This Week on Campus - 1/29-2/4

January 29 - February 2 | Career Fest 2018

January 29 | Intro to Graduate School / Graduate School Application Components

January 30 | USC Stem Cell Seminar

January 30 | Pitch it: Sharing your story in 60-seconds

January 31 | Trojan Farmers Market

January 31 | Artist + Scientist Mixer

February 1 | Gerontology Special Lecture

February 1 | Probing DNA Repair Pathways with Designer Nucleotides

February 2 | USC Stem Cell Student/Postdoc Seminar

February 2 | Visit The Broad with OIS

Phd Hooding Ceremony Registration

2018 Science and PINS Prize for Neuromodulation

The Science & PINS Prize for Neuromodulation is a highly competitive prize which honors scientists for their excellent contributions to neuromodulation research.  Neuromodulation is any form of alteration of nerve activity through the delivery of physical (electrical, magnetic, optical) stimulation to targeted sites of the nervous system. Established in 2016, the prize is awarded annually for outstanding research as described in a 1,500 word essay based on research performed in the past three years.

The winner of the prize is awarded US$25,000 and publication of his or her essay in the journal Science. The Grand Prize essay and that of the Runner-up are also published on Science online.

Submit your research

Learn about the prize

Rules of eligibility

Requirements for submission

Insight Data Fellows Programs

Insight is now accepting applications from graduating students for our fellowships in:

 - Data Science  (for PhDs & Postdocs)
 - Health Data Science  (for PhDs & Postdocs)
 - Data Engineering  (for Bachelors, Masters, or PhDs)
 - Artificial Intelligence  (for Bachelors, Masters, or PhDs)

1000+ Insight alumni are now data scientists and data engineers at Facebook, LinkedIn, The New York Times, Apple, Airbnb, Netflix, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Github, Slack, 23andMe, Twitter, Bloomberg, NBC, Pinterest, Microsoft, and 250+ other top companies.

Insight Fellows Programs:

 - 7 week, full-time training fellowship
 - Mentorship from leading industry data scientists, data engineers & AI specialists
 - Join an active community of Insight alumni
 - Self-directed, project-based learning followed by interviews at top companies
 - Tuition-free with need-based scholarships available to help cover living costs

Upcoming Application Deadline: February 5

Learn more & apply on our website: http://insightdatascience.com/apply

Not ready to apply? Sign up for our notification list: http://insightdatascience.com/notify

Questions? Email us at info@insightdatascience.com

Gerontology Special Lecture

The Bridge Institute presents...

Neurobiology Seminar Series

Dr. Sarah Ross
University of Pittsburgh
Lab Website

The Neural Circuits of Itch and Pain

Monday, January 22
12:00 PM
HNB 100

Abstract: The spinal cord plays a critical role in processing somatosensory information—touch, temperature, pain and itch. The Ross lab is interested in characterizing these spinal microcircuits through a combination of anatomy, electrophysiology, optogenetics and behavior.

Marine Ecology Open Faculty Search Seminar Series

Dr. J. Cameron Thrash
Louisiana State University
Lab Website

Tales from a coastal bacterioplankton safari

Monday, January 22
12 PM
AHF 153 (Torrey Webb Room)

Abstract: Each milliliter of seawater contains millions of microbial cells which are responsible for the bulk of biogeochemical cycling in the oceans. Coastal regions have even higher concentrations of these bacterioplankton compared to the open ocean, and contribute disproportionately to important transformations of carbon and other elements. Determining the functions of specific microbial taxa, and the feedbacks between these organisms and environmental factors like salinity and temperature, is challenging due to their size and the complex communities they inhabit. This talk will describe research in our lab to define microbial roles in the coastal northern Gulf of Mexico, including the seasonally oxygen-depleted waters of the “Dead Zone.” I will discuss how we have reconstructed metabolism for numerous uncultivated taxa in hypoxic waters, and how high-throughput cultivation success has lead to novel information on the ecology and evolution of some of the most abundant coastal bacterioplankton. Finally, I will outline future efforts that leverage our findings, and new cultivars, to provide a deeper understanding of microbial functions and interactions in productive, and heavily impacted, coastal environments.

