UIUC Biophysics and Related Seminars

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

  

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

• Prof. Nick Jackson, UIUC, "AI-Driven Quantum Mechanical Design of Soft Materials"

  Time

  2:00 - 3:00 pm

  Location

  CLSL B102

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• 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

  

Thursday, September 3, 2026

• MIP Seminar: Dr. Evangelos Kiskinis, Northwestern University "Using iPSC technologies to technologies to model developmental epilepsy and ALS"

  Time

  11:00 am

  Location

  Charles Miller Auditorium, B102, CLSL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• CHBE 565-International Paper Co Seminar-Prof. Varong Pavarajarn, Chulalongkorn University (Host: Prof. Chris Rao) "When Industry Asks "How?", Scientists Ask "Why?": Molecular Interactions Behind Carbon Capture and Surface-Controlled Chemical Transformations"

  Time

  2:00 pm

  Location

  116 Roger Adams Laboratory

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Microbiology Seminar: Dr. Thomas Niehaus, University of Minnesota -- "Identification of breakdown pathways for the universal damaged metabolite S-(2-succino) cysteine"

  Time

  4:00 pm   5:00 pm

  Location

  Charles Miller Auditorium, B102 Chemical & Life Sciences Laboratory

  • 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

  

Thursday, September 10, 2026

• CHBE 565-International Paper Co Seminar-Prof. David Gracias, Johns Hopkins University (Host: Prof. Hyun Joon Kong) "Physical Intelligence at the Interface of Biology and Engineering"

  Time

  2:00 pm

  Location

  116 Roger Adams Laboratory

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Microbiology Seminar: Dr. Houra Merrikh, Vanderbilt University -- "Regulation of replication restart after conflicts with transcription"

  Time

  4:00 pm   5:00 pm

  Location

  Charles Miller Auditorium, B102 Chemical & Life Sciences Laboratory

  • 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

  

Wednesday, September 16, 2026

• Final Defense of Genesis Rios-Adorno "TBA"

  Time

  10:00 am

  Location

  3217 Everitt Lab

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Prof. Dayne Swearer, Northwestern University, "Catalytic Chemistry Far from Equilibrium"

  Time

  2:00 - 3:00 pm

  Location

  CLSL B102

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Diptatanu Das (Kalsotra Lab) - "TBA"

  Time

  4:30 pm

  Location

  Roger Adams Laboratory

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Thursday, September 17, 2026

• MIP Seminar Student Seminar: Zihan Chu (Climer Lab) "Hippocampal Representational Drift in Memory Processing" & Hannah Eichenberger (M. Gillette Lab) "Modulation of Tight Junction Proteins and Neuroinflammation at the Blood-Brain Interface Under Environmental Circadian Disruption"

  Time

  11:00 am

  Location

  Charles Miller Auditorium, B102, CLSL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• CHBE 565-International Paper Co Seminar-Prof. Janani Sampath, University of Florida (Host: Prof. Charles Sing) "Investigating Reactive Transport Pathways in Anion Exchange Membranes to Guide Polymer Design"

  Time

  2:00 pm

  Location

  116 Roger Adams Laboratory

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Microbiology Seminar: Dr. Nidia Sequeira Trovao, Pathobiology/University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign -- "The Genetic Traceability of Viral Pathogens Across the One Health Spectrum"

  Time

  4:00 pm   5:00 pm

  Location

  Charles Miller Auditorium, B102 Chemical & Life Sciences Laboratory

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Friday, September 18, 2026

• Angela Thomas, Final Defense, UIUC, "Exploiting Viral proteins for Directed Evolution Studies and Therapeutics"

  Time

  9:00 am

  Location

  Roger Adams Labortatory, 600 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana, IL, Room 419

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• 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

• Parr Lecture in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Prof. Yong Wang, Washington State University (host: Prof. Chris Rao/CHBE) "From Catalytic Insights to Transformative Technologies"

  Time

  2:00 pm

  Location

  116 Roger Adams Laboratory

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

• Prof. Hsing-Ta Chen, University of Notre Dame, "Navigating Various Disorders and Dynamics in Strongly Coupled Light-Matter Systems"

  Time

  2:00 - 3:00 pm

  Location

  CLSL B102

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Emma Thames (Stadtmueller Lab) - "TBA"

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  116 RAL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• 'Fola Adesanya (Kalsotra Lab) - "TBA"

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  116 RAL

  • Ceremony/Service

  

Thursday, September 24, 2026

• CHBE 565-International Paper Co Seminar-Prof. Wenyu Huang, Iowa State University (Host: Prof. Hong Yang)

  Time

  2:00 pm

  Location

  116 Roger Adams Laboratory

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Microbiology Seminar: Dr. Michael Gray, University of Alabama -- "How oral streptococci respond to the antimicrobial oxidants found in saliva"

  Time

  4:00 pm   5:00 pm

  Location

  Charles Miller Auditorium, B102 Chemical & Life Sciences Laboratory

  • 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

  

