Genetics Symposiums Archive

Since 2005, the UF Genetics Institute has hosted the Florida Genetics Symposium- a multi-day event attracting genetics and genomics researchers, students, and industries from across Florida. Speakers from around the world present and discuss up-and-coming genetics and genomics topics, organized into various sessions. In addition, approximately 100 students and faculty participate in presenting research and findings during adjudicated student poster presentation sessions.

Click here for a downloadable pdf of past symposium agendas.

FGS 2019

Program and Abstract Book (link not found) of the Fifteenth Annual Symposium of the University of Florida Genetics Institute, November 4-5, 2019. Webpage archive and award winners.

Keynote Speaker: Robert B. Darnell, MD, PhD
Robert And Harriet Heilbrunn Professor Investigator, The Rockefeller University, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Senior Attending Physician
“RNA Genomics in Health and Disease”

1. Samantha Morris, Washington University in St. Louis, “Single-cell recording of linage and transcriptional regulation in direct reprogramming”
2. Sixue Chen, PhD, University of Florida, “Single cell-type proteomics and metabolomics: new insights into guard ell immunity and CO2 responses”
3. Alicia Oshlack, MCRI-Australia, “Single-cells, transcriptomes and organoids: How bioinformatics unlocks the power of genomic technologies”
4. Eric Wang, University of Florida, “Cell type specific RNA regulation in Neurological Disease”
5. Susannah Tringe, Joint Genome Institute, “Genomics drivers of soil and plant microbiomes”
6. Ulrich Stingl, University of Florida, “aquatic microbial communities in the Everglades; First Responders to environmental change”
7. Jin Xu, University of Florida, “The Structure and function of the global citrus rhizosphere microbiome”
8. Jonine Bernstein, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, “The genetic epidemiology of contralateral breast cancer: results from the WECARE Study”
9. Zhonglin Mou, University of Florida, “Using genetics to dissect the plant immune system”
10. Luc De Meester, KU-Leuven- Belgium, “Rapid evolution and gene-environment interactions: implications for the species distribution, traits, and genes in landscapes”
11. Hua Yan, University of Florida, “ Ants as a model to study neural development and longevity”

FGS 2018

Program and Abstract Book (link not found) of the Fourteenth Annual Symposium of the University of Florida Genetics Institute, October 31- November 1, 2018. Webpage archive and award winners.

Keynote Speaker: Peter Palese, PhD
Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology, Mount Sinai
“Towards a Universal Influenza Virus Vaccine”

1. Svetlana Folimonova, University of Florida, “Viral selfishness: understanding superinfection exclusion by an RNA virus”
2. Valery Grdzelishvili, The University of North Carolina, “Host factors determining permissiveness of pancreatic cancer cells to oncolytic vesicular stomatitis virus”
3. Stephanie Karst, University of Florida, “The Influence of the Intestinal Microbiota on Norovirus Pathogenesis”
4. Aldon Lusis, University of California Los Angeles, “Gene-by-sex interactions in mitochondrial functions and cardio-metabolic traits”
5. Lauren McIntyre, University of Florida, “Sex specific regulation of gene expression in D. melanogaster and D. simulans”
6. Eduardo Vallejos, University of Florida, “Development of Dynamic Gene-Based Models to Predict Plant Phenotypes Under Varying Environments”
7. Eileen Dolan, The University of Chicago, “Personalizing Cancer Survivorship: Is there a Role for Genomics?”
8. Ana I. Caño-Delgado, Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) CSICIRTA-UAB-UB, Barcelona 08193, Spain, “Evolutionary origin of steroid signaling in plants”
9. Fred Gmitter, University of Florida, “Seeing Through the Mists of Time: Genome Sequencing Reveals the Origins and Evolutionary Pathways of Contemporary Citrus Fruits”
10. Charlie Baer, University of Florida, “Mutation as a lens on natural selection in C. elegans“
11. Brant Faircloth, Louisiana State University, “Enriching Our Way Towards An Understanding Vertebrate Regulatory Region Evolution”

FGS 2017

Program and Abstract Book (link not found) of the Thirteenth Annual Symposium of the University of Florida Genetics Institute, October 25-26, 2017. Webpage archive.

