Welcome to nerdnite – Washington, DC
See us nerd out!
May 12th Nerd Nite DC: awesome organic chemistry , good germs , and photosynthetic vertebrates
When: Saturday May 12, 6PM (doors), 630 PM (show)
Where: DC9, 1940 9th St NW
Tickets: $10 at http://www.dcnine.com/event/nerd-nite/
MUSIC: Bella Russia
PRESENTATIONS:
1. Why you love organic chemistry and probably don’t even know it
By Jason Dec
Organic chemistry is fundamental and behind almost everything we know and love in our daily lives. A brief overview of some of the neat aspects of different areas within this broad field will be covered. Don’t let some biologist, or (ugh!) medical doctor tell you that “orgo” was the hardest/most useless class they ever took and get away with it! Organic chemistry rules!
Bio: Jason is a Patent examiner at the US Patent and Trademark Office in the area of organic chemistry (mostly drugs). He has worked at the FDA writing a review of what is known about the biochemistry of low molecular weight oligomers (what happens to the plastic you eat). He did a postdoc at the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse (making opiates and opioids). He got his PhD studying the synthesis of complex natural products (like lysergic acid derivatives). When he’s not knee deep in paperwork he likes to fix things. The fact that he is the reason they often need fixing is immaterial.
2. Why can’t we be photosynthetic?
By Ryan Kerney
There are many examples of photo-symbionts across the tree of life. However vertebrates appear incapable of maintaining the necessary symbioses. I will discuss our work on algal symbionts in salamanders, along with engineering attempts to create vertebrate photosymbioints through synthetic biology. Unfortunately, despite these rays of hope, there is still little chance of a photosynthetic future for humanity.
Bio: Ryan Kerney is an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow working at the Department of Energy on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. He spends his nights and weekends writing about salamander and frog evolution and development.
3. Embracing your inner germs: a love story
By Marcel Vinces
Think of any teen movie, starring, say, Zac Efron or Molly Ringwald (she’s still hip, right?) : Girl falls real hard for the bad kid in school, obsesses over him, can’t stop talking about him, is mesmerized by his toughness and cool brawn. And all the while she overlooks the nice guy in homeroom, who pines away for her attention. Germs are just like that. We are fascinated (and scared) by the bad ones that make us sick, but the nice guys in the microbial world have been courting us throughout human evolution, helping us digest food in our guts, strengthening our immune system, making our crops grow better, and producing some of our most delicious foods and beverages. Bad boy germs get all the attention. I’ll be showcasing the quiet geeky germs we so often overlook and give them some of the credit (and loving attention) they deserve.
Bio: Marcelo is currently a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the National Science Foundation. He received his PhD in Molecular Microbiology at Tufts University in Boston, where he studied a type of yeast that lives in the human body, usually minding its own business, though at times able to make us sick. When not in the lab, Marcelo was researching the products of that friendlier fungus called brewer’s yeast, at neighborhood bars, pubs, saloons and discotheques (for science purposes only, he swears). Once a month, he transforms into his alter-ego, DJ Marceleaux, spinning international pop music at a monthly night called Bruxxsel.