Molecular Biology Seminar Series

Patricia Wittkopp
University of Michigan,
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

“Evolution of gene expression: from mutation to polymorphism to divergence.”

Friday, January 19, 2018
12:00 noon
RRI 101

Abstract: Genetic variation segregating within a species reflects the combined activities of mutation, selection, and genetic drift. In the absence of selection, polymorphisms are expected to be a random subset of new mutations; thus, comparing the effects of polymorphisms and new mutations provides a test for selection. When evidence of selection exists, such comparisons can identify properties of mutations that are most likely to persist in natural populations. We have been investigating how mutation and selection contribute to variation in cis- and trans-regulatory sequences controlling gene expression by empirically determining the effects of new mutations and polymorphisms inSaccharomyces cerevisiae. The latest findings from this work, including empirical measures of the relationship between changes in gene expression, expression noise, and fitness, will be presented and discussed.

Host: Ian Ehrenreich

The Effects of Science on International & Domestic Relations

What role do scientists play in shaping public policy?

How do your scientific collaborations contribute to diplomacy efforts?

What actions affect perceptions of science and scientists?

Prof. Nicholas Cull (USC Public Diplomacy) will lead a discussion on the effects of science on international and domestic relations, the topic of scientific authority, and historical patterns of scientific collaboration.

Wednesday, January 17
1:00-2:00 PM
RRI 101

Nicholas J. Cull is Professor of Public Diplomacy at USC and the founding director of USC’s Master of Public Diplomacy program. He works in interdisciplinary research areas, and will give a talk about the role science and scientists play in public diplomacy and public opinion. As a close associate of the British Council’s Counterpoint Think Tank and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Professor Cull is an expert in the roles of advocacy, exchange, and culture play in policymaking.

Marine Ecology Open Faculty Search Seminar Series

Dr. Sheri Floge
The Ohio State University

Marine viruses: key players in planktonic food webs and carbon cycling

Tuesday, January 16
11 a.m.
AHF Torrey Webb Room

Abstract: Drifting photosynthetic microbes occupying the sunlit waters of the global ocean support complex food webs that ultimately provide essential nutrition to human populations and regulate global scale biogeochemical cycling. Within planktonic food webs, marine microbes and mesozooplankton are connected by a wide range of individual biotic and abiotic interactions, the sheer complexity of which hinder accurate prediction of oceanic carbon (C) fluxes. Using laboratory- and field-based stable isotope pulse-chase multitrophic food web experiments, I sought to quantify the net impact of marine viruses on cross-trophic C and nitrogen (N) transfer in systems dominated by picophytoplankton. The data show that viruses both stimulated dissolved organic carbon (DOC) production and bacterial growth, consistent with the viral shunt hypothesis, and increased C and N transfer from picophytoplankton to the copepod Acartia tonsa. Thus, viruses not only ‘shunt’ but also ‘shuttle’ C in complex planktonic food webs. In addition, copepod fecal pellet production rates were higher in the presence of viruses, suggesting a mechanism for viral enhancement of C export. Multi-omics analyses revealed that intact, virus-infected cyanobacteria release labile compounds during early stages of infection, potentially stimulating zooplankton grazing. Taken together, the data suggest that the combined effects of viral and zooplankton predation can be greater than the sum of individual interactions, and illustrate the importance of understanding the net impact of multiple microbial interactions when linking microbial cellular physiology to global scale biogeochemical processes.

Advanced Fellowships 2018

The available fellowships are the Endowed Fellowship, Final Year Fellowship, Summer Research and Writing Grant, Research Enhancement Fellowship, and the PhD Achievement Fellowship.  Attached is a memo from the graduate school detailing each of the awards and the requirements.  Applications are due to Doug Burleson by Wednesday, January 31st at Noon. 

   Advanced Fellowships 2018 by uscbiscgrad on Scribd