Monday, September 28, 2026

• Prof. Lauren Rajakovich, University of Washington, "Microbial Chemistry in Anoxic Host Environments"

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  116 Roger Adams Lab

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

• Unusual Enzyme Reactions in Natural Product Biosynthesis

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  612 Conference Center Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology

  David Gottlieb Memorial Lecture Ikuro Abe, PhD Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo Professor, Institute of Natural Medicine, University of Toyama "Unusual Enzyme Reactions in Natural Product Biosynthesis"

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Wednesday, September 30, 2026

• Prof. Martin Mosquera, Montana State University, "Theory of Extended Bose-Hubbard Systems and Two-Dimensional Materials"

  Time

  2:00 - 3:00 pm

  Location

  CLSL B102

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Thursday, October 1, 2026

• Erin Swanson CHEM 575 Seminar: "Title TBD"

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  163 Noyes Lab, 505 S. Mathews Ave.

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Krishna Bharadwaj CHEM 575 Seminar: "Title TBD"

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  163 Noyes Lab, 505 S. Mathews Ave.

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• CHBE 565-International Paper Co Seminar-Prof. Sapna Sarupria, University of Minnesota (Host: Prof. Baron Peters) "Molecular Design of Excipient Formulations for Stable Biologics"

  Time

  2:00 pm

  Location

  116 Roger Adams Laboratory

  • 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

  

• Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Alumni and Graduate Awards

  Time

  4:30 pm

  Location

  Levis Faculty Center, Room 300

  • Ceremony/Service

  

Saturday, October 3, 2026

• ChBE Homecoming Tailgate

  Time

  All Day

  Location

  Gies Memorial Stadium and surrounding area

  • Sporting Event

  

Tuesday, October 6, 2026

• CHBE 565-International Paper Co Seminar-Prof. Brandon C. Bukowski, Johns Hopkins University (Host: Elizabeth Bickel Rogers)

  Time

  2:00 pm

  Location

  116 Roger Adams Laboratory

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Thursday, October 8, 2026

• Giuliana Judge CHEM 575 Seminar: "Title TBD"

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  163 Noyes Lab, 505 S. Mathews Ave.

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Sneha Jayaram CHEM 575 Seminar: "Title TBD"

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  163 Noyes Lab, 505 S. Mathews Ave.

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• CHBE 565-International Paper Co Seminar-Prof. Hongliang Xin, Virginia Tech (Host: Prof. Alex Mironenko)

  Time

  2:00 pm

  Location

  116 Roger Adams Laboratory

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• CHBE 565-International Paper Co Seminar-Prof. Kelsey Hatzell, Princeton University (Host: Prof. Theresa Schoetz)

  Time

  2:00 pm

  Location

  116 Roger Adams Laboratory

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Microbiology Seminar: Dr. Karine Gibbs, University of California - Berkeley -- "TBA"

  Time

  4:00 pm   5:00 pm

  Location

  Charles Miller Auditorium, B102 Chemical & Life Sciences Laboratory

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Sunday, October 11, 2026

• World of Genomics

  Time

  10:00 am - 4:00 pm

  Location

  Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, 5700 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Il 60637

  Join us for the interactive, hands-on science experience that is World of Genomics, featuring multiple stations focused on specific aspects of science!

  • Festival/Celebration

  

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

• Prof. Yelena Simine, McGill University, TBD

  Time

  2:00 - 3:00 pm

  Location

  CLSL B102

  • 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

  

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

• Prof. Michael Wasielewski, Northwestern University, TBD

  Time

  2:00 - 3:00 pm

  Location

  CLSL B102

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Madhusree Seal (Stadtmueller Lab) - "TBA"

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  116 RAL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Qianjin Jiang (Shapiro Lab) - "TBA"

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  Roger Adams Laboratory

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Thursday, October 22, 2026

• Hannah King CHEM 575 Seminar: "Title TBD"

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  163 Noyes Lab, 505 S. Mathews Ave.

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Shuaiqi Yuan CHEM 575 Seminar: "Title TBD"

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  163 Noyes Lab, 505 S. Mathews Ave.

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Microbiology Seminar: Dr. Shady Amin, New York University Abu Dhabi -- "Steroid hormones produced by coral-associated bacteria modulate the coral immune response during thermal stress"

  Time

  4:00 pm   5:00 pm

  Location

  Charles Miller Auditorium, B102 Chemical & Life Sciences Laboratory

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Monday, October 26, 2026

• Professor Nicholas L. Truex, University of South Carolina, "Title: TBD"

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  116 Roger Adams Lab

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Tuesday, October 27, 2026

• CHBE 565-International Paper Co Seminar-Prof. Ting Xu, University of California Berkeley, (Host: Prof. Deborah Leckband)

  Time

  2:00 pm

  Location

  116 Roger Adams Laboratory

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Wednesday, October 28, 2026

• Prof. Saumya Saurabh, New York University, TBD

  Time

  2:00 - 3:00 pm

  Location

  CLSL B102

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Thursday, October 29, 2026

• Danielle Otero CHEM 575 Seminar: "Title TBD"

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  163 Noyes Lab, 505 S. Mathews Ave.

