Student Seminars and Professional Development Workshops
Welcome to the Rowan-Virtua TBES Student Seminar and Professional Development Workshop page. All PhD students must give an annual, oral seminar during the fall or spring term. All Work-in-Progress seminars and Thesis Defenses are located on the Stratford Campus in Room 290 of the Science Center, unless otherwise noted.
Mentor: Dr. Katrina Cooper
Department: Cell and Molecular Biology
Title: The transcriptional regulator Med13 plays a novel cytoplasmic role in Huntingtin toxicity.
Date: December 18, 2025
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Webex: https://rowan.webex.com/meet/robins196
PhD Work in Progress Presenter: Vanessa Pizutelli, PhD Candidate
Mentor: Dr. Dimitri Pestov
Department: Cell and Molecular Biology
Title: Investigating Ribosomal RNA as a Potential Biomarker for Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury
Date: December 18, 2025
Time: 11 a.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Webex: https://rowan.webex.com/meet/pizute72
Professional Development Workshop: Public Speaking Series
Department: TBES
Title: Holiday Karaoke Party
Date: Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Professional Development Workshop: Public Speaking Series
Department: TBES
Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Professional Development Workshop: Public Speaking Series
Department: TBES
Date: Wednesday, November 5, 2025
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
PhD Work in Progress Presenter: Ben Dunham, PhD Candidate
Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth West
Department: Neuroscience
Title: Neural circuitry in appetitive and aversive learning in Alzheimer's disease
Date: October 30, 2025
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Webex: https://rowan.webex.com/meet/dunhamb5
Professional Development Workshop: Public Speaking Series
Department: TBES
Date: Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Professional Development Workshop for Graduate Students and Postdocs, 2025-2026
Presented by: Suresh Pitram, PhD
Department: TBES in partnership with the Department of Neuroscience and the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology
Title: Academic Roots, Industry Insights: My Evolution into Advising and Consulting
Date: Monday, October 20, 2025
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Professional Development Workshop: Public Speaking Series
Department: TBES
Date: Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
PhD Dissertation Defense Presenter: Joey Sloand, PhD Candidate
Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth West
Department: Neuroscience
Title: Aberrant Behavior and Medial Prefrontal Cortex Activity in the TGF344-AD Rat Model of Alzheimer's Disease
Date: Wednesday, October 1, 2025
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Webex: https://rowan.webex.com/meet/sloand83
Professional Development Workshop: Public Speaking Series
Department: TBES
Date: Wednesday, September 24, 2025
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Professional Development Workshop: Public Speaking Series
Department: TBES
Title: Science communication and its impact on the general public.
Date: Wednesday, May 21, 2025
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Work in Progress Presenter: Sanese White-Brown, PhD Candidate
Mentor: Dr. Ronald Ellis
Department: Cell Biology & Neuroscience
Title: Identifying factors that regulate Gli activation through genetic suppressor screens
Date: Thursday, May 8th, 2025
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Webex: Meeting link: https://rowan.webex.com/rowan/j.php?MTID=m8181894a77fdba66dff4b6fa951f38f1
Meeting number: 2861 225 7730
Password: 9CSqfSJn33d
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Dial 28612257730@rowan.webex.comYou can also dial 173.243.2.68 and enter your meeting number.
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+1-415-655-0003 US TOLLAccess code: 2861 225 7730Host PIN: 5556
Professional Development Workshop: Public Speaking Series
Department: TBES
Title: Senior student workshop: How to give an effective talk.
Date: Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
PhD Thesis Defense Presenter: Alicia Campbell (Doyle), PhD Candidate
Mentor: Dr. Randy Strich
Department: Cell Biology & Neuroscience
Title: From Differentiation to Disease: Cyclin C Direct Coordinates Transcription and Mitochondrial Dynamics
Date: Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Time: 11 a.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Work in Progress Presenter: Haven Predale, PhD Candidate
Mentor: Dr. Barry Waterhouse
Department: Cell Biology & Neuroscience
Title: Distribution of Cerebellar-Projecting Locus Coeruleus Neurons and Their Dendritic Fields in the Mouse
Date: Thursday, April 24th, 2025
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Webex:https://rowan.webex.com/meet/predal25
Work in Progress Presenter: Quy Nguyen, PhD Candidate
Mentor: Dr. Jeremy Francis
Department: Cell Biology & Neuroscience
Title: Aged Related Regulation of N-acetylaspartate Metabolism: Refinement of a Metabolic Risk Marker for Neurodegenerative Disease.
Date: Thursday, April 24th, 2025
Time: 11 a.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Webex: Meeting link: https://rowan.webex.com/meet/nguyenq0
Meeting number: 617 900 002
Professional Development Workshop: Public Speaking Series
Department: TBES
Title: How science depiction in the media affects public health and policy.
