Distinguished Scientists Seminars

The Distinguished Scientists Seminar (DSS) program comprises invited talks by leading scientists from outside institutions. Speakers are selected to complement the Graduate Training Program in the College of Medicine and cover a wide range of cutting-edge biomedical research. Seminars are held monthly during the fall and spring semesters. One seminar per semester is
reserved for the Charles M. Baugh Lecture featuring a nationally/ internationally recognized scientist.

Nominations for seminar speakers should be forwarded to departmental representatives on the DSS Committee. If the speaker is approved, the DSS representative notifies the faculty nominator that the speaker has been approved, gives them a list of available dates, and the
faculty member then invites the speaker.

Fall 2024 Distinguished Scientists Seminar Schedule

Date/Time	Speaker	Host and Department	Location
August 29, 2024, at 4 p.m.	Andrey Grigoriev, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Biology, Rutgers-Camden, The State University of New Jersey “Surprises of ribosomal RNA”	Glen Borchert, Ph.D. Pharmacology	Medical Sciences Building, 1st Floor Auditorium
September 12, 2024, at 2 p.m.	Eric Schmidt, M.D. Chief, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital; Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, University of Colorado School of Medicine Charles M. Baugh Lecture begins at 2:00 p.m. “The Endothelial Glycocalyx During Health and Critical Illness”*	Troy Stevens, Ph.D. Physiology & Cell Biology	Medical Sciences Building, 1st Floor Auditorium
September 26, 2024, at 4 p.m.	Swapnil Sonkusare , Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia School of Medicine "Calcium signaling nanodomains in systemic and pulmonary vasculature”	Mark Taylor, Ph.D. Physiology & Cell Biology	Medical Sciences Building, 1st Floor Auditorium
October 10, 2024, at 4 p.m.	Jay Kolls, M.D. John W. Deming Endowed Chair in Internal Medicine; Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, Tulane University School of Medicine *"Th17 Cells and Mucosal Immunity”*	Robert Barrington, Ph.D. Microbiology & Immunology	Medical Sciences Building, 1st Floor Auditorium
October 24, 2024, at 4 p.m.	Joel Andrews, PhD Manager, BioImaging Core Facility, USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute, Whiddon College of Medicine *"Light Sheet and Beyond: Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy in the Bioimaging Core Facilities"*	Office of the Associate Dean for Research	Medical Sciences Building, 1st Floor Auditorium
November 7, 2024, at 4 p.m.	Brandt Eichman, Ph.D. William R. Kenan, Jr. Chair, Professor and Chair, Department of Biological Sciences; Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University College of Arts & Science "DNA repair mechanisms involved in bacterial resistance to genotoxic natural products”	Aishwarya Prakash, Ph.D. Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Medical Sciences Building, 1st Floor Auditorium
November 14, 2024, at 4 p.m.	John P. Wise, Sr., Ph.D. Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Louisville, School of Medicine "It’s a Whale of a Tale: How Metals Induce Chromosome Instability to Drive Lung Carcinogenesis in Human Lung Cells Considered through the Prism of One Environmental Health”	Richard Honkanen, Ph.D. Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Medical Sciences Building, 1st Floor Auditorium
December 5, 2024, at 4 p.m.	Lorena Saelices Gomez, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Center for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases- Biophysics, O’Donnell Brain Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center	Luis del Pozo-Yauner, Ph.D. Pathology	Medical Sciences Building, 1st Floor Auditorium

DSS Committee

Meghan Hermance, Ph.D.
Committee Chair
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
mhermance@smcun.com

Amy Nelson, Ph.D.
Department of Physiology & Cell Biology
arnelson@smcun.com

Brian Fouty, M.D.
USA Health Physician Enterprise
bfouty@health.smcun.com

Glen Borchert, Ph.D.
Department of Pharmacology
borchert@smcun.com

Simon Grelet, Ph.D.
Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
sgrelet@smcun.com

Debanjan Chakroborty, Ph.D.
Mitchell Cancer Institute
dchakroborty@smcun.com

Amber Bokhari, M.D.
USA Health Physician Enterprise
abokhari@health.smcun.com