How can a null result be provocative? Magnetoreception, widely believed to be a real bodily sense in a range of species, carries the intoxicating promise of noninvasive neuromodulation, but years of searching for the sensor have turned up little, and basic questions remain open. One such question is how magnetic fields are represented in the brain. For vision and hearing we understand this reasonably well, with neurons tuned to specific features of the stimulus. I set out to look for the magnetic equivalent of visual or auditory neurons.

Proteins are regulated through diverse mechanisms that shape their functions in health and disease. In this talk, Dr. Sun will discuss how chemical proteomics and mass spectrometry can uncover these regulatory mechanisms. Examples include the discovery of unexpected protein targets of rapamycin and recent work on how an N-terminal protein modification regulates CFTR. Together, these studies demonstrate how proteomics can reveal new mechanisms of protein regulation and disease.

Stepfanie Aguillón is a broadly trained evolutionary biologist interested in understanding the process of speciation in nature. Her research integrates genomic sequencing with organismal biology to unravel the mechanisms involved in the evolution of reproductive isolation. In particular, she leverages natural hybridization—interbreeding between distinct taxa—to study mating decisions in action. Stepfanie will discuss her work in northern flickers focused on the evolution of color differences and her work in swordtail fish focused on the genomic consequences of hybridization.

Habitat loss and fragmentation are leading causes of global biodiversity loss, and we unfortunately have a front row view to these processes here in Southern California. My research focus is on addressing critical knowledge gaps for endangered pocket mice and kangaroo rats and applying our findings to improve conservation and management for these species. I will discuss a variety of approaches, including behavioral ecology, habitat suitability, and population modeling, as well as partnerships that transform research into conservation applications.

Human 2D gastruloids model the spatial patterning that occurs during gastrulation, which is otherwise inaccessible because of ethical and technical limitations. Specifically, this highly reproducible system enables quantitative analysis of cell signaling and fate decisions during embryogenesis. Although gastruloids can provide insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying early embryonic development, their potential for large-scale screens is limited by low-throughput analytical approaches.

Dr. Michelle Talal is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Science at Willamette University and an Oxy alumna, class of 2006.