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Graduate Symposium Fall 2024

Monday, August 19 and Tuesday, August 20



Day 1 - August 19 Schedule: Malachowsky Hall NVIDIA Auditorium (Room 1000)

8:30am — Check-in and breakfast

 

9:00am — Opening Remarks and Introduction of New Graduate Students

  • Dr. Julie Maupin-Furlow

 

Moderated by:

 

9:15amNon-canonical Activation of ESCRT Machinery is Required for Division of Leishmania donovani Parasitophorous Vacuoles and Persistence

  • Javier Rosero — Kima Lab

9:30am — Shaping the skeleton: genetic control of bone growth and regeneration in vivo

  • Dr. Tyler Square

9:50amImpact ofmop1on the Meiotic Recombination Landscape ofZea mays

  • Mahmood Hasan – Zhao Lab  

10:05am — Evolution of microbial metabolism in extreme environments

  • Dr. Valerie De Anda

10:25am — Modeled Microgravity Alters Key Innate Immune Responses in the Squid-Vibrio System

  • Joey Emhof — Foster Lab

10:40am — Break

 

Moderated by: Dr. Nian Wang

 

10:50am — Enhancing plant-microbe interactions to improve sustainability and human health

  • Dr. Wilfred Vermerris

11:10am — Identification of Novel Functions of Cannabinoid Receptor Signaling in Regulating Host Defense Mechanisms Against Salmonella

  • Hailey Barker — Ferraro Lab

11:25am — Mobile signals help plants fight microbes

  • Dr. Zhonglin Mou

11:45am — Effector proteins contained in Lactobacillus johnsonii N6.2 EVs trigger cellular immune response

  • Asra Sharjeel — Lorca Lab

12:00pm — Lunch

 

Moderated by: Dr. Jamie Foster

 

1:15pm — Exploring the FTO gene and its connection to depression and diet in females

  • Korrie James — Drew Lab

1:30pm — The role of extracellular vesicles in bacterial regulation of host immune responses and control of intestinal infection

  • Dr. Melissa Jones

1:50pm — NuCitrus: Commercialization of Transgenic HLB Tolerant Citrus Trees

  • Paula Rios Glusberger — Triplett Lab

2:05pm — Break

2:15pm — Poster Presentation Session 1 (list of presenters listed on pages 5-6)

3:00pm — Break

 

Moderated by: Dr. Xin Wang

 

3:10pm — Research Topics in Claudio's Lab

  • Dr. Claudio Gonzalez

3:30pm — Cracking the Code: How ROS and Callose Deposition Shape HLB Disease

  • Yu Feng — N. Wang Lab

3:45pm — Beyond –Omics: Characterizing complex behavior and non-genetic regulation in nitrifying bacteria and archaea 

  • Dr. Willm Martens-Habbena

4:05pm — Development of a Transient Expression System to Characterize Extracellular NAD(P) Receptors in Crop Plant Species

  • Benjamin Merritt — Mou Lab

4:20pm — Microbial Cell Factories for Space and Earth - from single-carbon compounds to advanced bio-plastics

  • Dr. Nils Averesch

4:40pm —  End of Day 1

 

 



Day 2 - August 20 Schedule: Malachowsky Hall NVIDIA Auditorium (Room 1000)

8:00am — Breakfast

 

Moderated by: Dr. Willm Martens-Habbena

 

8:30am — Characterizing the function of a flavin-based ferredoxin reductase in Haloferax volcanii

  • Katy Weber — Maupin Lab

8:45am — The new lab on the block: Laboratory of Nucleic Acids

  • Dr. Luiz Passalacqua

9:05am — A Work of ART: Characterizing secreted protein ART12 as a putative effector in rice blast pathogenesis

  • Rachel Kalicharan — Fernandez Lab

9:20am — Realizing Robust Photosynthesis through Accelerated Evolution

  • Shaun Jiang — X. Wang Lab

9:35am Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mutans research opportunities in the Rice Lab

  • Dr. Kelly Rice

9:55am — Break

10:05am — Poster Presentation Session 2

10:50am — Break

 

Moderated by: Dr. Brent Christner

 

3-Minute Thesis Presentations

11:00am — EVs from Salmonella-infected macrophages provide antigen-specific immunity

  • Saloni Bhimani — Ferraro Lab

11:05am — Exploring the function of the radical SAM enzyme YhcC in E. coli and Archaea

  • Kaleb Boswinkle — De Crecy Lab

11:10am — From Ice to Coast: Microbial Community Composition and Nutrient Cycling Across Western Greenland’s Watersheds

  • Justin Ellena — Christner Lab

11:15am — Transgene-free CRISPR genome editing of the uORFs in Citrus sinensis to improve HLB resistance

  • Zhuyuan Hu — N. Wang Lab

11:20am — Photosynthesis: Regulation, Optimization, and Applications

  • Nowshin Islam — X. Wang Lab

11:25am — Elucidation of Rice Blast-Microbiome Community Dynamics Through a Gnotobiotic Approach 

  • Tim Johnson — Fernandez Lab

11:30am — Exploring Autoimmune Disease Onset in Non-Risk Individuals: Insights from the ABIS Cohort

  • Adam Mearig — Triplett Lab

11:35am — Determining the effects elicited by bacteriophage Sf14-encoded tRNAs on transcription and translation during infection

  • Nykki Ross — Doore Lab

11:40am — New Insights into Haloferax volcanii Glycerol Kinase for Biotechnological Advancements

  • Karol Sanchez Sanchez — Maupin Lab

11:45am — Investigating the role of commensal bacteria derived extracellular vesicles during MNV infection

  • Guanqi Zhao — Jones Lab

11:50am — Closing Remarks: Dr. Eric Triplett

 



Poster Presentation Session 1: August 19 at 2:15pm

Gut permeability among Astronauts during Space missions

  • Sam Akinsuyi — Roesch Lab

Can glutathione reductase serve as an antioxidant against an immune-mediated plant disease?

