This page is an archive of the records of the AWIS Northwest Ohio Chapter, in reverse chronological order - most recent first.

Fall 2009 chapter meeting

Wednesday, October 28th from 12 noon to 1 PM in SU 2591

The University of Toledo Main Campus

Chapter members were encouraged to bring a potential new member to this meeting.

Agenda

As the fourth and final speaker in our series, we were delighted to welcome Dr. Philippa Marrack,
Distinguished Professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor, University of Denver, Fellow of the Royal Society, and member, National Academy of Sciences.

Immunologist Philippa Marrack is interested in the creation, specificity, survival, and activation of T cells, the cells that orchestrate the specific immune response to antigens. Working as a team with Dr. John Kappler, Marrack has been preeminent in the study of the molecular basis for how T cells recognize antigen. Marrack is studying how they react with fragments of the infection bound to special proteins of the body, the MHC proteins, as well as how it is that T cells are prevented from attacking MHC proteins bound to fragments of their own host. When T cells do attack in this way, autoimmune diseases result. On the other hand, vaccines work by enhancing the ability of T cells to attack invaders. The study of how vaccines accomplish this should help in the design of better vaccines. Dr. Marrack obtained her Ph. D. at the University of Cambridge, England and was a Postdoctoral Fellow there. She then held several positions in the US, including a faculty position at the University of Rochester, before joining the Department of Immunology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO, where she is now Distinguished Professor. She is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and advisory head, research in allergy/asthma at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Denver, CO. Her numerous honors and awards include the 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Association of Immunologists.

Program of Public Events

Thursday, April 16, 2009

• 12:00 P.M. Presentation, "Martians are the Key to Women's Success," Main Campus, Student Union, Room 2592. Cosponsored by AWIS-NWO and by the Catharine S. Eberly Center for Women of The University of Toledo.
  
  
• 4:00 P.M. Women's Programs Initiative Seminar "The Obsession of T Cells for MHC," Health Science Campus, Room 105, Health Education Building
  
  
• 6:00 P.M. Reception: Main Campus, Libbey Hall, Main Dining Room
  
  
• 7:30 P.M. Public lecture "Vaccines, how do they work and can we make them better?" Main Campus, Field House, Lecture Hall, Room 2100
  

Friday, April 17, 2008

• 9:00 A.M. Breakout meeting with graduate students: Health Science Campus, Health Education Building, Room 227
  
  
• 10:45 A.M. Breakout meeting with graduate students: Main Campus, Bowman-Oddy, Room 1031
  

As the third speaker in our Distinguished Women in Science Speaker Series, we were delighted to welcome Dr. Susan Wessler,
Regents Professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor, University of Georgia, and
member, National Academy of Sciences.

Plant molecular geneticist Susan Wessler studies the role of transposable elements (or transposons) in generating genetic diversity. Transposons are mobile pieces of DNA that are distinct from genes. Wessler's lab discovered a new class of transposons, called miniature inverted repeat transposable elements. Her work focuses on the role of transposons in plant genomes and the modified gene functions needed for evolution. Born in New York City, Wessler earned her B.A. at the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1973, and her Ph.D. at Cornell University in 1980. Wessler completed a postdoctoral fellowship with the Carnegie Institute of Washington, working on model organisms for maize and grasses. Wessler is currently a Distinguished Research Professor in the department of plant biology at the University of Georgia, Athens, where she started working in 1983. Brief biographical information (PDF)

Program of Public Events

Thursday, November 13, 2008

• 5:00 - 6:00 PM Public Reception at Field House, 1st floor, Town Square, The University of Toledo Main Campus
• 6:00 - 7:00 PM Public Lecture: "The Dynamic Genome: Unintelligent Design" at Field House room 2100

Friday, November 14, 2008

• 8:30 - 9:30 AM Breakfast meeting with STEM/WISE undergraduate students (BO 1031)
• 10:00 - 11:00 AM Meeting with STEM postdocs and staff (BO 1031)
• 1:15 - 2:00 PM Meeting with genetics undergraduates, hosted by Dr. John Gray (BO 1099)
• 2:00 - 2:45 PM Meeting with STEM graduate students (WO 3246)
• 3:00 - 4:00 PM Research seminar "Understanding the Other Big Bang: How Transposable Elements Amplify Throughout Genomes" Wolfe Hall 1205, The University of Toledo Main Campus
• 4:00 - 5:00 PM Reception, Wolfe Hall Neon lobby

Our fall, 2008, chapter meeting was held on Friday, October 24 at 3 PM in Bowman-Oddy 1031 on the UT main campus.

Agenda:

• Next event in our Distinguished Women in Science Speaker Series: visit by Susan Wessler, Nov. 13-14, 2008
• Seek ideas for later speakers in the series
• Discussion of the WISE mentoring program on campus
• Solicit volunteers for a Nominations and Elections Committee to organize officer elections for spring

The second event in our visiting speaker series, which took place in April, 2008, was a visit by Dr. Zena Werb of UCSF.

Left to right: chapter member Nancy Collins, officers Deborah Vestal and Nancy Morrison, and Zena Werb.
To see the full-size version in a new window, click the picture.