Keynote Speaker: Adrian R. Krainer, PhD
Professor of Molecular Genetics and Program Chair of Cancer & Molecular Biology “Nusinersen (SpinrazaTM): The First FDA-Approved Treatment for SMA”

1. Stephen S. Rich, University of Virginia, A Multi-ethnic, Multi-omics Approach to Cardiovascular Disease
2. Zachary B. Lippman, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, The Miracle of Genome Editing in Plants has Arrived. Now What?
3. Julie A. Johnson, University of Florida, Advancing patient care through genetically-guided drug therapy: The UF Health Personalized Medicine Program
4. Adrian R. Krainer, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Nusinersen (SpinrazaTM): The First FDA-Approved Treatment for SMA
5. Steven P. Briggs, University of California San Diego, Definition of the expressome by DNA methylation patterns
6. Nancy D. Denslow, University of Florida, Proteogenomics – Proteomics responses to sex hormones in a non-model species
7. Laura P.W. Ranum, University of Florida, Repeat associated non-ATG translation: new starts and directions in neurodegenerative disease
8. Karin D. Rodland, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory USA, Proteogenomic Analysis of Ovarian Cancer in the Context of Clinical Outcome
9. Colleen J. Doherty, North Carolina State University, Plants in the Fourth Dimension: The Interaction Between Time and Temperature Responses
10. Derek Cummings, University of Florida, Deep sequencing of influenza viruses reveals infections with multiple distinct lineages
11. Brent C. Christner, University of Florida, The Earth’s Cryoecosphere and Search for Life on Ocean Worlds
12. Andrew Whitehead, University of California, Davis, Evolution in the Anthropocene – the Genetic Basis of Rapid and Repeated Adaptation to Environmental Pollution in Fish from Urban Estuaries

FGS 2016

Program and Abstract Book (link not found) of the Twelfth Annual Symposium of the University of Florida Genetics Institute, November 30th- December 1st, 2016

Keynote Speaker:

Speakers included:
1. Dana Carroll, University of Utah, Genome Editing with Programmable Nucleases
2. Nian Wang, University of Florida, Genome Editing in Citrus for Disease-Resistant Varieties
3. Edgar Rodriguez, University of Florida, AAV-Based Genome Targeting: New Approaches to the Study of CNS Function and Therapy
4. Eric Alm, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ecology of the Human Microbiome in Health and Disease
5. Christian Jobin, University of Florida, Microbial Genomics Illuminates Mechanisms Leading to Carcinogenesis
6. Jiri Hulcr, University of Florida, The Ambrosia Symbiosis: Fungi, Insects, Trees and People
7. Rytas Vilgalys, Duke University, Plant-Fungal Interactions: Communication and Coevolution Between Forest Trees and Their Symbiotic Fungi
8. Jef Boeke, New York University, How to Synthesize a Genome
9. Yousong Ding, University of Florida, Developing Bio-Systems to Produce Fine Chemicals
10. Steve Benner, The Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, Lessons and Applications of Synthetic Genetic Systems
11. June Medford, Colorado State University, Predictable and Controllable Genetic Circuits in Plants with Synthetic Biology

FGS 2015

Program and Abstract Book of the Eleventh Annual Symposium of the University of Florida Genetics Institute, November 18-19, 2015

Keynote Speaker: Ian T. Baldwin, PhD
Founder and Director, Department of Molecular Ecology
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology
“Microbes Play a Central Role in a Plant’s Solution’s to Ecological Problems”

Speakers included:
1. Fatma Kaplan, Ph.D., University of Florida, Chemical Signaling in Nematodes and Practical Applications
2. Hendrick Luesch, Ph.D., College of Pharmacy/University of Florida, Functional Genomic and Chemical-Genetic Screening Platforms for Drug and Target Discovery
3. Ian Baldwin, Ph.D., Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Microbes Play a Central Role in a Plant’s Solutions to Ecological Problems
4. Rolf Renne, Ph.D., University of Florida, Long and Short Non-Coding RNAs in Kaposi’s Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Biology
5. Suming Huang, Ph.D., Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology/University of Florida, The Role of lincRNA in Early Embryonic Development and Leukemogenesis
6. Maury Swanson, M.S., Ph.D., Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology/University of Florida, Unstable Genomes and RNA-Medicated Disease
7. Dan Graur, Ph.D., University of Houston, The Human Genome: The Imperfection of Evolution and the Evolution of Imperfection
8. Ehab Abouheif, M.S., Ph.D., McGill University, What Supersoldier Ants Teach Us About Development and Evolution
9. Dan Hahn, Ph.D., Department of Entomology and Nematology/University of Florida, Constraints, Independence and Evolution of Thermal Plasticity: Probing the Genetic and Cellular Architecture of Thermal Responses
10. Anna-Lisa Paul, M.S., Ph.D., Horticultural Department/University of Florida, Adjusting to a Novel Environment – Plant Remodeling in Spaceflight
11. Ian Ehrenreich, Ph.D., University of Southern California, Complex Genetic Interactions Determine a Trait’s Environmental Robustness

