PATHOBIOLOGY SEMINAR SERIES
Thursdays, 11:00 am, Atwater 001
Join virtually at:
https://uconn-cmr.webex.com/uconn-cmr/j.php?MTID=m14f460c69e6d46f7eef2e9ed9b4a8f77
Fall 2025
| Date | Speaker (Host) | Title |
| August 28, 2025 | No seminar (First week of classes) | No seminar |
| September 4, 2025 |
Walter Lilenbaum, PhD Professor of Microbiology Fluminense Federal University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Hosted by: Dr. Wunder
|
"Bovine Genital Leptospirosis: A new look for an old disease" |
| September 11, 2025 | Timothy E. Moore, PhD Director Statistical Consulting Services Hosted by Dr. Risatti |
"Statistical Consulting as a Research Partner: Tools, Insights, and Impact" |
| September 18, 2025 |
Lisa A. Murphy, VMD, DABT Professor of Toxicology School of Veterinary Medicine University of Pennsylvania Hosted by: Dr. Levin |
"Penn Vet’s Wildlife Futures Program" |
| September 25, 2025 | Jeffery (Jeff) Evans, PhD
Research Molecular Biologist Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Poultry Research Unit US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Hosted by: Professor Tulman |
"Combating mycoplasmosis at the USDA Poultry Research Unit" |
| October 2, 2025 | Carolina Lucas, PhD
Department of Immunobiology Yale School of Medicine Hosted by Dr. Verardi |
"Past encounters, Future protection: Harnessing immune imprinting for improved vaccines" |
| October 9, 2025 | Jenna Martin, PhD
Facility Scientist Advanced Light Microscopy Facility University of Connecticut Hosted by: Dr. Szczepanek |
"Multi-layered DNA Surfactant Assemblies for Enhanced Membrane Disruption and Targeted Delivery of Nucleic Acid Therapeutics" |
| October 16, 2025 | Helena Pětrošová, PhD
Adjunct Professor UVic Genome BC Protein Centre University of Victoria, Canada Hosted by: Dr. Wunder |
"Uncovering the Molecular Signatures of Spirochetal Infections using Mass Spectrometry" |
| October 23, 2025 | Rosalie (“Dr. Rose”) Ierardi, DVM, MS, DACVP
Clinical Instructor Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory Department of Veterinary Pathobiology University of Missouri Hosted by Dr. Reinhardt |
"Ticks & Tick-Borne Diseases in Cattle" |
| (CANCELLED)
|
|
(CANCELLED)
|
| November 6, 2025 |
Magali Houde, PhD Research Scientist Environment and Climate Change Canada Montréal, Québec Hosted by: Dr. DeGuise |
"Studying environmental contaminants in marine mammals - from the St. Lawrence to the Arctic" |
| November 13, 2025 | Angela Makumi, PhD
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) Kenya Hosted by: Dr. Mara |
"Fighting Resistance with Nature’s Smallest Allies: Bacteriophages in Action" |
| November 20, 2025 | Javier Elbio Irazoqui, PhD
Professor Department of Microbiology UMass Chan Medical School Hosted by: Dr. Nouri |
"Cholinergic regulation of innate immunity in worms and mammals" |
| November 27, 2025 | Thanksgiving Recess | No seminar |
| December 4, 2025 | No seminar (Last week of classes) | No seminar |
Spring 2026
| Date | Speaker (Host) | Title |
| January 22, 2026 | No seminar (First week of classes) | No seminar |
| January 29, 2026 |
TBA
|
TBA |
| February 5, 2026 | TBA | TBA |
| February 12, 2026 |
TBA
|
TBA |
| February 19, 2026 | TBA | TBA |
| February 26, 2026 | TBA | TBA |
| March 5, 2026 | Brian Weiss, PhD Senior Research Scientist in Epidemiology and Lecturer (Microbial Diseases) Yale School of Public Health Hosted by Dr. Elsio Wunder |
TBA |
| March 12, 2026 | Lindsay Piel, DVM, PhD Veterinary Medical OfficerUSDA Animal Disease Unit Pullman WA Hosted by Prof. Tulman |
Tentative: "Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection in domestic and wild sheep in the Western US" |
| March 19, 2026 | Spring Recess | No seminar |
| March 26, 2026 | TBA | TBA |
| April 2, 2026 |
TBA
|
TBA |
| April 9, 2026 | TBA | TBA |
| April 16, 2026 | TBA | TBA |
| April 23, 2026 | Cindy Tian, PhD
Professor of Biotechnology Department of Animal Science University of Connecticut Hosted by: Dr. Mishra |
TBA |
| April 30, 2026 | No seminar (Last week of classes) | No seminar |
GRADUATE STUDENT SEMINAR SERIES
Fall 2025
Wednesdays, 2:30 pm, Atwater 001
| Date | Speaker (Faculty Advisor) | Title |
| August 27, 2025 | No seminar (first week of classes) | No seminar |
