Ana I. Bento will be talking about her research at this CEMinar. Dr. Bento's research focuses on the ecology of infectious diseases in humans and other animals. Her research agenda seeks to understand the dynamics of biological populations and epidemics, focusing on how to bring experimental and observational data together with mathematical theory. The majority of her work has been on vaccine preventable diseases dynamics, with a view to understanding fundamental processes in ecology and evolution.

Monica Uddin, PhD will be talking about her research at this CEMinar. Monica Uddin is a professor in USF’s College of Public Health, where she is an active contributor to the Genomics Program housed in the Center for Global Health and Infectious Disease Research. The goal of work in the Uddin research group is to identify genetic and epigenetic predictors of stress-related mental disorders, with a particular focus on depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Dr. Nurul Husna M Shukri will be talking about her research at this CEMinar. Nurul Husna is an academician at University Putra Malaysia. She received her Ph.D. in infant nutrition from UCL, UK, in 2016, where her research focused on mother-infant signaling during breastfeeding. Prior to becoming a certified breastfeeding counselor in Malaysia, she has already been a strong breastfeeding supporter to her four sisters, friends and relatives.

Alicia R. Martin will be talking about her research at this CEMinar. Alicia is an instructor in investigation at the Analytic & Translational Genetics Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and an associated scientist at the Broad Institute affiliated with the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research and the Medical and Population Genetics Program. As a population and statistical geneticist, her research examines the role of human history in shaping global genetic and phenotypic diversity.

Dr. Mallika Sarma will be talking about her research at this CEMinar. Mallika has a BS in Evolutionary Anthropology and Psychology from the University of Michigan and completed her PhD in Anthropology with a specialization in Human Biology at the University of Notre Dame. For her PhD work, she studied bio-behavioral changes during acclimatization to extreme environments. Her graduate research specifically looked at neuroendocrine systems, metabolic/energetic physiology, environmental signals, and social dynamics in extreme settings.

Irene Gallego Romero will be talking about her research at this CEMinar. Irene is lecturer in systems genomics at the University of Melbourne and human evolutionary biologist with training in genomics, biological anthropology and pluripotent stem cell biology. Her research interests include understanding evolutionary adaptions at both short and long time spans those that have occurred in specific human populations, but also those that separate us from our close evolutionary relatives.