FGS 2014

Program and Abstract Book (File not found) of the Tenth Annual Symposium of the University of Florida Genetics Institute, October 29-30

Keynote speaker: Roger N. Beachy, PhD
Founding Executive Director, World Food Center
“Increasing the odds that science and technology will impact food and nutrition security”

Speakers included:
1. Thomas Mitchell-Olds, Ph.D., Duke University, Dissecting Constraints on Complex Trait Expression across Environments
2. William Petri, Ph.D., University of Virginia, The Genetics Malnutrition and its Impact on Child Development and Vaccination
3. Roger N. Beachy, Ph.D., Founding Director of The World Food Center at UC Davis, Increasing the Odds that Science and Technology will Impact Food and Nutrition Security
4. Elaine Ostrander, Ph.D., National Genome Research Institute, Genetics of Complex Traits in the Domestic Dog
5. Samantha Brooks, Ph.D., University of Florida, Galloping into the Future: Genomics in Equine Research
6. Eve Wurtele, Ph.D., Iowa State University, Orphan Genes of Plants
7. Brad Barbazuk, Ph.D., University of Florida, The Amborella Genome Sequence: A Reference for the Evolution of Flowering Plants
8. Cameron Currie, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison, Ants, Agriculture and Antibiotics
9. Graciela Lorca, Ph.D., University of Florida, Lactobacillus Johnsonii N6.2-Mediated Mechanism in Mitigation of Type 1 Diabetes Onset
10. Joerg Graf, Ph.D., University of Connecticut, Metagenomic and Metatranscriptomic Analysis of the Medicinal Leech Gut Microbiota
11. Gary Wang, M.D., Ph.D., University of Florida, Alterations in Gut Microbiome in Clostridium Difficile Infection

FGS 2013

Program and Abstract Book of the Ninth Annual Symposium of the University of Florida Genetics Institute, October 9-10, 2013

Keynote Speaker: William E. Evans, PharmD
Director and CEO, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
“Genomic medicine: Using genome variation to individualize cancer treatment”

Speakers included:
1. Alfred S. Lewin, Ph.D., Professor, Molecular Genetics & Microbiology/University of Florida, Gene Therapy for Autosomal Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa
2. Gary F. Peter, Ph.D., Professor, Forest Resources & Conservation/University of Florida, Conifer Terpenes: Manipulating an Ancient Plant Defense Pathway for Production of Renewable Chemicals
3. William E. Evans, Pharm.D., Director and CEO/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Genomic Medicine: Using Genome Variation to Individualize Cancer Treatment
4. Michael Lynch, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Biology/Indiana University, Mutation, Drift, and the Origin of Subcellular Features
5. Michael M. Miyamoto, Ph.D., Professor, Biology/University of Florida, Scrombroid Fishes Provide Novel Insights into the Trait/Rate Associations of Molecular Evolution
6. Günter P. Wagner, Ph.D., Alison Richard Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology/Yale University, Genetics and Genomics of Cell Type Evolution: The Human Decidual Cell
7. Stuart F. McDaniel, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Biology/University of Florida, The Genetics of Sterility in Populations of Certodon Purpureus
8. Gerard Karsenty, M.D., Ph.D., Professor & Chair, Department of Genetics & Development/Columbia University Medical Center, The Contribution of Bone to Whole Organism Physiology
9. Arthur S. Edison, Ph.D., Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology/University of Florida, New Approaches in Metabolomics
10. Clint Chapple, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, Department of Biochemistry/Purdue University, Genetic Analysis of Phenylpropanoid Metabolism in Arabidopsis
11. Sixue Chen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Biology/University of Florida, Functional Genomics Plant Glucosinolate Metabolic Networks

FGS 2012

Program and Abstract Book of the Eighth Annual Symposium of the University of Florida Genetics Institute, November 28-29, 2012

Keynote Speaker: David Baltimore
1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Robert A. Millikan Professor of Biology, California Institute of Technology
“AAV to the rescue”

