Associate Professor, Neurology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Keynote Speaker
Title: TBD
In 2008, Dr. Wilkins earned a Microbiology degree at Kansas State University. Following completion of her undergraduate degree she joined a research laboratory at the University of Denver for PhD training. The focus of her dissertation was mitochondrial oxidative stress in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Dr. Wilkins received a distinguished thesis award, and earned her PhD in 2013. Upon receipt of her PhD, Dr. Wilkins joined the KU Alzheimer's Disease Research Center as a postdoctoral fellow in August 2013. Dr. Russell Swerdlow was her mentor. Dr. Wilkins transitioned to faculty at the University of Kansas Medical Center in 2019.
Title, University, Regional Speaker
Speaker Bio Here
Professor of Biostatistics & Data Science, University of Kansas Medical Center
Session: Data Science
Dr. Koestler is a Professor in the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He received his PhD in Biostatistics from Brown University and completed his postdoctoral research training in the Quantitative Biosciences (QBS) program at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College. His primary research involves the development and application of statistical methodologies for high-throughput ‘omics’ data, with an emphasis on array-based DNA methylation data. In addition to his methodological interests, which include: statistical genomics, computational statistics, machine learning, and finite mixture models, he also has a deeply rooted interest in epigenetics and molecular epidemiology. Many of Dr. Koestler’s collaborations involve large-scale epidemiologic studies for studying DNA methylation and its relationship to environmental and lifestyle exposures, as well as its role disease susceptibility and prognosis. Dr. Koestler also currently serves as co-Director of the Biostatistics and Informatics Shared Resource (BISR) that supports the University of Kansas Cancer Center (KUCC), the KUMC Site-Director for Kansas-INBRE (K-INBRE) Bioinformatics, and the Director of the Quantitative ‘Omics Core (QOC) that supports the Kansas Institute for Precision Medicine (KIPM).
Professor of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas - Lawrence
My principal research interest is in understanding the genetic basis of complex, polygenic trait variation. Over my career I have studied a range of traits in Drosophila, most recently focusing on responses to toxin exposure. By emphasizing a systems genetics approach, and integrating a diverse array of experimental and computational tools, my group uncovers the pathways, genes, and variants that contribute to trait variation. I earned my undergraduate (1997) and graduate degrees (2000) at the University of Oxford in the UK. Following a brief period at University College London, in 2001 I moved to the University of California, Irvine to work with Dr. Tony Long, and in 2006 I started my faculty position at KU. I am currently a Professor in the Department of Molecular Biosciences, am a member of the KU Center for Genomics, and serve as Director of the K-INBRE Data Science Core at KU.
Associate Professor, Biostatistics and Data Science, University of Kansas Medical Center
Dr. Prabhakar Chalise is an Associate Professor and Assistant Director of Graduate Education in the Department of Biostatistics and Data Science. Dr. Chalise has collaborated in numerous internally and externally funded projects. The projects range from wide varieties of biomedical studies including both clinical and molecular researches.
Distinguished Professor and Director of Idaho INBRE, University of Idaho
Session: Undergraduate Career Advice Panel
Dr. Carolyn Bohach specializes in infectious disease, foodborne pathogen E. coli O157:H7, and human pathogen with health cattle relationships. She serves as a member of the K-INBRE External Advisory Committee and directs the Idaho INBRE herself. Her expertise and experience with INBRE and students in general will prove to be very beneficial in this session.
Medical Student, University of Kansas Medical Center
Joel is a current medical student at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He was a K-INBRE Scholar at Kansas State University and graduated in 2024.
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Pittsburg State University
Dr. Maz Gashti is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Pittsburg State University. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at McGill University in Montreal, Laval University in Quebec, and University of Bern in Bern, Switzerland. His research interests include advanced micro/nano manufacturing with electrospinning, functional polymers, plasma polymerized textile coatings, fiber fabrication in microfluidic devices, and polymeric webs. He is a K-INBRE mentor as well as a Recruitment Package awardee..
Title, University
Speaker Bio here
Session: Faculty