PITT ANNOUNCES SCIENCE2001 SPOTLIGHT SESSION SPEAKERS, TOPICS

July 17, 2001



PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh has announced details, including speakers and topics for "Science2001-A Research Odyssey," a three-day event showcasing scientific research at Pitt, which will take place Sept. 12-14 on the University's campus.



Science2001 also will include nationally prominent outside speakers, a job fair, and a scientific trade show. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required for spotlight sessions. More detailed information and registration materials are available online at www.science2001.pitt.edu.



"The festival will demonstrate the magnitude, relevance, and fun of science while reminding the public that the University of Pittsburgh is one of the nation's top recipients of research support from federal, philanthropic, corporate, and individual sources," said Arthur S. Levine, M.D., senior vice chancellor for the health sciences and dean of the School of Medicine.



"The event also will provide an opportunity to convey the value and impact of science and engineering research on society, along with a sense of the high level of effort required to achieve advances," said James V. Maher, senior vice chancellor and provost.



Each of eight spotlight sessions will feature three presentations from Pitt faculty working on the cutting edge of their fields. All sessions will be held in the Masonic Temple, on Fifth Avenue at the corners of Tennyson and Lytton Avenues in Oakland. The topics and times are:



Wednesday, 11 a.m., September 12,



_ New Horizons in Cancer Biology



_ Informatics for 21st Century Science



Wednesday, 2:30 p.m., September 12,



_ Neuronal Signaling: From Molecule to Disease



_ Applying Genetics at the Population Level



Thursday, 11 a.m., September 13,



_ Visualization of Macromolecules



_ Nanoscience--A New Frontier in Chemistry, Physics, and Materials Science



Thursday, 2:30 p.m.,September 13,



_ Drug Discovery



_ Environmental Science--Protecting Our World



(a more detailed listing is attached)



In addition to the spotlight sessions, Science2001 will feature keynote speeches by Robert G. Roeder, head of the Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Rockefeller University; Leland H. Hartwell, president and director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; and Richard E. Smalley of Rice University, the 1996 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry.



Throughout the three-day event, local and national companies will exhibit scientific equipment, products, and services, in a trade show coordinated by the Technical Sales Association.



Science job seekers can attend a career development lecture by Carol Nacy, CEO and chairman of the board of Sequella, Inc. Also, in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Technology Council, Science2001 will feature a special edition of @pgh.café, a job recruitment event for local companies and agencies.



Among those expected to attend the event are scientists and students from area colleges and universities; representatives from pharmaceutical, biotechnology, scientific equipment, and related industries; representatives from sponsoring agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation; and local government and community leaders.



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SPOTLIGHT SESSION I: New Horizons in Cancer Biology



Wednesday, 11 a.m., September 12,



The Present and Future of Tumor Vaccines



Olivera Finn, professor of molecular genetics and biochemistry



Quality Control in the Human Genome



Richard Wood, professor of pharmacology and biological sciences



The Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor as a Target for Human Cancer



Jennifer Grandis, M.D., associate professor of otolaryngology and pharmacology



SPOTLIGHT SESSION II: Informatics for 21st Century Science



Wednesday, 11 a.m., September 12,



Computational Prediction of Functional Mechanisms for Biomolecular Complexes and Assemblies



Ïvet Bahar, visiting professor of molecular genetics and biochemistry, and director of the Center for Computational Biology & Bioinformatics



The Scientific Impact of Large-Scale Computing



Ralph Z. Roskies, professor of physics and astronomy and co-director, Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center



Real-Time Detection of Epidemics



Michael M. Wagner, M.D., assistant professor of medicine



SPOTLIGHT SESSION III: Neuronal Signaling: From Molecule to Disease



Wednesday, 2:30 p.m., September 12,



Secretory Vesicle Dynamics and Neuropeptide Release



Edwin S. Levitan, professor of pharmacology



Gating of Information Flow in the CNS as Related to the Pathophysiology of Psychiatric Disorders



Anthony Grace, professor of neuroscience and psychiatry



Schizophrenia, Basic Neurobiology, and Gene Profiling Related to Dysfunction in Neuronal Communication



David A. Lewis, M.D., professor of psychiatry and neuroscience



SPOTLIGHT SESSION IV: Applying Genetics at the Population Level



Wednesday, 2:30 p.m., September 12,



Ancient Populations--Modern Genetics: A Genomic View of Human Migration over the Centuries



Michael B. Gorin, M.D., associate professor of ophthalmology and human genetics, and interim chair, Department of Human Genetics



Genetic Correlates of Normal Variation in Behavioral and Biological Traits



Stephen B. Manuck, professor of psychology



Making Progress in Respecting Privacy



Lisa S. Parker, associate professor of human genetics, and director of graduate education, Center for Bioethics and Health Law



SPOTLIGHT SESSION V: Visualization of Macromolecules



Thursday, 11 a.m., September 13,



Kinetic Imaging Mechanisms of Insulin Vesicle Exocytosis



Peter Drain, assistant professor of cell biology and physiology



Structural Energetics of EcoRI-DNA Interaction



John Rosenberg, professor of biological sciences



Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Membrane Proteins



Pei Tang, assistant professor of anesthesiology



SPOTLIGHT SESSION VI: Nanoscience--A New Frontier in Chemistry, Physics, and Materials Science



Thursday, 11 a.m., September 13,



The Development of Nanoscience from 1959-~2025



John T. Yates, Jr., R. K. Mellon professor of chemistry, director, University Surface Science Center



Quantum Computing



Jeremy Levy, assistant professor of physics and astronomy



Novel Photonic Crystal Chemical Sensing Materials and Electro-Optical Materials



Sanford A. Asher, professor of chemistry



SPOTLIGHT SESSION VII: Drug Discovery



Thursday, 2:30 p.m., September 13,



Fluorous Mixture Synthesis: A New Method for Leveraging Solution Phase Synthesis of Small Organic Molecules



Dennis Curran, Distinguished Service Professor of Chemistry, and Bayer Professor of Chemistry



Computational and Biochemical Screening for Antitumor Agents



Billy W. Day, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences, and associate professor of environmental and occupational health



Targets, Toxins, and Treatments



John Lazo, professor and chair of pharmacology



SPOTLIGHT SESSION VIII: Environmental Science--Protecting Our World



Thursday, 2:30 p.m., September 13,



Wild Strawberries--Wild Resources



Tia-Lynn Ashman, associate professor of biological sciences



Mapping the Urban Landscape from Space: What Are the Consequences of Change in the Earth System for Human Civilization?



Michael S. Ramsey, assistant professor of geology and planetary science



An Industrial Ecology Approach--Reducing Mercury in the Environment



Radisav D. Vidic, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering



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