Speakers included:
1. Nick Muzyczka, Ph.D., Molecular Genetics and Microbiology/University of Florida, Gene therapy, 1974-2012: Are we there yet?
2. Mavis Agbandje-McKenna, Ph.D., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology/University of Florida, Tackling AAV gene delivery challenges with structural virology
3. Terry Flotte, M.D., School of Medicine/University of Massachusetts, Developing gene therapy for genetic emphysema: From idea to phase 2 clinical trials
4. Jude Samulski, Ph.D., Gene Therapy Center/University of North Carolina, Hairpins to helper virus and the impact on AAV vectors
5. Michael Linden, Ph.D., Gene Therapy Consortium/University of College London, Department of Infectious Diseases/King’s College London School of Medicine, Site-specific integration by AAV: Back to the future
6. David Baltimore, Ph.D., 1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine/California Institute of Technology, AAV to the rescue
7. Michael Skinner, Ph.D., Biological Sciences/Washington State University, Environmentally induced epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of reproductive phenotypes and disease: Ancestral ghosts in your genome
8. James Resnick, Ph.D., Molecular Genetics and Microbiology/University of Florida, Imprinting mechanisms underlying Prader-Willi and Angelman syndromes
9. Karen McGinnis, Ph.D., Biological Science/Florida State University, Epigenetic gene regulation and phenotype in maize
10. Connie Mulligan, Ph.D., Anthropology/University of Florida, Epigenetic alterations and stress among new mothers and infants in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo
11. Steve Strauss, Ph.D., Forest Ecosystems and Society/Oregon State University, Transgenic forests: A funny thing happened on the way to the revolution
12. Curt Hannah, Ph.D., Horticultural Sciences/University of Florida, ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase: From bacterial selection to yield in the field
13. Harry Klee, Ph.D., Horticultural Sciences/University of Florida, The chemistry and genetics of tomato flavor

FGS 2011

Program and Abstract Book of the Seventh Annual Symposium of the University of Florida Genetics Institute, November 9-10, 2011

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Carol W. Greider
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
“Telomeres in Cancer and Stem Cell Failure”

Speakers included:
1. Neal Fan-Nan Lue, M.D., Ph.D., Microbiology and Immunology/Weill Cornell Medical College, The mechanisms and evolution of the telomere and telomerase complexes in budding yeast
2. Malcolm Maden, Ph.D., Biology/University of Florida, Will extending amphibian limbs lead to extending mammalian life?
3. Carol Greider, Ph.D., Molecular Biology and Genetics/Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Telomeres in cancer and stem cell failure
4. David Goldstein, Ph.D., Center for Human Genome Variation/Duke University Medical School, Sequencing and the genetics of disease
5. Mark Brantly, M.D., Medicine/University of Florida, The molecular basis of alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency
6. Reginald Frye, Pharm.D., Ph.D., Pharmacotherapy and Translational Research/University of Florida, Pharmacogenomic biomarkers and personalized medicine: focus on cytochrome P450 enzymes
7. Julie Johnson, Pharm.D., Pharmacotherapy and Translational Research/University of Florida, Translating genetics research to improve patient care
8. Andrew Bent, Ph.D., Plant Pathology/University of Wisconsin, The molecular back-and-forth of co-adapted plant/bacteriai pathogen interactions
9. Erica Goss, Ph.D., Plant Pathology and Emerging Pathogens Institute/University of Florida, Plant-pathogen coevolution gone awry: pathogen emergence in the age of globalization
10. Jeff Jones, Ph.D., Plant Pathology/University of Florida, A possible strategy for citrus canker control using a bacterial-derived transgene that triggers programmed cell death

FGS 2010

Program and Abstract Book of the Sixth Annual Symposium of the University of Florida Genetics Institute, October 27-28, 2010

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Thomas Caskey
The University of Texas, Health Science Center at Houston
“Schizophrenia Gene Discovery by Complete Genome Sequencing of Families”

