Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series
In an on-going effort to provide career development to students in the College of Graduate Studies, the Distinguished Alumni Lecture was created. The day-long event includes a one hour seminar to help mentor our graduate students in the area of career development, lunch with graduate students, and several meetings with our faculty.
Join us Friday, October 25, 2024 from 10:00 - 11:00am
Weiskotten Hall 103 as 2012 alumnus, Johnny Wang, PhD presents:
"My Biotechnology Journey: From Academia to Industry"
Johnny Wang, PhD
Director of R&D at Gatehouse Bio.
2018 alumnus, Upstate Medical University
Dr. Wang attended the graduate program at Upstate Medical University in 2018, where he conducted his thesis research in Dr. Jeffrey Amack's lab in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology. After graduation, he pursued postdoctoral research at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Following Dr. Wang's postdoc, he joined Novartis as an investigator and lab head, concentrating on disease target validation across various areas, including neuropsychiatry, aging, and ophthalmology. After Novartis, he became a senior scientist at Alltrna, a flagship-funded company specializing in tRNA therapy. In Alltrna, he led and established high-throughput tRNA functional screens using the oligonucleotide approach.
Currently, Dr. Wang is the Director of R&D at Gatehouse Bio. His work focuses on small RNA NGS detection and hit-to-lead screening of oligonucleotide therapeutics using in vitro and ex vivo disease models.
Graduate Student Lucheon with Dr. Wang
There will be a student luncheon with Dr. Wang on Friday, October 25 from 12:00 - 1:00pm in the NAB 4414 A. You must registered in order to attend. Registration for the luncheon will close Thursday, October 17, 2024.
Register for Graduate student Luncheon Today!
or use the QR code:
Photo Gallary from 2023
To see photos from 2023 Distinguished Alumni Lecture visit: https://flic.kr/ps/3ZDw2U
Julie Siegenthaler, PhD, 2023
Distinguished Alumni Lecturer, meets with students during the student lunch.
Previous Distinguished Alumni Lectures:
- April 12, 2010 - The first annual Distinguished Alumni lecture was presented by Dr. Carlo Nalin, Executive Director of the Novartis Oncology Division of Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation. Dr. Nalin earned his Ph.D. in 1982 in our Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program. His thesis sponsor was Dr. Richard Cross.
- April 29, 2011 - Dr. Kip West, Lead Senior Scientist at Infinity Pharmaceuticals. Dr. West earned his PhD in 2001 from our Anatomy and Cell Biology Program. His thesis advisor was Dr. Christopher Turner.
- May 15, 2012 - Dr. Paul Cheney, Professor and Chair of the Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Dr. Cheney earned his Ph.D. degree in 1975 in our Physiology Program. His thesis sponsor was the late Dr. James Preston..
- March 15, 2013 - Dr. Matthew Bonaparte, Scientist at Sanofi Pasteur. Dr. Bonaparte earned his PhD in 2005 from our Microbiology and Immunology Program. His dissertation sponsor was Dr. Edward Barker.
- February 11, 2014 - Dr. Jack (Matt) Webster, Senior Scientist, Project Director of the Diagnostics and Biomedical Technologies at GE Global Research. Dr. Webster earned his PhD Degree in 2004 from our Pharmacology Program. His dissertation sponsor was Dr. Richard Wojcikiewicz.
- April 20, 2015 - Karlett J. Parra, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Parra earned her PhD from the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program in 1998. Her thesis sponsor was Dr. Patricia Kane.
- February 24, 2016 - Mary Fowkes, MD, PhD, Director of Neuropathology and Autopsy Service, Associate Professor of Pathology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Fowkes earned her PhD from the Anatomy and Cell Biology Program in 1999. Her thesis sponsor was Dr. David Mitchell.
- February 7, 2017 - Georgia Tomaras, PhD, Professor of Surgery, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Tomaras earned her PhD from the Microbiology and Immunology Program in 1998. Her thesis sponsor was Dr. Steven Taffet.
- February 16, 2018 - Dr. Sami Noujaim, Associate Professor of Cardiology and Assistant Professor of Molecular Pharmacology & Physiology at the University of South Florida. His thesis sponsor was Dr. Jose Jalife.
- October 17, 2023 - Julie Siegenthaler, PhD, Associate Professor, Pediatric Developmental Biology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Her thesis sponsor was Dr. Eric Olsen.