School of Molecular & Cellular Biology Calendar of Events

Tuesday, August 25, 2026

• Finding Cures: Journey from Software Engineering to Entrepreneurship

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  612 Conference Center Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology

  Fox Family Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lecture "Finding Cures: Journey from Software Engineering to Entrepreneurship" Abhishek Pandey, PhD Interim CEO/CTO of ASERTI Pharma

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

• Nutritional Regulation of the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis - Implications for Stress and Cancer Resilience

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  612 Conference Center Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology

  IGB Seminar - Faculty Spotlight Lecture "Nutritional Regulation of the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis - Implications for Stress and Cancer Resilience" Brett Loman, PhD Department of Animal Science; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• NSP Faculty Mixer

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  Beckman Institute 1005

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

• Jessica Derham - (Kalsotra Lab) - "Dynamic Expression of a Splicing Factor Promotes Cell Migration and Proliferation Following Drug-Induced, Acute Liver Injury".

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  116 RAL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Abigail Spaulding (Shapiro Lab) - "Chemotherapy-induced cell stress facilitates NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity of breast cancer cells”

  Time

  4:30 pm

  Location

  116 RAL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Friday, September 4, 2026

• Biochemistry Seminar: Dr. Chang Cui (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) - "Mechanism, Structure and Inhibitor Design of Human Ribonucleotide Reductase"

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  Charles G. Miller Auditorium, B102 CLSL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

• Nutritional Regulation of the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis - Implications for Stress and Cancer Resilience

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  612 Conference Center Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology

  IGB Seminar - Faculty Spotlight Lecture "Nutritional Regulation of the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis - Implications for Stress and Cancer Resilience" Brett Loman, PhD Department of Animal Science; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• NSP Faculty Mixer

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  Beckman Institute 1005

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

• Jessica Derham - (Kalsotra Lab) - "Dynamic Expression of a Splicing Factor Promotes Cell Migration and Proliferation Following Drug-Induced, Acute Liver Injury".

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  116 RAL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Abigail Spaulding (Shapiro Lab) - "Chemotherapy-induced cell stress facilitates NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity of breast cancer cells”

  Time

  4:30 pm

  Location

  116 RAL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Friday, September 4, 2026

• Biochemistry Seminar: Dr. Chang Cui (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) - "Mechanism, Structure and Inhibitor Design of Human Ribonucleotide Reductase"

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  Charles G. Miller Auditorium, B102 CLSL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Tuesday, September 8, 2026

• Biology by Design: From Directed Evolution to Autonomous Experimentation

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  612 Conference Center Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology

  IGB Seminar - Director's Office "Biology by Design: From Directed Evolution to Autonomous Experimentation" Huimin Zhao, PhD Steven L. Miller Chair of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Professor of Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Bioengineering; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• "Topological Brain Maps and the Shape of Thought," by Marty Sereno, Emeritus Professor Psychology, San Diego State University Adjunct Professor Cognitive Science, University of California San Diego

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  Beckman Institute 1005

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Friday, September 11, 2026

• Biochemistry Seminar: Dr. Cheng-Ming Chiang (UT Southwestern Medical Center) - "Phospho-BRD4 IDR-Targeting Compounds as Antiviral and Anticancer Agents"

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  Charles G. Miller Auditorium, B102 CLSL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Tuesday, September 15, 2026

• "Neural mechanisms of group living," by Aubrey M. Kelly, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience Program, Emory University

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  Beckman Institute 1005

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Friday, September 18, 2026

• Biochemistry Seminar: Dr. Hong Jin (Univeristy of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) - "Translation beyond Initiation, Elongation and Termination"

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  Charles G. Miller Auditorium, B102 CLSL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Tuesday, September 22, 2026

• "Mechanisms of monogamy: Neural and genomic foundations of social memory and attachment in prairie voles," Kimberly Long, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  Beckman Institute 1005

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

• Emma Thames (Stadtmueller Lab) - "TBA"

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  116 RAL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Friday, September 25, 2026

• Biochemistry Seminar: Dr. C. Shan Xu (Yale) - "Enhanced FIB-SEM: A High-Resolution 3D Imaging Platform for Biology"

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  Charles G. Miller Auditorium, B102 CLSL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

• "Human 2D neurons and 3D brain organoid models for understanding brain development and neurological disorders," by Guo-li Ming Perelman Professor of Neuroscience, Associate Director, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  Beckman Institute 1005

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Friday, October 2, 2026

• Biochemistry Seminar: Dr. Yan Zhang (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) - "TBA"

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  Charles G. Miller Auditorium, B102 CLSL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

• "Human 2D neurons and 3D brain organoid models for understanding brain development and neurological disorders," by Guo-li Ming Perelman Professor of Neuroscience, Associate Director, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  Beckman Institute 1005