Speakers included:
1. Folker Meyer, Ph.D., Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology/Argonne National Laboratory, Reversing the paradigm – the complete genome sequence for Candidatus Sulfuricurvum sp. derived from a complex short-read metagenome enables characterization of this novel proteobacterium
2. Eric Triplett, Ph.D., Microbiology and Cell Science/University of Florida, Defining the autoimmune microbiome for type 1 diabetes
3. Tom Caskey, M.D., F.A.C.P., Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases, Schizophrenia gene discovery by complete genome sequencing of families
4. Marshall Bloom, M.D., Rocky Mountain Labs/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Pathogenesis of tick-born flavivirus infections: probing the pathogen-vector-host interface
5. Jorge Giron, Ph.D., Molecular Genetics and Microbiology/University of Florida, Hide-n-sick strategies of a human pathogen to colonize animal and plant cells
6. David Rasko, Ph.D., Institute for Genome Sciences/University of Maryland, Genomic and transcriptomic characterization of E. coli/Sigella: novel insights into established pathogens
7. Marco Salemi, Ph.D., Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine/University of Florida, On the temporal structure of longitudinal sample genealogies: from fast-evolving viruses to ancient DNA
8. Christine D. Chase, Ph.D., Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology/University of Florida, Cytoplasmic male sterility: window to mitochondrial-nuclear interactions in plants
9. Richard Amasino, Ph.D., Department of Biochemistry/University of Wisconsin, Madison, Vernalization: an environmentally induced epigenetic switch for flowering
10. Bernard Hauser, Ph.D., Department of Biology/University of Florida, Reactive oxygen scavengers regulate reproductive traits in Arabidopsis
11. Donald McCarty, Ph.D., Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology/University of Florida, Structure and evolution of the B3 transcription factor network controlling the transition between the seed and vegetative phases of the plant life cycle

FGS 2009

Program and Abstract Book of the Fifth Annual Symposium of the University of Florida Genetics Institute, October 28-29, 2009

Speakers included:
1. Terry Van Dyke, Ph.D., Genetics/University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Mechanistic discovery in murine cancer models: From basic discovery to clinical translation
2. Rolf Renne, Ph.D., Molecular Genetics and Microbiology/University of Florida, KSHV-encoded miRNAs and their role in viral biology
3. Leroy Hood, M.D., Ph.D., Institute for Systems Biology, Systems biology and systems medicine: Catalyzing a transformation from reactive to proactive medicine
4. Michael Levine, Ph.D., Genetics, Genomics and Development/University of California, Berkeley, Transcriptional precision in the Drosophila embryo
5. Lei Zhou, Ph.D., Molecular Genetics and Microbiology/University of Florida, Epigenetic regulation controls cellular sensitivity to stress induced apoptosis
6. Anna Di Rienzo, Ph.D., Human Genetics/University of Chicago, Adaptations to local environments in humans
7. David L. Reed, Ph.D., Mammalogy, Florida Museum of Natural History/University of Florida, Of lice and men: The inference of human evolutionary history from the perspective of its host-specific parasites
8. Pamela S. Soltis, Ph.D., Molecular Systematics and Evolutionary Genetics, Florida Museum of Natural History/University of Florida, Whole-genome duplication in plant evolution: Case studies of ancient events and recent speciation
9. W. Brad Barabazuk, Ph.D., Biology/University of Florida, A conserved alternative splicing event in plants reveals an ancient exonization of 5sRNA
10. John Doebley, Ph.D., Genetics/University of Wisconsin, Madison, Evolution under domestication: Examples from maize and other crops
11. Karen E. Koch, Ph.D., Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology/University of Florida, Maize domestication: Metabolic adaptations in grain evolution

FGS 2008

Program and Abstract Book of the Fourth Annual Symposium of the University of Florida Genetics Institute, October 29-30, 2008

Speakers included:
1. John M. Coffin, Ph.D., Molecular Biology & Microbiology/Tufts University, Co-evolution of retroviruses and their hosts
2. William W. Hauswirth, Ph.D., Ophthalmology & Molecular Genetics, Gene therapy restores light sensitivity to leber congenital amaurosis patients
3. Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., National Human Genome Research Institute/National Institutes of Health, Genetics, medicine, and society
4. Trudy F.C. Mackay, Ph.D., Genetics/North Carolina State University, The genetic architecture of quantitative traits: lessons from Drosophila
5. Charles F. Baer, Ph.D., Botany & Zoology, The effects of spontaneous mutations on phenotypic canalization in Caenorhabditis
6. Lauren M. McIntyre, Ph.D., Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, Modeling allele-specific expression
7. David Lipman, Ph.D., National Center for Biotechnology Information/National Library of Medicine/National Institutes of Health, Unexpected universals of protein evolution
8. Joseph R. Ecker, Ph.D., Plant Biology Laboratory/Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Sequencing 1,001 Arabidopsis genomes for functional and evolutionary studies
9. A. Mark Settles, Ph.D., Horticultural Sciences, Phenomics meets genomics: exploring maize seed development with high throughput technologies
10. Kevin M. Folta, Ph.D., Horticultural Sciences, Structural and functional genomics of strawberry: a gateway to the Rosaceae

FGS 2007

Program and Abstract Book of the Third Annual Symposium of the University of Florida Genetics Institute, November 7-8, 2007

