Elizabeth Kujawinski (Presenting 10/19 @11:10)
Dr. Elizabeth Kujawinski is a Senior Scientist in the Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole MA. She earned her PhD in Chemical Oceanography through the MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Ocean Sciences and completed postdoctoral research in Analytical Chemistry at The Ohio State University. Her research group develops and applies novel analytical methods to identify and quantify the metabolites that serve as chemical currencies in ocean microbial communities, and mediate the global carbon cycle. Dr. Kujawinski is an Associate Editor of Limnology and Oceanography and recently served on the Users’ Advisory Board for the ICR group at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. She is an active member of numerous oceanography, chemistry and metabolomics societies.
Jason Locasale (Presenting 10/21 @12:45)
Dr. Jason Locasale is an Associate Professor at Duke University School of Medicine. He has pioneered the use of metabolomics approaches to study cancer biology and metabolism. He has made seminal contributions to our understanding of metabolism and nutrition including the role of serine synthesis in cancers, defining the quantitative, mechanistic principles of the Warburg Effect and altered glucose metabolism in cancer, and the role of metabolism in mediating chromatin status and epigenetics. His research combines quantitative approaches in metabolomics and computational analysis with biochemistry, cell biology and genetics. His current research interests are in three areas: 1) Quantitative biology of metabolism, 2) The role of diet and metabolic therapeutics in health and cancer, and 3) The mechanistic basis between the interaction of metabolism and epigenetics.
Susan Murch (Presenting 10/21 @11:00)
Dr. Susan Murch is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of British Columbia. She investigates the chemicals produced by plants and how plant chemicals affect human health. Her metabolomics research began in 2003 with studies of chemical diversity and plant growth regulator responses. Her current research uses metabolomics tools to understand the chemistry of plant-based foods and hormonomics tools to understand plant growth regulators. Her research has been commercialized by several companies with outputs including: (a) planting of >150,000 breadfruit trees in ≈45 countries for food security; (b) a novel cosmetic ingredient formulated into skin care products; and (c) a novel plant-based protein ingredient for food formulations.
Elizabeth Ryan (Presenting 10/20 @4:05)
Dr. Elizabeth Ryan is an Associate Professor in the Radiation Cancer Biology and Oncology section of ERHS. Her research explores the complex interactions of food components with gut microbiota and the immune system. Her interests span both enteric disease and cancer control and prevention, with collaborators and translational application to the broader fields of microbiology, immunology, oncology, pediatrics, and nutrition. Dr. Ryan’s global health research program also includes developing innovative solutions to food systems that will enhance food security. The multi-platform research strategy for the research group covers molecular biology, laboratory animal models, companion animals, and human trials. She also holds joint appointments with the department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at CSU, the Colorado School of Public Health, and the University of Colorado Cancer Center.
Michael Snyder (Presenting 10/20 @11:00)
Dr. Michael Snyder is a Professor in Genetics at Stanford University. He is Chair of the Department of Genetics and Director of the Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine. His current research utilizes a variety of approaches to analyze genomes and regulatory networks, including a focus on humans, as well as yeast, an ideal organism ideally suited to genetic analysis. His work in human disease involves applying omics approaches (transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics) of genome sequencing, DNA methylation and microbiome assays to better understand the molecular basis of disease and the development of diagnostics and therapeutics.
David Wishart (Presenting 10/19 @4:30)
Dr. David Wishart is a Professor in the Departments of Biological Sciences and Computing Science at the University of Alberta. He is also a senior research officer and the director of the Nano Life Science program at the NRC’s National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT). Dr. Wishart has active research programs in structural biology, nanobiology, synthetic biology, prion biology, bioinformatics and metabolomics. Some of his lab’s most significant contributions have been in the area of protein chemical shift analysis and the prediction of protein structure. From 2006-2009, Dr. Wishart led the Human Metabolome Project (HMP), a multi-university, multi-investigator project that catalogued all of the known metabolites in human tissues and biofluids.