GMGI’s Annual Byrnes Lecture: Oceans (and the Creatures in Them) are Our Future
Thank you for joining us tonight for our Annual Byrnes Lecture at the Cape Ann Museum! Below is some information on what you can expect from tonight’s event.
Have questions? Please hold them until the Q&A session after the talk.
Timeline
5:30p Doors open
6:00p Welcome and opening remarks from GMGI Donald G. Comb Science Director Andrea Bodnar, Ph.D.
6:10p Mandë Holford, Ph.D., Professor and Curator Harvard University / Museum of Comparative Zoology; Anne Welsh McNulty Chair of Science Innovation and Leadership; Research Associate, The American Museum of Natural History, CUNY Graduate Center
6:45p Q&A with Dr. Bodnar and Dr. Holford
7:00p Presentation concludes
Abstract
Biodiversity is a key inspiration for solutions to pressing challenges in the fields of engineering, conservation, biomedicine and industry. Scientific exploration of biodiversity has uncovered transformational molecular applications such as CRISPR/ Cas9 in gene editing, GLP1 therapeutics, as well as novel fluorescent proteins. These examples are but a few ways biodiversity research has transformed our world and culture. This talk will highlight how venomous organisms in the ocean are advancing innovation and foundational principles that redefine the relationship between nature and humanity.
Key Terms
Biodiversity: also known as ‘biological diversity’, the variety of life found on Earth.
Biomedicine: branch of medical science involving the application of biological and other natural-science principles to clinical practice.
Gene editing: a group of technologies that give scientists the ability to change an organism’s DNA.
Dr. Mandë Holford Background
Mandë Holford’s Laboratory of Chemical and Biological Diversity demonstrates the scientific path from mollusks to medicine – examining how venoms evolved, developed, and function over time, and how we can use this knowledge as a roadmap for discovering and characterizing peptide natural products with therapeutic potential. She is particularly interested in using venoms and venom peptides to study complex traits and novelty of rapidly evolving genes, and to develop invertebrate venom gland model systems that can be genetically manipulated to advance discoveries in novel gene regulation, expression, and function. Her work combines scientific research, education and diplomacy to understand the extraordinary marine biodiversity on our planet and transform this knowledge for the benefit of humanity and planetary health. Her honors include the inaugural endowed Anne Welsh McNulty Chair in Science Innovation and Leadership, an NIH Pioneer Award, an Allen Institute Distinguished Investigator Award, an NSF CAREER award, a WINGS Women of Discovery Fellowship, a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship, being selected as a World Economic Forum Champion Young Scientist and Sustainability Pioneer, a fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, a AAAS Fellow, a member of the NASEM Roundtable on Science Diplomacy and Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is cofounder of Killer Snails, LLC, an award winning EdTech company that uses tabletop, digital, and XR games as a conduit to advance scientific learning in K-12 classrooms. She is also cofounder of 2030STEM an initiative to accelerate inclusion in STEM by promoting leadership, access to capital, and systemic institutional change. She is an alum of The City University of New York, and her PhD is from The Rockefeller University.
This is GMGI’s Annual Byrnes Lecture, honoring longtime GMGI and community supporter John Byrnes. As a resident of Cape Ann for over 20 years, he was an integral part of the community, providing advice and generous philanthropic support to GMGI and many other organizations.
