Program Series: Life Science
The Life Science (LS) Series offers events that showcase advances in biology. Topics include how organisms change through time and interact with their environment, animal behavior, the brain, genetics, and technological advances in molecular biology and biotechnology.
Previous LS events have covered gene patenting, the BRAIN Initiative, chimpanzee behavior, dinosaurs, aquatic life, and antibiotic discovery, among other topics.
Distinguished speakers have included Neil Shubin, Ph.D., Professor of Organismal Biology and Anatomy at the University of Chicago, and host of “Your Inner Fish” on PBS; John Maunsell, Ph.D., Alfred D Lasker Professor of Neurobiology at the University of Chicago and the Director of the Grossman Institute for Neuroscience, Quantitative Biology and Human Behavior; and Katherine A. Barsness, M.D. M.S., Director of Surgical Simulation, Director of Surgical Outcomes Research Attending Physician, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago Assistant Professor of Surgery Director of Outreach, Center for Education in Medicine, Department of Medical Education Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

With Mary Hendrix – President and Scientific Director, Children’s Memorial Research
At no other time in history have we been this close to translating basic scientific discoveries into novel therapeutic strategies to benefit humankind. However, the traditional missions of academic institutions and the pharmaceutical industry are almost diametrically opposed. Have we reached the point where ‘publish or perish’ is being replaced by ‘patent and prosper’?

With Dr. Mark Westneat, Curator of Zoology at the Field Museum and Director of Biodiversity Synthesis Center
Rapid access to information is arguably the defining revolution of our times. The Encyclopedia of Life, an ambitions, even audacious project to organize and make available via the Internet virtually all information about life present on Earth.
Continue reading “Encyclopedia Of Life (EOL): Integrating Biodiversity and Information Technology”