| September 3, 2025 | No seminar | TBD |
| September 10, 2025 | Joseph Darkwah | TBD |
| September 17, 2025 | Nikolas Lino | TBD |
| September 24, 2025 | Grace Ozyck | TBD |
| October 1, 2025 | Emilie Karovic & Sara Patino Gomez | TBD |
| October 8, 2025 | Fatma Gazeyoglu | TBD |
| October 15, 2025 | Morgan Hunte | TBD |
| October 22, 2025 | Sungjun An | |
| October 29, 2025 | Meya McClain | TBD |
| November 5, 2025 | Candance Kangas | TBD |
| November 12, 2025 | Sungjun An PhD Dissertation Proposal Defense | TBD |
| November 19, 2025 | Mohammad Alboom | TBD |
| November 26, 2025 | No seminar (Thanksgiving Recess) | No seminar |
| December 3, 2025 | Candace Kangas MS Thesis Defense | TBD |
Spring 2025
| Date | Speaker (Host) | Title |
| January 23, 2025 | No seminar (First week of classes) | No seminar |
| January 30, 2025 |
José E. Manautou, Ph.D., ATS, FASPET
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Chair in Mechanistic Toxicology
Dept. Head of Pharmaceutical Sciences and
Professor of Toxicology
School of Pharmacy
University of Connecticut
Hosted by Dr. Mishra
|
“ATP-Binding Cassette Transporter C4 (ABCC4) in Hepatic Steatosis and Metabolic Syndrome: Mechanistic Insights and Therapeutic Perspectives” |
| February 6, 2025
(CANCELED) |
|
(CANCELED) |
| February 13, 2025 |
Changchun Liu, PhD
Department of Biomedical Engineering
University of Connecticut Health Center
Hosted by Dr. Risatti
|
"Enabling Next-Generation Molecular Diagnostics with CRISPR" |
| February 20, 2025 | Rosalie Ierardi, DVM, MS, DACVP
Clinical Instructor University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine Hosted by Dr. Reinhardt |
"Ticks & Tick-Borne Diseases in Cattle" |
| February 27, 2025 | Kavita Rawat, PhD
Senior Scientist Department of Medicine- Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine Hosted by Arlind Mara |
"Guardians Within: Dissecting the Role of Innate like B Lymphocytes in Cancer" |
| March 6, 2025 | Carey D. Nadell, PhD
Associate Professor Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth University Hosted by Prof. Tulman |
“Microscale spatial dynamics of viral and bacterial predation within bacterial biofilms” |
| March 13, 2025 | Luo Yanchao, PhD
Associate Professor Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Connecticut Hosted by Dr. Garmendia |
"Lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles for delivery of nutrients and biologics" |
| March 20, 2025 | Spring Recess | Spring Recess |
| March 27, 2025 |
George Amato, PhD
Director Emeritus, Conservation Genomics
Institute for Comparative Genomics
American Museum of Natural History
Hosted by Dr. De Guise
|
"Conservation genomics strategies for biodiversity conservation: case studies from the American Museum of Natural History’s conservation genomics program" |
| April 3, 2025 |
Pedram Rezamand, PhD, PAS
Department Head and Professor
Department of Animal Science
University of Connecticut
Hosted by Dr. Verardi
|
"Colostrum management, strategies, and health outcomes in young dairy calves" |
| April 10, 2025 | André Grassmann, PhD
Assistant Professor Spirochete Research Labs Department of Medicine - UConn Health Hosted by Dr. Wunder |
“Regulation of gene expression in Spirochetes” |
| April 17, 2025 | Timothy Minogue, PhD
Deputy Director National Bioforensics Analysis Center (NBFAC) Hosted by Dr. Szczepanek |
"Decoding Biowarfare Agents: Next-Generation Sequencing for Pathogen Detection and Host-Response Biomarkers" |
| April 24, 2025 | Nichola J Hill , PhD
Assistant Professor Biology Department, University of Massachusetts Boston Hosted by Dr. Levin |
"The ‘wild roots’ of avian influenza: how host diversity promotes spread of a rapidly-evolving virus" |
| May 1, 2025 | No seminar (Last week of classes) | No seminar |
Fall 2024
| Date | Speaker (Host) | Title |
| August 29, 2024 | No seminar (First week of classes) | No seminar |
| September 5, 2024 |
John Shepard, MS Department of Entomology & Center for Vector Biology & Zoonotic DiseasesThe Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Hosted by Dr. Risatti |
"Surveillance of Mosquito-borne Arboviruses in Connecticut" |
| September 12, 2024 | Abhinav Upadhyay, DVM, MVSc, PhD
Assistant Professor Department of Animal Science University of Connecticut Hosted by Dr. Khan |
