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Weekly Seminars Archive

Weekly Seminar 2022-2023

2022-2023 Weely Seminar Schedule
DATE	SPEAKER	TITLE	VENUE
7 Oct	Chip Taylor	Geographic variation in monarch butterfly migration success Abstract	Zoom
14 Oct	Glen Uhrig	Plant Chronobiology: A Protein Perspective Abstract	Zoom
21 Oct	Alessandro Filazzola	Old dog, new tricks: Using data science techniques to solve ecological problems Abstract	BGS 0153
28 Oct	Allyson MacLean ecture)	From beneficial symbioses to plant-based vaccines: Adventures in the MacLean lab Abstract	Zoom
31 Oct-5 Nov	STUDY BREAK
11 Nov	Nathan Senner	Determining the Limits of Flexibility to Understand Responses to Environmental Change Abstract	BGS 0153
18 Nov	Heath MacMillan	The impacts of microplastics on crickets, and crickets on microplastics Abstract	BGS 0153
25 Nov	Michelle DiLeo	The importance of intraspecific variation for ecological prediction Abstract	BGS 0153 and ZOOM
2 Dec	Cameron Wagg	The role of above and belowground biodiversity in ecosystem functioning: from concept to application Abstract	BGS 0153 and ZOOM
10 Dec - 2 Jan	EXAM PERIOD/HOLIDAY SEASON BREAK
13 Jan	Mirindi Eric Dusenge	Acclimation of photosynthesis and leaf respiration to warming and elevated CO2 – Results from experimental field studies in boreal and tropical regions Abstract	BGS 0165 and ZOOM
20 Jan	Alisha Shah	Using thermal physiology to explain patterns of biodiversity and response to climate change Abstract	BGS 0165
27 Jan	Christina Davy	Taking a One Health approach to the recovery of endangered bats Abstract	via Zoom
3 Feb	Daniel Cyr	To Be Or Not To Be: The Epididymal Stem Cell Paradox Abstract	Zoom
10 Feb	Isabel Desgagné-Penix	Metabolism of alkaloids in Amaryllidaceae plants Abstract	Zoom
17 Feb	Terry Bell	For better or worse, we can change microbes quickly Abstract	BGS 0165 and Zoom
24 Feb	READING WEEK
3 Mar	Joey Bernhardt	Towards a mechanistic science of global change: from cells to ecosystems and human well-being Abstract	BGS 0165
10 Mar	Patrick Lajoie	Genomic approaches to antifungal resistance in the fungal pathogen Candida albicans Abstract	BGS 0165
17 Mar	Amy Deacon	The Freshwater Biodiversity of Trinidad & Tobago: A Model Species in a Model System Abstract	Zoom
24 Mar	Gonçalo Ferraz	Population density and site-occupancy dynamics of understory birds across an Amazon forest disturbance frontier Abstract	Zoom
31 Mar	Stacy McNulty	A Study of Place: The Role of Long-Term Field Station Data in Land Management, Policy and Science-driven Decisions in the Adirondack Park Abstract	Zoom
7 Apr	GOOD FRIDAY

There are occasions when notable speakers visit the department who are not part of the weekly series. Those seminars will be listed below and will also explore a wide range of topics. All are welcome to attend!

Special Seminar Schedule

DATE

SPEAKER

TITLE or DETAILS

TIME

VENUE

Wed. 3rd May

Pier Morin

Investigating the molecular changes underlying insecticide response in the Colorado potato beetle

Microsoft Teams Meeting

ID: 276 737 214 438
Passcode: AM3ZqL

10:30 am

Microsoft Teams Meeting

Thurs. 19th Jan

Chris Kozakiewicz

Integrating genomics and disease ecology to understand wildlife-pathogen interactions in heterogeneous environments