  • Shannon Barry — N. Wang Lab

Temporal linkage of nitrification and denitrification leads to significant atmospheric N loss from fertile tropical soils

  • Shannon Brown — Willm Martens-Habbena Lab

GATOR-GC: Genomic Assessment Tool for Orthologous Regions and Gene Clusters

  • José Cediel-Becerra — Chevrette Lab

Investigation of genetic determinants responsible for citrus HLB disease development via genome editing

  • Javier Dalmendray — N. Wang Lab

Novel Bacteriophage Cocktail Eliminates Pseudomonas aeruginosa in vivoand Reveals Bacterial Genes Important for Infection

  • Garrett Ellward — Czyz Lab

Salmonella effector SopB utilizes ubiquitination for trafficking into host-derived exosomes following infection

  • Sam Enslow — Ferraro Lab

Regulation of Ploidy in Haloferax volcanii and its role in Resistance and Response to Replication Stress

  • Daniel Gal — Maupin Lab

Overexpression of CsSNAT in Citrus sinensis CV. Hamlin to Enhance Plant Tolerance Against HLB

  • Ma Andrea Cruz Gatmaitan — N. Wang Lab

Impact of Soil Moisture Levels on Redox Potential and Microbial Soil Organic Carbon Degradation in a Tropical Peat Soil

  • Nina Infantado — Willm Martens-Habbena Lab

Vibrio fischeri-derived outer membrane vesicles as a tool for therapeutic delivery in spaceflight

  • Rachel Ivester — Foster Lab

The structure of Shigella flexneri phage Sf14

  • Hailey Kerns — Doore Lab

Impact of Altered Shigella flexneri LPS on Sf14 Infection

  • Taylor Ladner — Doore Lab

Effects of HLA on the Juvenile GI Tract Across Time

  • Kelley McKinley — Triplett Lab

Research programs at the Lorca lab

  • Dr. Graciela Lorca

Poster Presentation Session 2: August 20 at 10:05am

Mutation of Staphylococcus aureus Nitric Oxide Synthase Dysregulates Genes Involved in Nitrate-Based Respiration

  • Connor Meenan — Rice Lab

Autoencoder-Based Dimensionality Reduction of Gut Microbiome Data: A Celiac Disease Case Study

  • Brandon Pate — Dias Lab

Title TBD

  • Brooke Ritchie — Jones Lab

Linking Bacterial Secondary Metabolism to Antibiotic Resistance: A Comparative Genomic Analysis Across Bacterial Taxa

  • Murrel Saldanha — Chevrette Lab

Salmonella deubiquitinase protein SseL disrupts extracellular vesicle production in macrophages following infection

  • Alex Schultz — Ferraro Lab

Utilizing Multimodal Database for Enhanced Data Management ​and AI Workflow Orchestration

  • Nick Sexson — Dias Lab

KDPG aldolase modulates the photosynthetic carbon yield of cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC7942

  • Chetna Sharma — X. Wang Lab

The Impact of Differing Lipid Profiles of Bacterial Extracellular Vesicles on Induction of Antiviral Immune Responses and Murine Norovirus Infection

  • Joe Sullivan — Jones Lab

The Impact of Simulated Microgravity on Biofilm Formation in Staphylococcus aureus

  • Rachel White — Rice Lab

Gut Barriers on Earth and Beyond: A Countermeasure For Astronaut Mucosal Disruption

  • Jessica Xhumari — Roesch Lab

Determination of Genetic and Epigenetic Regulations of Meiotic Recombination under Domestication in Maize

  • Akwasi Yeboah — Zhao Lab

Developing Novel Biosensors to Determine Modulators of Biosynthetic Gene Cluster Regulation in Bacteria

  • Sebastian Guerra — Chevrette Lab

Characterization of SAMP-Proteasome Proteins in Haloferax volcanii

  • David Yu — Maupin Lab

Identification of proteotoxic and proteoprotective bacteria that non-specifically affect proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases

  • Dr. Alyssa Walker — Czyz Lab

One-Step Microbial Synthesis of High-Performance Bioplastics with Space and Earth Applications

  • Sulogna Chatterjee — Averesch Lab

Title TBD

  • Dr. Peter Kima

Location Details for Malachowsky Hall

Address:

1889 Museum Rd, Gainesville, FL 32606
Malachowsky Hall
NVIDIA Auditorium (Room 1000)

Campus Map:

https://campusmap.ufl.edu/#/index/1024

Transportation:

Campus Connector Live Track Map 

RTS Bus system-  RST Trip Planner

Parking:

UF TAPS Parking Map: https://taps.ufl.edu/parking-info/parking-map/

Garage 14 is the nearest Green Decal Parking Lot, The Frazier-Rogers lot is the closest Orange Decal Parking Lot

WiFi: https://getonline.ufl.edu/

https://helpdesk.ufl.edu/connecting-to-eduroam-off-campus/