“Application of nanotechnology for improving food safety: A farm to fork approach” |
| September 19, 2024 | No seminar | No seminar |
| September 26, 2024 | Tracy Romano, PhD
Vice President of Research & Chief Scientist Mystic Aquarium Hosted by Dr. DeGuise |
"Mystic Aquarium’s Research Efforts towards Recovery and Conservation of Beluga Whales" |
| October 3, 2024 | Daniel Nielsen, PhD
Research Microbiologist, USDA ARS Ruminant Diseases and Immunology Research Group National Animal Disease Center Hosted by Dr. Szczepanek |
"Bacterial Respiratory Disease in Livestock" |
| October 10, 2024 | Tavis Anderson, PhD
Research Biologist, USDA ARS Virus and Prion Research National Animal Disease Center, Ames IA Hosted by Prof. Tulman |
"Influenza A virus at the human-animal interface” |
| October 17, 2024 |
Cory Brayton, DVM, DACLAM, DACVP
Director, Phenotyping Core
Associate Professor, Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology
Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine
Hosted by Dr. Reinhardt
|
"FUNdamental Pathology and Mousology for Research" |
| October 24, 2024 | Natalie Sylvia Tocco, DVM, MS, DACVP
Veterinary Epidemiologist Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC Hosted by Dr. Mishra |
"Epipathology: the importance of combining pathology and epidemiology in wildlife and conservation medicine" |
| October 31, 2024 | Jafar H. Razeq, PhD, HCLD (ABB)
Laboratory Director Katherine A Kelley State Public Health Laboratory Connecticut Public Health Hosted by Dr. Risatti |
"The Role of the State Public Health Laboratory" |
| November 7, 2024 |
|
CANCELLED
|
| November 14, 2024 | Parbeen Singh PhD
Postdoctoral Associate Institute of Material Science, UConn, Storrs CT Hosted by Dr. Khan
|
"Thermal stabilization of adenovirus-based vaccine in microneedle devices" |
| November 21, 2024 | Camila Hamond, DVM, PhD
National Veterinary Services Laboratories, Animal Plant & Health Inspection Service, US Department of Agriculture, Ames, Iowa, USA Hosted by Dr. Wunder |
"Molecular diagnosis of equine infectious diseases" |
| November 28, 2024 | No seminar (Thanksgiving Break) | No seminar |
| December 5, 2024 | No seminar (Last week of classes) | No seminar |
Spring 2024
| Date | Speaker (Host) | Title |
| January 18, 2024 | No seminar | No seminar |
| January 25, 2024 |
Glenn Browning, DVM, PhD Director, Asia-Pacific Centre for Animal Health Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor Melbourne Veterinary School Faculty of Science The University of Melbourne Hosted by Dr. Geary |
Vaccines – critical components of effective veterinary microbial stewardship |
| February 1, 2024 | Maggie Martinez, DVM, M.S., Ph.D., Dipl. ACVP
Hosted by Dr. Reinhardt |
One Health Issues and Unusual Mortality Events Affecting Central Californian Marine Mammals
|
| February 8, 2024 | Albert Ko, MD
Raj and Indra Nooyi Professor of Public Health and Professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases) and of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) Yale University Hosted by Dr. Wunder |
Making global health equity work: Community driven research in Brazil |
| February 15, 2024 | Emma A. Borkowski, DVM, DACVP, Ph.D., MRCVS, FHEA
Assistant Professor Anatomic Pathology, Department of Pathobiology Ontario Veterinary College University of Guelph Hosted by Dr. Mishra |
Immune responses to parasites of livestock |
| February 22, 2024 | Dr. Tracy Rittenhouse
Associate Professor UConn Department of Natural Resources & the Environment Hosted by Milton Levin |
Managing epidemics in wildlife populations |
| February 29, 2024 | Tyler D. Gavitt, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate Saunders Laboratory, Duke Human Vaccine Institute Hosted by Dr. Szczepanek |
Vaccine design for protection against diverse coronaviruses |
| March 7, 2024 |
Daniel Mulkey, PhD
Professor
Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, UConn
Hosted by Dr. Khan
|
Phox2b-expressing neurons contribute to breathing problems in Kcnq2 loss-and gain of-function encephalopathy models |
| March 14, 2024 | Spring Recess | Spring Recess |
| March 21, 2024 | L. Cody Smith
Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences University of Connecticut Hosted by Dr. Risatti |
