“ Bracteoles in Crataegus systematics” a seminar by Ken Dvorsky
Friday Philosophicals
Instructions for Graduate Students
The Philosophicals:
As part of your degree, you are asked to give seminars on your research (this is the second part of Bio 9100y/9150y: Communications). Giving seminars is a good thing. The idea here is to get feedback from a wide range of people to help you along in your research, and to get you feeling comfortable with public speaking. The environment is friendly, thus this is the perfect place to practice that very important Proposal Assessment talk, or the talk you plan to give at an up-coming conference.
This is a brief outline of what is expected:
MSc and PhD students give one 20 min talk near the beginning of their degree and then another near the end. A ‘before’ and ‘after’, if you will.
We will hold an organizational meeting in early September each year to set the presentation schedule for the following two terms. Owing to the large number of seminars, all dates will likely be filed from September to April. There are no Philosophicals over the summer. Available dates for presenting your seminar begin in September.
When it is your turn to present:
Please send Graham Thompson an e-mail graham.thompson@uwo.ca NO LATER THAN the Monday morning before your talk. Your email should include:
1. Your name
2. Your supervisors name
3. Degree being sought
4. The title of your talk
5. A single-spaced abstract of up to 125 words.
6. One digital photo (SEPARATE from your Abstract file) as jpg files, for posting on the website.
Here is an example of a title and abstract for your seminar.
The identification of genes differentially expressed in sterile and reproductive honey bee workers (Apis mellifera)
A fundamental issue of sociobiology is to understand how social insect females regulate their individual reproduction to maximize inclusive fitness. In general, honey bee (Apis mellifera) workers remain sterile throughout their short lives, while they function as helpers to the queen, who is the sole egg-layer of the colony. The environmental cues controlling this behaviour are understood, but the underlying gene regulatory networks are not. In this study, we have manipulated the pheromonal cues that regulate reproduction and have analyzed the gene expression differences between sterile and reproductive workers using oligonucleotide microarrays. Preliminary analysis shows two distinct sets of co-regulated genes: one set associated with sterility, and a second set associated with egg-laying. I interpret these gene expression patterns in the contect of social theory.
What to do before and after your talk
The room (Kresge 103) has built-in equipment, and is booked from 2:30-3:30. If you are the speaker, you can go in early to get ready.
Follow these steps:
- use the Classroom Management Key to open the console and turn on the computer and projector. The key will be available through Jacqui Griffin in Biology Main Office.
- download your talk onto the desktop and check it is running fine.
- if you have trouble with the computer, don’t panic – a veteran will no doubt show up soon and help you out. Introductions, if any, are informal.