Speakers included:
1. Michael Snyder, Ph.D., Director/Yale Center for Genomics and Proteomics, Analyze this and that: Genomes and proteomes
2. Martin Cohn, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Zoology/University of Florida, Molecular Development of the external genitalia
3. Vicki Rosen, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Developmental Biology/Harvard School of Dental Medicine, BMPs link skeletal development and bone regeneration
4. Brian Harfe, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology/University of Florida, Patterning a vertebrate embryo
5. Elizabeth Kellogg, Ph.D., E. Desmond Lee and Family Professor of Botanical Studies, Department of Biology/University of Missouri–St.Louis, Genes and morphology in diversification of the cereals and their relatives
6. Matias Kirst, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Forest Resources and Conservation/University of Florida, Evolution of gene expression in flowering plants
7. David Oppenheimer, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Botany/University of Florida, RAPs: Novel regulators of actin organization in land plants
8. Thomas G. Whitham, Ph.D., Regents’ Professor of Biology, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Director, Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research/Northern Arizona University, The genetic components of community structure and ecosystem processes, and their conservation implications
9. Henry Harpending, M.D., Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, Department of Anthropology/University of Utah, Humans are evolving rapidly and the rate is accelerating
10. Connie Mulligan, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology/University of Florida, Reconstructing human migrations: Projects from the Americas and from Africa
11. Marta Wayne, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Zoology, Director of the Graduate Program in Genetics and Genomics/University of Florida, Genetical genomics and the X chromosome

FGS 2006

Program and Abstract Book of the Second Annual Symposium of the University of Florida Genetics Institute, November 1-2, 2006

Speakers included:
1. Thomas J. Kelly, M.D., Ph.D., Sloan-Kettering Institute, DNA replication and cell cycle checkpoints
2. Jeffrey D. Palmer, Ph.D, Indiana University, Plant mitochondrial genomes: unexpected bounties of lateral gene transfer
3. Steven A. Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., University of Rochester, Isolation, induction and use of stem and progenitor cells of the adult brain
4. Dennis A. Steindler, Ph.D., University of Florida, Embryonic, adult and cancer stem cells in vitro and in vivo
5. John M. Davis, Ph.D., University of Florida, Genetic analysis of adaptive traits in forest trees
6. Michael S. Waterman, Ph.D., University of Southern California, Whole genome optical mapping
7. Julie A. Johnson, Pharm.D., University of Florida, Pharmacogenomics
8. Gerald F. Joyce, M.D., Ph.D., The Scripps Research Institute, Genetics in vitro: synthesizing the RNA world
9. Douglas E. Soltis, Ph.D., University of Florida, Darwin’s abominable mystery: developmental genetic/genomic insights into angiosperm evolution
10. Sean M. Sullivan, Ph.D., University of Florida, Development of tumor vasculature targeted nanoplexes for treatment of malignant brain cancer

FGS 2005

Program and Abstract Book of the First Annual Symposium of the University of Florida Genetics Institute, November 30- December 1, 2005.

Speakers included:
1. Gary Felsenfeld, Ph.D., Chief Physical Chemistry Section and Laboratory of Molecular Biology, NIDDK, National Institutes of Health Chromatin boundaries and the regulation of gene expression
2. Eric J. Richards, Ph.D., Professor Department of Biology, Washington University Epigenetic variation and inheritance
3. Karolin Luger, Ph.D., Associate Professor Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Structure and dynamics of nucleosomes and nucleosome assembly factors
4. Robert A. Waterland, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine Early nutrition and your epigenomes
5. Keith D. Robertson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Florida Novel targets of DNA methylation in brain tumors
6. Rongling Wu, Ph.D., Associate Professor Department of Statistics, University of Florida Statistical models for mapping imprinted quantitative trait loci
7. Jorg Bungert, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Florida Regulation of the β-globin gene locus during development and differentiation
8. David C. Bloom, Ph.D., Associate Professor Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida Role of epigenetics and chromatin insulators in regulating Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 latent gene expression
9. Thomas P. Yang, Ph.D., Professor Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Florida Regulation of imprinted gene expression in the Angelman/Prader-Willi syndrome region
10. Karen Moore, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Department of Animal Sciences, University of Florida Altering chromatin remodeling in cloned bovine embryos
11. Jianrong Lu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Florida Regulation of E2F by chromatin factors with tumor suppressor activity
12. Naohiro Terada, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida DNA methylation in pluripotent embryonic stem cells

X