Date: Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Work in Progress Presenter: James Kennedy, PhD Candidate
Mentor: Dr. Ronald Ellis
Department: Cell Biology & Neuroscience
Title: Evolution of fem-1 activity in Caenorhabditis
Date: Thursday, April 17th, 2025
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Webex: https://rowan.webex.com/rowan/j.php?MTID=m727f1f5f70d58fe33a95130fb1509e16
Work in Progress Presenter: Jibran Imtiaz, PhD Candidate
Mentor: Dr. Ronald Ellis
Department: Cell Biology & Neuroscience
Title: Characterizing TRA-1 activator and its cofactors.
Date: Thursday, April 10th, 2025
Time: 11 a.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Webex: https://rowan.webex.com/meet/imtiaz78
Professional Development Workshop: Public Speaking Series
Department: TBES
Title: What holds us back from speaking to an audience?
Date: Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Work in Progress Presenter: Corinne Gallagher, PhD Candidate
Mentor: Dr. Daniel Manvich
Department: Cell Biology & Neuroscience
Title: Modulation of opioid self-administration & drug discrimination in the rat.
Date: Thursday, March 27th, 2025
Time: 11 a.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Webex: https://rowan.webex.com/meet/gallag35
Professional Development Workshop: Public Speaking Series
Department: TBES
Title: First year lab selection presentations
Date: Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Professional Development Workshop for Graduate Students and Postdocs, 2024-2025
Presented by: Aliza Schmidt, MS, MBE
Department: TBES in partnership with the Department of Cell Biology & Neuroscience
Title: The job of a clinical research coordinator
Date: Friday, February 28, 2025
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Professional Development Workshop for Graduate Students and Postdocs, 2024-2025
Presented by: Rachel Navarra, PhD
Department: TBES in partnership with the Department of Cell Biology & Neuroscience
Title: Navigating the Application Process for Travel Grants to Attend Scientific Conferences
Date: Friday, January 10, 2025
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Professional Development Workshop for Graduate Students and Postdocs, 2024-2025
Presented by: Zhanna Druzina, PhD
Department: TBES in partnership with the Department of Cell Biology & Neuroscience
Title: Exploring Industry Careers: From Start-Ups to Established Pharma Giants
Date: Friday, December 6, 2024
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Work in Progress Presenter: Alexis Dispensa, PhD Candidate
Mentor: Dr. Brian Weiser
Department: Molecular Biology
Title: Investigation of a novel cryptic binding site on PCNA
Date: Thursday, November 21, 2024
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Webex: https://rowan.webex.com/rowan/j.php?MTID=m8d6098094cce6d8d3e982de37381c0ad
Meeting number: 2866 911 8015
Meeting password: UAsJp4C9mx6
Join from a video or application
Dial 28669118015@rowan.webex.com
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Join by phone
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Work in Progress Presenter: Brianna Linneman, PhD Candidate
Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth West
Department: Cell Biology & Neuroscience
Title: Investigating mesolimbic dopamine dysfunction in a transgenic Alzheimer's disease rat model
Date: Thursday, November 21, 2024
Time: 11 a.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Webex: webexteams://im?space=94ca6730-4e7b-11ed-ae36-21b419648b09
Work in Progress Presenter: Christal Rolling, PhD Candidate
Mentor: Dr. James Holaska
Department: Cell Biology & Neuroscience
Title: Exploring the role of nuclear envelope protein emerin in invasive characteristics using multiple cancer cell lines
Date: Thursday, November 7, 2024
Time: 11 a.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Webex: https://rowan.webex.com/rowan/j.php?MTID=m79c0014c327c335a1d2d7f574aa97e01
Professional Development Workshop for Graduate Students and Postdocs, 2024-2025
Presented by: Yevgeniya Lapik, PhD
Department: TBES in partnership with the Department of Cell Biology & Neuroscience
Title: The Educator's Path: PhD Scientists as Teaching Professors
Date: Friday, November 1, 2024
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Work in Progress Presenter: David Kahn, PhD Candidate
Mentor: Dr. Benjamin Rood
Department: Cell Biology & Neuroscience
Title: Investigating the Role of Vasopressin-Responsive Neurons in the Mediodorsal Thalamus
Date: Friday, March 31, 2023
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Webex: https://rowan.webex.com/rowan/j.php?MTID=m9020f80d99bc2e050e484d10e17ba561
Work in Progress Presenter: Timothy Joseph Sloand, PhD Candidate
Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth West
Department: Cell Biology & Neuroscience
Title: Frontal circuits mediating flexible behavior deficits in an Alzheimer's disease rat model
Date: Friday, March 24, 2023
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Stratford Campus, Science Center, Room 290
Webex: https://rowan.webex.com/meet/sloand83