Pulmonary lipids, inflammation, and ozone toxicity |
| March 28, 2024 | Mia R. Maltz, PhD
Assistant Professor of Microbial Ecology and Soil Health UConn Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture Hosted by Prof. Tulman |
From the playa to the air: Exposure risks and our lungs |
| April 4, 2024 | Jessica Brandt, PhD
Assistant Professor Natural Resources & the Environment and Center for Environmental Sciences & Engineering University of Connecticut Hosted by Dr. De Guise |
Environmental Contaminants and Ecological Fitness |
| April 11, 2024 | Lucas Tirloni, PhD
Chief, Tick-Pathogen Transmission Unit NIH/NIAID Rocky Mountain Laboratories Hosted by Dr. Verardi |
Tick saliva and its role modulating skin wound healing |
| April 18, 2024 | **CANCELLED**
|
|
| April 25, 2024 | Thiago Luiz Alves e Silva
Staff Scientist Molecular Parasitology and Entomology Unit Laboratory of Malaria and Vector research NIAID, NIH Hosted by Dr. Wunder |
High-Resolution Proteomics Reveals New Cell Biology Facets of Plasmodium-Mosquito Interactions |
Fall 2023
| Date | Speaker (Host) | Title |
| August 31, 2023 | No Seminar | No Seminar |
| September 7, 2023 | Elsio Wunder, DVM, PhD
Assistant Professor Pathobiology and Veterinary Science University of Connecticut |
From the field to the bench, and back? Translational research on leptospirosis |
| September 14, 2023 | Mary Beth Genter, PhD
Professor University of Cincinnati Hosted by Dr. Mishra |
Intranasal (IN) Drug Delivery: IN Carnosine in the Thy1-aSyn Mouse Model of Parkinson's Disease |
| September 21, 2023 | Arlind Mara, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth Hosted by Dr. Szczepanek |
How we recognize damage: A critical role for B1 B cell produced Natural Antibodies in the induction of immune responses adjuvanted by DAMPs but no PAMPs |
| September 28, 2023 | Stephen M. Rich, PhD
Professor of Microbiology University of Massachusetts Amherst Hosted by Dr. Verardi |
The New England Center of Excellence in Vector-borne Diseases: operational research, training, and practice |
| October 5, 2023 | Chun Kuen Mak, DVM, PhD, Dip. ACT
Assistant Professor College of Veterinary Medicine Long Island University Hosted by Dr. Kerr
|
Equine Endometrial Biopsy: Evaluation and Application |
| October 12, 2023 | Elise Schieck, Dr. rer. nat.
Senior Scientist - Mycoplasma International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Kenya Hosted by Dr. Geary |
Tackling Contagious Bovine and Caprine Pleuropneumonia in Africa - Current Efforts at ILRI |
| October 19, 2023 | Jim Adelman, PhD
Assistant Professor Department of Biological Sciences University of Memphis Hosted by Prof. Tulman |
Understanding host competence in a wild songbird: potential mechanisms and consequences for disease dynamics |
| October 26, 2023 | Meghana Parikh, VMD, MPH
Research Veterinary Medical Officer NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center Hosted by Dr. DeGuise |
A One Health approach to oyster disease and restoration in Long Island Sound |
| November 2, 2023 | Caroline Zeiss, DACVP, DACLAM
Chief of Pathology, Comparative Medicine Yale Univerity Hosted by Dr. Risatti |
Modeling Endemic Patterns of Coronaviral Transmission Across Species |
| November 9, 2023 | Wendy Blay Puryear, PhD
Infectious Disease and Global Health Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University Hosted by Dr. Levin |
High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza: Rewriting the Book on Viral Spillover and Dissemination |
| November 16, 2023 | Raman Bahal, PhD
Associate Professor Pharmaceutical Sciences University of Connecticut Hosted by Dr. Garmendia |
Developing Next Generation Therapeutic Modalities at the Interface of Nucleic Acid Chemistry and Delivery Platforms |
| November 23, 2023 |
Thanksgiving Recess |
Thanksgiving Recess |
| November 30, 2023 | Jianping Li, PhD
National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda MD Hosted by Dr. Khan |
Sex-Based Immunogenicity of the Mucosal Subunit Vaccine Against SARS-COV2 in Mice. |
| December 7, 2023 | Maria Rodgers, PhD
Assistant Professor Department of Biological Science North Carolina State University Hosted by Dr. Reinhardt |
Examining Health and Disease in Aquatic Environments |