Abstract

3:30 pm

BGS 2084

Weekly Seminar 2021-2022

Weekly Seminar Schedule 2021-2022
DATE	SPEAKER	TITLE
24 Sept	Curtis Lubbe	Save some for later: carbohydrate storage in herbaceous perennial plants Abstract
1 Oct	David Pfennig	Phenotypic plasticity and the evolutionary origins of novel traits Abstract
8 Oct	Liam McGuire	Neat things we’ve learned about bats and hibernation while studying white-nose syndrome Abstract
15 Oct	Bogumil Karas ecture)	Fantastic microbes and how we use them Abstract
22 Oct	Lauren Buckley	How do montane insects experience and respond to climate change means and extremes? Abstract
29 Oct	Gregory Sutton	High power insects: The biomechanics of jumping and striking Abstract
1-5 Nov	STUDY BREAK
12 Nov	Allison Walker	A Deep Dive into Marine Mycology Abstract
19 Nov	Daphne Goring	Two subgroups of Arabidopsis receptor-like kinases regulate intra- and inter-species pollen-pistil interactions Abstract
26 Nov	Catherine Ivy	High altitude adaptation and control of breathing in deer mice and songbirds Abstract
3 Dec	Kristi Montooth	The Evolutionary Maintenance and Loss of Phenotypic Plasticity in Membranes and Metabolism Abstract
10 Dec - 3 Jan	EXAM PERIOD/HOLIDAY SEASON BREAK
7 Jan CANCELLED	Esther Ngumbi	Untangling microbe-driven and chemical mediated plant and insect interactions Abstract
14 Jan	Ian Scott	GATA4/5/6 family transcription factors are conserved determinants of cardiac versus pharyngeal mesoderm fate Abstract
21 Jan	Peter Burke	Biology meets art: what does it take to prepare a field guide for birds. Abstract
28 Jan	Oana Birceanu	For the love of fish: How changes to aquatic habitats impact fish physiology Abstract
4 Feb	Ilya Shmulevich This special seminar is The 2022 Uchida Lecture	Cancer Patient Digital Twins Abstract
11 Feb	Lydia Finley	Metabolic regulation of cell fate decisions Abstract
18 Feb	Carrie Wu Bio Research	The good, the bad, and the ugly: Exploring invasion genetics of high-risk invasive plants in the US mid-Atlantic with undergrads Abstract
19 Feb	READING WEEK
4 Mar	Rajendhran Rajakumar	Retention and Reactivation of Ancestral Developmental Potentials Abstract
11 Mar	Mehran Dastmalchi	A metabolic shift brought on by a lesion-mimic phenotype Abstract
18 Mar	Takeshi Suzuki	How do mites adapt to their environments? Abstract
25 Mar	Astrid Groot	Evolution of sexual communication through species interactions Abstract
15 Apr	GOOD FRIDAY

Special Seminar Schedule

Special Seminar Schedule 2021-2022
DATE	SPEAKER	TITLE or DETAILS	TIME	VENUE
24 Mar	Brian Branfireun	Helen Battle Research Fellowship Seminar "The genetic basis of mercury methylation" Abstract	3:00-4:00 pm	BGS 0153 and Zoom
1 Apr	Mariam Hayward and Melissa Gordon	Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization for NSERC Discovery Grants	12:30 pm	Western personnel may join on Zoom at 12:20 pm for the 12:30 presentation.