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Kellen Sharpe CHEM 575 Seminar: "Title TBD"

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  163 Noyes Lab, 505 S. Mathews Ave.

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Microbiology Seminar: Dr. Zoi Rapti, Mathematics/University of Illinois Urbana-Illinois -- "TBA"

  Time

  4:00 pm   5:00 pm

  Location

  Charles Miller Auditorium, B102 Chemical & Life Sciences 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

  

Tuesday, November 3, 2026

• CHBE 565-International Paper Co Seminar-Prof. Sujit Datta, California Institute of Technology (Host: Prof. Ying Diao)

  Time

  2:00 pm

  Location

  116 Roger Adams Laboratory

  • 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

• Natalie Shkolnik CHEM 575 Seminar: "Title TBD"

  Time

  12:00 pm

  Location

  163 Noyes Lab, 505 S. Mathews Ave.

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• CHBE 565-International Paper Co Seminar-Prof. Lorenzo Vergari, Nuclear, Plasma, & Radiological Engineering-Illinois

  Time

  2:00 pm

  Location

  116 Roger Adams Laboratory

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

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

  Time

  3:30 pm

  Location

  180 Bevier Hall

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Microbiology Seminar: Dr. Virginia Armbrust, University of Washington -- "TBA"

  Time

  4:00 pm   5:00 pm

  Location

  Charles Miller Auditorium, B102 Chemical & Life Sciences Laboratory

  • 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

  

Monday, November 9, 2026

• Kenneth L. Rinehart Lecture in Chemical Biology, Professor Christopher J. Chang, Princeton University, "Title: TBD"

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  116 Roger Adams Lab

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Wednesday, November 11, 2026

• Ashley Holahan (Shapiro Lab) - "TBA"

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  116 RAL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Thursday, November 12, 2026

• Microbiology Seminar: Dr. Benjamin Good, Stanford University -- "TBA"

  Time

  4:00 pm   5:00 pm

  Location

  Charles Miller Auditorium, B102 Chemical & Life Sciences Laboratory

  • 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

  

Tuesday, November 17, 2026

• CHBE 565-Thomas J. Hanratty Lecture, Prof. Timothy P. Lodge, University of Minnesota (Host: Prof. Alexa Kuenstler) "Spontaneous Fission and Fusion of Block Copolymer Micelles"

  Time

  2:00 pm

  Location

  116 Roger Adams Laboratory

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Wednesday, November 18, 2026

• Xinyi Dai (Shapiro Lab) - "TBA"

  Time

  4:00 pm

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Yujia Ji (Stadtmueller) - "TBA"

  Time

  4:00 pm

  Location

  116 RAL

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Thursday, November 19, 2026

• CHBE 565-International Paper Co Seminar-Prof. Amanda Marciel, Rice University (Host: Prof. Simon Rogers)

  Time

  2:00 pm

  Location

  116 Roger Adams Laboratory

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• Microbiology Seminar: Dr. Mohammed Kaplan, University of Chicago -- "TBA"

  Time

  4:00 pm   5:00 pm

  Location

  Charles Miller Auditorium, B102 Chemical & Life Sciences Laboratory

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Wednesday, December 2, 2026

• Prof. Eli Pollak, Weizmann Institute of Science, TBD

  Time

  2:00 - 3:00 pm

  Location

  CLSL B102

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

• 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

  

Thursday, December 3, 2026

• Microbiology Seminar: Dr. Jizhong Zhou, University of Oklahoma -- "TBA"

  Time

  4:00 pm   5:00 pm

  Location

  Charles Miller Auditorium, B102 Chemical & Life Sciences Laboratory

  • 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

  

Wednesday, February 17, 2027

• Prof. Renee Frontiera, University of Minnesota, TBD

  Time

  2:00 - 2:30 pm

  Location

  CLSL B102

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Wednesday, March 10, 2027

• Prof. Matthew Crane, Colorado School of Mines, TBD

  Time

  2:00 - 3:00 pm

  Location

  CLSL B102

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Wednesday, March 31, 2027

• Prof. Teresa Head-Gordon, University of California Berkeley, TBD

  Time

  2:00 - 3:00 pm

  Location

  CLSL B102

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Wednesday, April 7, 2027

• Prof. Allison Squires, University of Chicago, TBD

  Time

  2:00 - 3:00 pm

  Location

  CLSL B102

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Friday, April 30, 2027

• 2027 Flygare Memorial Lecture: Professor Paul Alivisatos, University of Chicago, TBD

  Time

  4:00 - 5:00 pm

  Location

  CLSL B102

  • Lecture

  

Wednesday, May 5, 2027

• Prof. Haw Yang, Princeton University, TBD

  Time

  2:00 - 3:00 pm

  Location

  CLSL B102

  • Seminar/Symposium

  

Wednesday, May 12, 2027

• Prof. Martin Zanni, University of Wisconsin Madison, TBD

  Time

  2:00 - 3:00 pm

  Location

  CLSL B102

  • Seminar/Symposium