Educational Webinar Series

In this free webinar series FAES faculty expand on topics they teach in their FAES courses.

Upcoming Lecture(s)

Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics: Uncovering Biological and Molecular Pathways Underlying Development and Disease
August 15, 2024 from 1 to 1:30PM ET

Speaker:

Dr. Vijender Chaitankar (BIOF 501, BIOF 521, BIOF 549)

This talk will focus on the key skills and techniques that biological data science units of biomedical research labs use to analyze next-generation sequencing data sets. Most biomedical research labs today function as three subunits. The unit that drives the research in the lab is the biology unit. The biotechnology unit that generates the data, and finally, the biological data science unit that analyzes the data and interprets the result. The biological data science unit additional

Dr. Chaitankar has served as an instructor and course developer for several FAES bioinformatics courses, including BIOF 549, Data Integration for Next Generation Sequencing, which launched in our summer term and will be offered as a bundle with our NGS course this fall.

Dr. Chaitankar has worked with several institutes across the NIH, including NEI, NHLBI and NIAMS to uncover molecular mechanisms that underlie disease progression. Currently, Dr. Chaitankar serves as a chief data scientist at the Pancreatic Cancer Center for Excellence, University of Nebraska Medical Center, and is focused on identifying data-driven strategies to identify molecular mechanisms underpinning pancreatic cancer tumorigenesis, progression, treatment resistance, and metastasis.

Past Webinars

Milestone-Kanban: A Hybrid Scheduling Technique
June 20, 2024 from 12 to 12:30PM ET

Speaker:

Alan Zucker (TECH 071 and TECH 073)

During this webinar, Alan Zucker will introduce participants to the Milestone-Kanban Scheduling Technique, a practical and effective tool for managing knowledge-work projects. This technique, optimized for projects like those undertaken by the NIH and other health sciences organizations, will equip you with the skills to navigate your projects with ease.

The Milestone-Kanban Scheduling Technique is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It is designed for projects like yours, where the milestones and deliverables are understood, but the effort to create them is not. This lightweight technique will provide you with the structure and tools you need to manage your projects successfully. It works well for personal projects and team efforts. It creates transparency and promotes accountability and collaboration. The 5-step process allows teams to quickly build a plan and easily maintain it.

Alan Zucker has over 25 years of experience leading projects and project organizations in Fortune 100 companies. Now, he is an instructor, consultant, and coach, sharing his leadership and project management knowledge with businesses across the country and around the world. He teaches at several leading universities and national training companies and organizations including FAES (TECH 071 and TECH 073), and his clients include Fortune 500 companies. Alan has his PMP®, PMI-ACP®, Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM), and Coach (DAC) certifications from the Project Management Institute. He also holds advanced certifications from Scrum Alliance and Scaled Agile.

From Expertise to Impact: Informing and Influencing Science and Technology Policy
May 15, 2024 from 12 to 12:30PM ET

Speaker:

Dr. Deborah D. Stine (PPOL 071-075)

During this webinar, Dr. Deborah Stine will provide tools, strategies, and examples from public policy workshops, offered through FAES this summer, as outlined in her book: From Expertise to Impact: Informing and Influencing Science and Technology Policy. This webinar will benefit scientists, engineers, and health professionals aspiring to make societal contributions by using their scientific and technical knowledge to inform and influence policymakers.

Based on her real-world experiences at Congress and the White House, Dr. Deborah D. Stine demystifies the journey, bridging the gap between research, analysis, and public policy. She provides a roadmap for navigating the complex intersection of science, technology, and society, offering practical tools, strategies, and examples. Dr. Stine holds a PhD in public administration with a focus on science and technology policy analysis from American University. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Dr. Deborah Stine is the founder of the Science and Technology Policy Academy and the instructor of the five workshop Public Policy series at FAES.

Webinar Recording

Fueling Hope: Unraveling Fatty Acid Metabolism for Cancer Therapy
March 14, 2024 from 12 to 12:30PM ET

Speaker:

Dr. David Wisniewski (IMMU 101, IMMU 418, IMMU 419)

Cancers produce and consume energy differently from healthy cells, relying on their own fatty acid production to grow and divide without the need of fats from the rest of the body. This presents as an intriguing option for therapeutic intervention, which can target these metabolic alterations, and leave healthy cells unharmed. Join us for a discussion on why cancer cells would benefit from producing their own fatty acids, how this can contribute to their malignancy, and cutting-edge therapies currently undergoing clinical trials which aim to perturb these pathways.

Dr. David Wisniewski is currently in his fifth year as a post-doctoral fellow in the Women’s Malignancy branch at the National Cancer Institute. He investigates novel ways to inhibit receptor tyrosine kinase signaling as a cancer therapy. He earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine from University of Maryland, Baltimore. As a faculty member with FAES since 2020, Dr. Wisniewski has taught several cancer biology courses and earned a microcredential in best teaching practices through FAES’s professional development programs.

Webinar Recording

Getting Started with Data Science to Advance your Biomedical Research
February 15, 2024 from 12 to 12:30PM ET

Speakers:

Yuan-Chiao Lu (BIOF 475, MATH 215, MATH 216, STAT 323)

Kiersten Campbell (BIOF 475)

Join FAES for a dynamic and inspiring celebration of data science during International Love Data Week (Feb 12-16, 2024). Learn about the crucial role of data science and its expanding influence in the research arena. This 30-minute webinar will delve into the exciting world of data science in biomedical research through example projects that are easily accessible to learners from any computational background. FAES bioinformatics faculty members, Dr. Yuan-Chiao Lu and Kiersten Campbell, will demonstrate the transformative impact of data science skills in biomedical research and provide essential resources to begin your data science adventure.

Dr. Yuan-Chiao Lu is a distinguished scientist in the academic field of injury biomechanics, computer-aided design, medical image processing, and data science and faculty at FAES where he teaches BIOF 475 I Introduction to Data Science, MATH 215 I Introduction to Linear Algebra With Applications in Statistics, Part 1, MATH 216 I Introduction to Linear Algebra With Applications in Statistics, Part 2, and STAT 323 I Epidemiology: A Practical Approach to Research Methods. He earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics and has expertise in applied mathematics, statistics, biomechanics, and data science.

Kiersten Campbell is a graduate student in the Computer Science & Informatics Ph.D. program at Emory University and faculty at FAES where she teaches BIOF 475 I Introduction to Data Science. Her research interests center around developing new analysis methods and software tools for next-generation sequencing data to empower biomedical discoveries.

Webinar Recording

Artificial Intelligence in the Biomedical Sciences
January 18, 2024 from 12 to 12:30PM ET

Speaker:

Dr. Brian Ondov (BIOF 509, BIOF 510)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly ubiquitous in biomedical research, enabled by large datasets, new algorithms, and hardware improvements. In this 30-minute talk and Q and A session, Dr. Brian Ondov will introduce the basic principles of AI and describe how its various forms can help researchers in different ways, including image classification, sequence-based prediction, generative models, and language understanding.

Dr. Ondov is a postdoctoral fellow at the National Library of Medicine, where he researches AI for consumer health communication, and faculty at FAES, where he teaches Applied Machine Learning (BIOF 509) and Advanced Applications of Artificial Intelligence (BIOF 510).

Webinar Recording