Weekly Seminar 2020-2021

Weekly Seminar Schedule 2020-2021
DATE	SPEAKER	TITLE
18 Sept	Anders Hedenström	Optimal flight and migration strategies in birds: building a paradigm from aerodynamics, wind tunnel experiments to wild tracking Abstract
25 Sept	Kate Parr	Do the little things run the world? Abstract
2 Oct	Tyler Eddy	Oceans & Fisheries in a Changing World Abstract
9 Oct	Graduate student nominated speaker Isabel C Barrio	Herbivores in the tundra: from caribou and caterpillars, to Icelandic sheep Abstract
16 Oct	Special Seminar: The Uchida Lecture Thomas Seyfried ecture)	Cancer as a Mitochondrial Metabolic Disease: Implications for Novel Therapeutics Abstract
23 Oct	Jason Podrabsky	The ecology and underlying physiology of embryonic dormancy in annual killifishes Abstract
30 Oct	William Ja	Feeding, sleep, and microbial interactions affect Drosophila nutrition Abstract
6 Nov	STUDY BREAK
13 Nov	Hiroshi Maeda	Regulation of aromatic amino acid biosynthesis in plants Abstract Please join the ZOOM webinar at https://westernuniversity.zoom.us/j/98296564062 When prompted use the passcode: 136440.
20 Nov	Laura Hug	Surviving and thriving in trash – microbial diversity and function in municipal landfills Abstract
25 Nov	HELEN BATTLE LECTURE Rima Messana Wednesday, 7:00 pm NOTE: Change in time and day
27 Nov	Patrick Collins	Skating on thin ice Abstract
4 Dec	Jon Harrison	Physiological and evolutionary interactions among body size, metabolic rate and oxygen Abstract
11 Dec - 1 Jan	HOLIDAY SEASON BREAK
15 Jan	Neil Shubin	Finding Your Inner Fish: From Expeditions to Enhancers Abstract
22 Jan	Nancy Simmons	Bat Diversity in a Changing World Abstract
29 Jan	Mary Salcedo	What’s inside an insect wing? Structure, flows, and function Abstract
5 Feb	Sarah Otto	Genomic Scope of Adaptive Mutations in the Face of Environmental Challenges Abstract
12 Feb	Britt Wray	Too Hot to Handle: the difficult emotions of living in climate crisis and what coping can look like Abstract
19 Feb	READING WEEK
26 Feb	Patricia Brennan	Sexual conflict and genital evolution in vertebrates Abstract
5 Mar	Kristy Wan	Intracellular control and coordination of motile cilia Abstract
12 Mar	Muriel Grenon	Multiple benefits of the Cell EXPLORERS programme – a STEM public engagement model in Ireland Abstract
19 Mar	(1) Robert Buchkowski (2) Anthony Percival-Smith	(1) Structure and stoichiometry in soil food webs (2) Phenotypic non-specificity of transcription factor function Abstract
26 Mar	(1) David Smith (2) Brent Sinclair	(1) A series of short stories on genome evolution in plants, algae and protists (2) Remember travel? Abstract
2 Apr	GOOD FRIDAY

Weekly Seminar 2019-2020

Sept. 20, 2019 (1) Claryana Araújo-Wang Taiwanese white dolphin: on the brink of extinction
(2) Nasim Amiresmaeli Using thermal biology theory to choose climate-matched biological control agents for an emerging agricultural pest
(3) Erin Brandt Thermal biology and species distributions of jumping spiders across a desert elevational cline

September 27, 2019 Hakeem Lawal What’s Acetylcholine Got to Do With It? Effects of Alterations in the Vesicular Acetylcholine Transporter on Synaptic Activity

October 3, 2019 Priscilla Wehi Biographical Sketch Special Seminar

October 4, 2019 Megan Frederickson The evolution of cooperation between hosts and microbes

October 11, 2019 Brent L. Lockwood Genetic and physiological mechanisms of response to environmental change Graduate Student Invited Speaker

October 18 2019 Roman Krawetz BGRF 2019 Laudenbach Lecture

October 25, 2019 Thomas D. Sharkey Will global climate change affect isoprene emission from plants?

November 1, 2019 Candace Brunette-Debassige Indigenizing the Academy through Teaching and Learning

November 15, 2019 Jonathan Houghton There and back again: ocean wanderers in an ever-changing system

November 22, 2019 Thomas Hurd Divide and conquer: how deleterious mitochondrial DNA is eliminated in the germline

November 29, 2019 Bogumil Karas The End of Life As We Know It: building synthetic genomes for cells and organelles Helen Battle Lecture

December 6, 2019 Joanna Wilson From genome to function: determining the role of cytochrome P450 enzymes in aquatic species

January 17, 2020 Dr. Tugce Balci A Canadian Framework for Unsolved Genetic Diseases: Matchmaking, Care4Rare-SOLVE and RDMM

January 24, 2020 (1) Vojislava Grbic RNAi as reverse genetics tool in two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticaen
(2) Danielle Way North and South: A year in global change biology research

January 31, 2020 Nicolas Corradi The genetics of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi

February 7, 2020 Paloma Gonzalez-Bellido Behavioral strategies and neural adaptations driving visually guided predation in aerial insects