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Friday, October 2, 2026

• Biochemistry Seminar: Dr. Yan Zhang (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) - "TBA"

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  Charles G. Miller Auditorium, B102 CLSL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Tuesday, October 6, 2026

• "Host-microbe interactions mediating adverse effects of maternal environmental exposures on offspring neurodevelopmental health," Shelly A. Buffington, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Center for Precision Environmental Health, Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  Beckman Institute 1005

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Wednesday, October 7, 2026

• Diptatanu Das (Kalsotra Lab) - "TBA"

  Time

  4:30 pm

  Location

  Roger Adams Laboratory

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Friday, October 9, 2026

• Chemistry-Biology Interface Training Program Symposium: Kyle Lancaster, Cornell University, "TBD"

  Time

  1:30

  Location

  B102 CLSL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Monday, October 12, 2026

• Chemistry-Biology Interface Training Program Seminar: Neal Devaraj, University of California, San Diego, "TBD"

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  RAL 116

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

• Samy Meroueh, Biochemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  Beckman Institute 1005

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Friday, October 16, 2026

• Biochemistry Seminar: Dr. Sam Sternberg (Columbia University) - "RNA-guided and RNA-templated antiviral immunity"

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  Charles G. Miller Auditorium, B102 CLSL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Tuesday, October 20, 2026

• "From Molecular Pathogenesis to 4 phenylbutyrate rescue in Genetic Epilepsies associated with Impaired GABA receptor and transporter,," by by Professor, Department of Neurology & Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt Brain Institute

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  Beckman Institute 1005

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

• Qianjin Jiang (Shapiro Lab) - "TBA"

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  Roger Adams Laboratory

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Tuesday, October 27, 2026

• Michael Schappe, MIP, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  Beckman Institute 1005

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Wednesday, October 28, 2026

• Sam Belsky (Jin Lab) - "TBA"

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  Roger Adams Laboratory

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Friday, October 30, 2026

• Biochemistry Seminar: Dr. Tom Cooper (Baylor College of Medicine) - "Mechanistic insights of RNA toxicity and disrupted RNA processing from modeling Myotonic Dystrophy in mice"

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  Charles G. Miller Auditorium, B102 CLSL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Wednesday, November 4, 2026

• Subhashis Natua (Kalsotra Lab) - "TBA"

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  116 RAL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Seung Jun Lee (Shapiro Lab) - "TBA"

  Time

  4:30 pm

  Location

  116 RAL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Thursday, November 5, 2026

• Ada Doisy Lectures in Biochemistry: Dr. Andrew Dillin (University of California Berkeley ) - "TBA"

  Time

  3:30 pm

  Location

  180 Bevier Hall

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Friday, November 6, 2026

• Ada Doisy Lectures in Biochemistry: Dr. Navdeep Chandel (Northwestern University) - " Mitochondrial signaling in physiology and disease"

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  Charles G. Miller Auditorium, B102 CLSL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Tuesday, November 10, 2026

• "Illuminating neurochemical signaling with non-genetically encoded sensors," by Natsumi Komatsi, Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  Beckman Institute 1005

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Friday, November 13, 2026

• Biochemistry Seminar: Dr. Lucas Meirelles (Harvard/Mass General) - "Dynamic Host-Pathogen Co-Adaptation in Chronic Airway Infections”

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  Charles G. Miller Auditorium, B102 CLSL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Saturday, November 14, 2026

• NO SEMINAR: Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in Washington, DC

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  Beckman Institute 1005

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Wednesday, November 18, 2026

• Xinyi Dai (Shapiro Lab) - "TBA"

  Time

  4:00 pm

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Thursday, November 19, 2026

• Chemistry-Biology Interface Training Program Seminar: Andrew Haak, Mayo Clinic, "TBD"

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  RAL 116

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Saturday, November 21, 2026

• Thanksgiving Break - No Classes / No Seminar

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  Beckman Institute 1005

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Tuesday, December 1, 2026

• Fan Lam, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  Beckman Institute 1005

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Wednesday, December 2, 2026

• Evan Hebner (Leckband) - "TBA"

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  116 RAL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Christina Li (K. Zhang Lab) - "TBA"

  Time

  4:30 pm

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Tuesday, December 1, 2026

• Fan Lam, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  Beckman Institute 1005

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Wednesday, December 2, 2026

• Evan Hebner (Leckband) - "TBA"

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  116 RAL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Christina Li (K. Zhang Lab) - "TBA"

  Time

  4:30 pm

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Wednesday, December 9, 2026

• Terry Gao (Huang Lab) - "TBA"

  Time

  4:00 pm

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Amna Mehfooz (K. Zhang Lab) - "TBA"

  Time

  4:30 pm

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Thursday, April 1, 2027

• Chemistry-Biology Interface Training Program Seminar: Yamuna Krishnan, University of Chicago, "TBD"

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  RAL 116

  • Seminar/Symposium