrane biology.

Saturday, May 7, 2005
8:00 am to 6:30 pm
Genentech Hall Auditorium, UCSF Mission Bay Campus, San Francisco, CA

Registration required: corporate registration $100; academic registration free

http://www.qb3.org/cell_symposium.htm

This symposium will explore the complex biological processes that occur at membranes, such as the sensation of pain or neurotransmission, the novel techniques required to study these processes, and the pharmacological potential and challenges of these targets. This symposium brings together an extraordinary group of researchers from diverse disciplines. It includes talks, three poster sessions, and several social events, including breakfast, lunch, and a closing reception.

Hosted by Jay Groves, Dan Minor, and Douglas Crawford

Speakers: 
Richard Scheller , Executive Vice President of Research, Genentech
Barbara Baird , Professor, Cornell University
Jay T. Groves , Assistant Professor of Chemistry, UC Berkeley
Robert Edwards , Professor of Neurology and Physiology, UCSF
Ehud Isacoff , Professor of Neurobiology, UC Berkeley
James A. Wells , President and CSO, Sunesis Pharmaceuticals
David Julius , Professor of Cellular & Molecular Pharmacology, UCSF
Dan Minor , Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, UCSF
Daniel Fletcher , Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, UC Berkeley
Robert M. Stroud , Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, UCSF
Lily Jan , HHMI Investigator, UCSF
Dirk Trauner , Assistant Professor of Chemistry, UC Berkeley

Call For Posters: the poster voted best by attendees will win an Apple iPod Shuffle. Industry participants who submit posters receive a 50% discount. Please send title and abstract to Douglas.Crawford@ucsf.edu.

Sponsors: Carl Zeiss, Invitrogen, QB3

Special CBSE Seminar: Analyzing vertebrate genomes: from annotation to machine learning

Tim Hubbard, Human Genome Analysis group and Ensembl Project Leader at Sanger Hubbard Research Group, The Sanger Centre, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus

Wednesday, April 20, 2005
3:30 pm to 4:45 pm
Engineering 2 Building, Room 599

Cookies, coffee,  and beverages provided

Abstract
In theory, it should be possible to feed a genome sequence into a computer and have it decode the secrets of life. In practice, we are not even able to reliably work out where the genes are. Indeed, much of the last 5 years has been taken up with building software systems to enable us to handle the quantity of sequences contained in vertebrate genomes.  

With the joint Sanger/EBI Ensembl project (www.ensembl.org), we have addressed this later objective. We have developed one of the most popular database systems for managing, analyzing, and providing access to vertebrate genome sequence data. To address the immediate need of useable gene sets for each organism, we have developed a fully automatic gene annotation pipeline. For the key organisms of human, mouse, and zebra fish, where high quality finished sequence is being generated, we are supplementing automatic annotation with curated gene structures provided by the Havana team (vega.sanger.ac.uk). Since data is most valuable when it is integrated, we provide extensive integration between genomes and other data on our website, as well as easy-to-use tools to allow individuals to view their own data in the context of our genome displays.  

Both Ensembl and Havana annotation relies primarily on experimentally collected transcript data, which is of course incomplete. The gaps might be supplemented by ab initio gene prediction; however, classical algorithms, relying on protein coding propensities, are still inaccurate. We are instead trying to attack the problem of predicting transcription and its regulation through the computational identification of the motifs recognized by the cellular machinery. EponineTSS is an ab initio TSS (transcription start site) predictor (http://www.sanger.ac.uk/Software/analysis/eponine/) with useful accuracy (50% coverage; 70% accuracy on vertebrate sequence from a single organism) that was trained using machine learning algorithms. Recently we have developed NMICA (http://www.sanger.ac.uk/Software/analysis/nmica/, with links to publication in NAR), an ICA-based motif discovery algorithm that gives promising performance and is able to discover large numbers of motifs at the same time. We are hopeful that it will be possible to use NMICA to learn a high enough proportion of the motif types in an entire genome to go on to build models of the grammar of promoters and other organized collections of motifs.

CBSE 2005 Winter Seminar Series in Bioinformatics and Genomics
Biomolecular Engineering 280B, Winter Quarter 2005

A nine-week series featuring researchers from industry and academia covering emerging topics in bioinformatics and genomics

Tuesdays, 2:00-3:30pm
January 11 through March 15
Baskin Engineering 156
coffee, tea, and cookies provided

VIEW THE SCHEDULE

CBSE 2004 Summer Workshop on Human Genome Research

For high school students, college students, and teachers of every level

Monday, July 12, 2004
8:00 am to 5:00 pm
Sinsheimer 123, UC Santa Cruz

Sessions included “The Importance of DNA and Genes,” “The Human Genome Project,” the “Ethical, Legal & Social Implications of Genome Research, ” a grad student Q&A panel, tours of computer and biological laboratories, and special interest discussion sections on topics such as nanotechnology, the UCSC Genome Browser, microarrays, and opportunities in human genome research.