February 14, 2020 Bailey C. McMeans Swim fast and slow, cycle lipids high and low; differential responses of freshwater fish to winter conditions

February 28, 2020 Aashiq H. Kachroo Systematic humanization of yeast biological processes to understand human biology, disease and evolution

March 6, 2020 Martin L. Duennwald Coping with stress and disease – co-chaperones, the unsung heroes of protein quality control

March 13, 2020 Robert Buchkowski Empirical and theoretical insights into the feedbacks between green and brown food chains

Weekly Seminar 2018-2019

September 14, 2018 Daniel A. Hahn From sleeping beauties to macho males: how understanding mechanisms of stress hardiness can impact our understanding of adaptation, speciation, and sexual selection

September 21, 2018 Dean Betts P66Shc and Awe: The role of the stress adaptor protein in early embryo development and pluripotency

September 28, 2018 Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis Gastrulation: cellular differentiation & the loss of pluripotency in vivo in embryos and in vitro in gastruloids The Uchida Lecture

October 5, 2018 Rafael Otfinowski Integrating plants, roots, and soil nematodes to restore northern prairie ecosystems Graduate Student Invited Speaker

October 26, 2018 Alistair Rogers From the Arctic to the tropics, improving the representation of photosynthesis in Earth system models

November 2, 2018 Arthur E. Weis When to Do It: selection on phenology through the general, social and internal environments

November 9, 2018 Rick Simpson The evolution of complex courtship traits: covariation and interactions between hummingbird displays, plumage, and color appearance

November 16, 2018 John Stinchcombe Adaptation and constraint in introduced plant species

November 26, 2018 Sapna Sharma On thin ice: Are lakes feeling the heat?

November 30, 2018 Barb Katzenback Amphibian skin innate immunity: Newly generated Xenopus laevis skin epithelial cell lines and their role in sensing viral infections

December 7, 2018 Emilie Widemann, Julien Le Roy and Sameer Dixit Spider mite: from biology to adaptation

January 11, 2019 Stephanie J DeWitte-Orr Double stranded RNA: an understudied nucleic acid with a big punch

January 18, 2019 Elizabeth Weretilnyk Coping with low phosphate: Lessons from the extremophyte Eutrema salsugineum

January 25, 2019 Fred Dick and Greg Kelly New applications of CRISPR-Cas9 genetic engineering for the study of vertebrate development and disease

February 1, 2019 Megan E. Meuti Uncovering the Molecular Regulators of Seasonal Responses in Mosquitoes

February 8, 2019 Angela B. Lange Integrative control of feeding and reproduction in the Chagas disease vector, Rhodnius prolixus

February 15, 2019 Amanda Roe Functional ecology of spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) and the importance of intraspecific variation

March 1, 2019 (1) Alex S. Torson Transcriptomic and metabolomic changes in overwintering Asian longhorned beetles
(2) Sara Lupi Role of the gut-hormone ghrelin in the control of avian migratory behavior
(3) Meghan Duell Emerald ash borer thermal tolerance in established and new invasive populations

March 8, 2019 (1) Chris Guglielmo Using isotopic analysis of breath H₂O and CO₂ to measure energy expenditure and fuel use of migratory birds
(2) Hugh Henry Reduced precipitation = drier or colder? A multi-site perspective

March 15, 2019 Dinesh Christendat Protein engineering approaches to study the Evolution and Diversity of enzymes in Specialized Metabolism

March 22, 2019 Amanda E. Bates Thermal Safety, Environmental Variability and Biodiversity Change Graduate Student Invited Speaker

March 22, 2019 Helen Petropoulos Helen Battle Lecture

March 29, 2019 John P. Wiebe New Approach To Breast Cancer: etiology, detection, intervention, treatment

April 3, 2019 Joe Bowden Climate change impacts in the north with a focus on terrestrial arthropods Special Biology Seminar

April 5, 2019 Julien Muffat Humanized Models Of Microglial Development Shed Light On Viral Teratogenicity And Neurodegenerative Processes

April 12, 2019 Zoë Lindo Can beach debris reveal long distance dispersal events for Oribatid mites on Haida Gwaii?