Salem State's annual Darwin Festival is a weeklong event that celebrates the work of Charles Darwin, with sessions from leading researchers celebrating the field of biology and its impact on today's world.

2024 Darwin Festival

The 2024 Darwin Festival will take place Monday, February 12 through Friday, February 16.

All in-person talks will be held in Vets Hall, Ellison Campus Center, North Campus. A number of the talks are webinar only. Events are free and open to the public.

Students and guests who anticipate needing accommodations due to a disability or who have questions about access may contact disability services at [email protected] or Ryan Fisher for more information.

Schedule

February 12, 2024

11:00 am : Peter Buston, Associate Professor of Biology, Director of the Boston University Marine Program

“Strategic Growth in Social Vertebrates”

Recent evidence suggests that social vertebrates can modify their growth and size in an adaptive fashion in response to fine-grain changes in social conditions. In this talk, I will review experimental evidence for strategic growth in social vertebrates, describe conditions under which strategic growth commonly occurs, and highlight examples of convergent evolution of strategic growth across the tree of life.

2:00 pm : Karen Romano Young, Science Writer and Artist - Webinar

“Science Superpowers: Not What You Think"

“I'm no Einstein, but I've figured out what I need to do to get ahead in science -- and to share what I've figured out with kids. Through my books, science comics, and a new project called I Was A Kid (designed to invite the next generation into STEAM), I'll fill you in, and send you out with new ideas about ways to engage kids -- and yourself!”

February 13, 2024

9:25 am : Kevin Esvelt, Associate Professor and Director of the Sculpting Evolution group, MIT

"Evolution, Ethics, and Engineering Wild Mice to Stop Lyme Disease"

"When and how should we consider editing wild organisms, and how can communities guide research intended to change our shared environment? The Mice Against Ticks project, which aims to prevent Lyme disease by editing white-footed mice so they can't infect ticks, is trying to find out."

12:15 pm : Martha Munoz, Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University - Webinar

“Behavior is a Motor and Brake for Evolution”

Evolution proceeds rapidly in some cases and slowly in others. But, why is this so? I explore this question by focusing on one of evolution's key architects: behavior. I illustrate how organisms are not the passive targets of selection; rather, through behavior, they can dictate the selection they experience and guide the rate of evolution.

3:05 pm : Dimitrios Pelekoudas, Chemistry Alumnus, Research Scientist in the Biologics Drug Product Development & Manufacturing Organization at Sanofi

“Non-Viral Gene Therapy Platform Development: Considerations for LNP Manufacturing”

Comirnaty® and Spikevax® along with siRNA-LNP based Onpattro® have demonstrated the manufacturability and clinical viability of LNP based nanocarriers. In the development of LNP based drug product, the choice of each lipid component and the manufacturing technology is one of the key factors for success. The choice of lipid matrix can be modulated to maneuver and change the biodistribution of LNPs depending on the organ of interest and type of nucleic acid. The manufacturing technology can have a significant impact on the biophysical properties, structural characteristics, colloidal stability, and efficacy of the LNP. This study describes the key considerations for designing LNP formulations and impact of different manufacturing parameters and the scale up consideration to enable successful LNP drug product manufacturing.

February 14, 2024

3:05 pm : Kevin Uno, Associate Professor, Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University

“Dear Paranthropus, WTF* Did You Eat?”

Animals interact the most with their environment when feeding so reconstructing diets of extinct species can provide insight into their ecology and evolution. In the case of humans, *what types of food did our ancient ancestors, like closely related **** erectus and distantly related Paranthropus boisei, eat? In this talk, I’ll reveal what isotopes in teeth tell us about our past.

3:05 pm : Paul Kirshen, Professor of Climate Adaptation in the School for the Environment at University of Massachusetts Boston and Research Director of the Stone Living Lab

“Managing Present and Increased Coastal Flooding in Boston”

In 2018 the City of Boston made the decision to use shore-based nature-based approaches (NBA) to manage present and increased coastal flooding. The alternative to this was to construct a massive offshore harbor-wide barrier. Effective implementation of NBA will require research into the socio-economic and biophysical performance of these systems.

February 15, 2024

10:50 am : Micaela Martinez, Director of Environmental Health at WE ACT for Environmental Justice, New York City

“From Air to Makeup: Addressing Environmental Justice in the U.S.”

This talk will explore opportunities for centering social justice as we, as a society, address climate change and other environmental crises. We will discuss how structural racism impacts environmental exposures and health in the U.S.; then, we will go in-depth into examples of how advocates, community members, and scientists are coming together to tackle air pollution and toxic chemicals in beauty products.

1:45 pm : Sarah Stanhope, Biology Alumna and Ph.D Candidate, Biochemistry Department, Purdue University - Webinar

“Prolonged Blue Light Exposure Alters Phototransduction Efficiency and One-Carbon Metabolism Processes in the Drosophila Eye.”

Oxidative stress in the eye is associated with the development and progression of ocular diseases including cataracts, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy. This talk focuses on how blue light exposure results in oxidative stress in the Drosophila eye and will discuss proteins that are susceptible to changes in oxidation status and/or redox signaling events. Interestingly, we identified several key phototransduction and one-carbon metabolism proteins with oxidative modifications correlating with changes in enzymatic activity.

3:05 pm : Semarhy Quinones-Soto, Lecturer, Department of Biological Sciences, Sacramento State University - Webinar

“Diversity Matters: From Evolution to the Workplace”

Diversity can refer to genetic variations within an evolving population or to different individuals who contribute to a productive workplace. This talk focuses on the intersection between science and art as a way to teach about diversity.

February 16, 2024

10:50 am : Ellen Acheampong, Biology Alumna and Ph.D Candidate, University of Massachusetts Medical School

“Immunity to Tuberculosis”

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterial pathogen that causes tuberculosis, is responsible for 10 million cases and 1.5 million deaths each year. Fortunately, most infected people never develop disease. This presentation will discuss what immune components are required to contain infection and why immunity fails and permits disease in some cases.

1:45 pm : Greg Skomal, Senior Fisheries Biologist with Massachusetts Marine Fisheries and Shark Research Program - Webinar

“Living with White Sharks”

For more than a decade, the Division of Marine Fisheries and collaborators have been studying the ecology and behavior of white sharks off Cape Cod using state-of-the-art tagging technology. This presentation will highlight how this research is being used to mitigate potential shark and human conflicts.

Date: February 12 - 16, 2024

Location: Salem State University - 352 Lafayette Street, Salem, MA 01970.

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