Distinguished Women in Science Speaker Series
	As the second speaker in our series, we are delighted to welcome Dr. Zena Werb, Professor and Vice-chair of the Department of Anatomy and member of the Program in Biological Sciences and Biomedical Science Program at the University of California, San Francisco. Brief Biography
	On Thursday, April 17, at 12:30 PM in SU 2582, she will present a lecture entitled, "The Leaking Pipeline: Increasing the Career Trajectories of Women in Science"
	Please join us at her public lecture entitled, "Of Mice and Women: New Insights into Breast Cancer," at 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 17, in Doermann Theatre (University Hall, on the UT Main Campus). Following the lecture will be a reception for all those attending in the hallway outside the theatre.
	On Friday, April 18, at 4:00 PM, she will present a Department of Biological Sciences seminar, "Cellular Mechanisms and Molecular Regulation of Epithelial Morphogenesis," Wolfe Hall Room 1205. A reception will follow, in the hallway outside the classroom (the DNA hallway).
	This visit is cosponsored by the Natural Science & Math Alumni Affiliate and the Department of Biological Sciences of The University of Toledo. Financial support was provided by a grant from the Program for Academic Excellence of The University of Toledo to AWIS-NWO.
Schedule of Dr. Werb's meetings with smaller groups of people interested in science; all welcome: Undergraduate students: Thursday, Apr. 17, 4:00 to 5:00 PM, Bowman-Oddy room 1031 Graduate students: Friday, April 18, 2:30 PM, Wolfe Hall room 3246

A chapter meeting was held on Friday, March 28, 12 noon, in Bowman-Oddy 1031 on the UT main campus.

Agenda:

• Next event in our Distinguished Women in Science Speaker Series: visit by Zena Werb, April 17-18
• Distinguished Women in Science Speaker Series visitors for next year: share ideas, seek input
• Appoint nomination/election committee, plan for officer election around May 1
• Seek volunteers to run for office
• Set up committees

Here is the schedule for the first of our events, which took place in February 2008 and was sponsored by The University of Toledo's Program for Academic Excellence. At the closing reception, the four founders of our chapter posed for a picture with Martha Haynes:

Distinguished Women in Science Speaker Series
	As the first speaker in our series, we are delighted to welcome Dr. Martha P. Haynes, Goldwin Smith Professor of Astronomy, Cornell University, and member, National Academy of Sciences.
	On Thursday, Feb. 14, at 4:00 PM, she will give a colloquium in the departmental series of the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
	Please join us at her public lecture entitled, "Seeking Clues to Dark Matter: Hunting for Stealth Galaxies with the World's Largest Radio Telescope" on Friday, Feb. 15, 2008, at 4:00 PM in McMaster Hall Room 1005. More info: PDF (112 KB); high-resolution PDF (1.9 MB) Following the lecture will be a reception for all those attending from 5:00 to 6:00 PM in the lobby outside the lecture hall.
	This visit is cosponsored by the Natural Science & Math Alumni Affiliate and the Department of Physics and Astronomy of The University of Toledo. Financial support was provided by a grant from the Program for Academic Excellence of The University of Toledo to AWIS-NWO.
Schedule of Dr. Haynes's meetings with smaller groups of people interested in science; all welcome: Undergraduate students: Thursday, Feb. 14, 2:00 to 3:00 PM, Foster Reading Room, McMaster Hall room 4027 Postdocs, junior faculty, staff: Friday, Feb. 15, 10:00 to 11:00 AM, McMaster Hall room 4009 Graduate students: Friday, Feb. 15, 2:00 to 3:00 PM, McMaster Hall room 4009

Our fall chapter meeting was held Friday, October 19, 2007, 12:00 noon, BO 1031. We had a great turnout and a lively exchange of ideas. Minutes will be posted soon. Thanks to all who attended! Hope to see you next time!

At 12 noon on Friday March 31, the chapter sponsored a brown bag talk by Gail Ashley, Ph.D., Rutgers University, entitled "Balancing Career and Family," in SU 2591. Click here for flier (PDF, 43k).

On December 3, 2005, two of the chapter's founders, Deborah Vestal (left) and Karen Bjorkman (right), staffed an information table at a career fair for girls, "Dreams to Reality," held at COSI-Toledo. Nancy Morrison assisted, but she arrived after this picture was taken. Image by Brenda Leady, courtesy of P. Komuniecki.

• Monday, November 21, 2005 at 4 PM
• On the UT campus in Bowman-Oddy 1031
• Meeting notes

The four founders of AWIS-NWO, with UT Distinguished Alumna Nancy Collins, on the occasion of the chapter kickoff event, October 5, 2005. Left to right: Patricia Komuniecki, Nancy Collins, Deborah Vestal, Nancy Morrison, and Karen Bjorkman. Image by Brenda Leady, courtesy of P. Komuniecki

With the approval of the constitution and bylaws, AWIS-NWO officially became a chapter of AWIS. We were notified on September 29, 2005.

On Wednesday, October 5, 2005, the chapter co-sponsored a public lecture by Distinguished UT Alumna Nancy Collins entitled, "Stem Cell Research: Facts, Myths and Future Directions," at 5:30 p.m., Wolfe Hall Room 1201.