This event was supported by a grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute

Nano and Microtechnology Symposium: Tools for the future of biology and medicine

A full-day symposium with leading researchers to introduce rapidly advancing nanotechnology and microtechnology to life scientists and to foster collaborative efforts between practitioners in the physical and life sciences

April 17, 2004, Genentech Hall, UCSF Mission Bay

MORE... about this event.

Keynote by MRC Greenwood, UC Santa Cruz Chancellor (University of California Provost and Senior VP of Academic Affairs, effective April 2004)

Opening remarks by Gaspar Taroncher-Oldenburg, Associate Editor, Nature Biotechnology
Panel discussion moderated by Vincent Dusastre, Editor, Nature Materials

Speakers include:
Paul Alivisatos, UC Berkeley
Andy Berlin, Intel
Sangeeta Bhatia, UC San Diego
David Deamer, UC Santa Cruz
Peter Gascoyne, MD Anderson
Ann Kopf-Sill, NuGen
Gerald Loeb, University of Southern California
Richard Mathies, UC Berkeley
Dennis Polla, University of Minnesota
Martin Philbert, University of Michigan
Stephen Quake, Caltech

Sponsored by the California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research (QB3) in conjunction with The Nature Publishing Group, UCSF Department of Ophthalmology, UCSC Baskin School of Engineering, and a UC Discovery Grant

	UCSF Dept of Ophthalmology		The Nature Publishing Group

CBSE 2004 Winter Seminar Series in Bioinformatics and Genomics

Jan 15 Lior Pachter (Mathematics, UC Berkeley)
Parametric inference for biological sequence analysis

Jan 22 Bruce Conklin (Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, San Francisco)
Decoding hormonal responses with engineered receptors and genome-wide pathway-oriented analysis

Jan 29 Raymond Samaha (Gene Expression R&D, Applied Biosystems)
An efficient and high-throughput approach for experimental validation of novel human gene predictions

Feb 5 Melissa Cline (Affymetrix, Inc.)
The effects of alternative splicing on transmembrane proteins in the mouse genome

Feb 12 Michael Cherry (Genetics, Stanford University)
Integrating Saccharomyces information

Feb 19 Elliott Margulies (Genome Technology Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute)
Decoding Genomes through Multi-Species Sequence Comparisons

Feb 26 Melissa Jurica (Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, UC Santa Cruz)
Three-dimensional structure of C complex spliceosomes by electron microscopy

March 4 Peter Schattner (Lowe Laboratory, UC Santa Cruz)
A computational screen for pseudouridine-guide snoRNAs in yeast and mammalian genomes

March 11 Andrej Sali (Biopharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, UC San Francisco)
Modeling 3-D structures of proteins and macromolecular assemblies

Challenges in Biological Imaging: from Cells to Molecules

Held at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories on December 12-13, 2003, this symposium brought together world experts from academia and industry to actively discuss the challenges of biological imaging. The symposium featured sessions on light microscopy, x-ray microscopy, molecular electron microscopy, electron tomography, and atomic force microscopy.

DNA microarray course at UCSC

Joe DeRisi held a week-long course on the design, fabrication, and use of DNA microarrays August 10-19, 2003 at UC Santa Cruz. DeRisi, assistant professor of biochemistry and biophysics at UCSF and QB3 investigator, has gained wide attention recently for using his virus chip technology to identify the virus associated with SARS, the acute respiratory illness that rampaged across the globe. Details of the microarray course are posted at http://derisilab.ucsf.edu/QB3/information.htm

UCSC International Workshop on Bayesian Data Analysis

About 100 researchers from a variety of disciplines, including bioinformatics, biostatistics, econometrics, epidemiology, computer science, machine learning, and statistics attended this workshop, held at the UCSC campus August 7-10, 2003.The workshop explored real problems in science and decision-making, formulating them in statistical terms, solving them using Bayesian methods, and then discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the solutions. The discussions explored the interplay between the real-world context and Bayesian model-building, checking, and reformulation.

CBSE 2003 Winter Seminar Series in Bioinformatics and Genomics

MORE… View the schedule and abstracts

CBSE 2002 Winter Seminar Series in Bioinformatics and Genomics

MORE… View the schedule and abstracts