Olivia M. S. Carmo, PhD
Baylor College of Medicine

Talk Title:

Unfurling Mechanisms of Desiccation Tolerance: An Ultrastructural Perspective

Abstract:

Desiccation tolerance is a multifaceted trait that may provide new biotechnological strategies for the dry storage of biological materials and engineering stress tolerance in other organisms. Desiccation-tolerant organisms can survive losing more than 90% of their water content by entering a state of suspended animation. When water becomes available again, they rapidly rehydrate and resume metabolism. In the fern Pleopeltis michauxiana, rehydration can occur in as little as 2 hours, remarkably fast compared with other vascular resurrection plants. We are using a multi-omics approach—including transcriptomics, metabolomics, and proteomics—to determine how the biomolecular landscape changes as a function of water status in situ. We are also investigating how subcellular structures, including genome architecture, changes across dry, hydrated, and intermediate water states. In this presentation, I will focus on the dramatic ultrastructural changes observed across water states and how these changes may contribute to the fern’s unusually rapid recovery.

Bio:

Olivia M. S. Carmo is an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Plant Genome Research Program in the laboratory of Dr. Steven Boeynaems at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. Her research leverages the resurrection fern Pleopeltis michauxiana, a species native to the southeastern United States, to investigate the genomic and cellular mechanisms underlying desiccation tolerance. She is particularly interested in how genome architecture changes during dehydration and rehydration.

Olivia completed her PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Melbourne, Australia, where she studied the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum and its ability to remodel host cells to survive environmental stress. Broadly, her research explores how organisms tolerate extreme stress. By uncovering the molecular mechanisms underlying stress tolerance, she hopes to inform efforts to combat infectious disease, understand organismal resilience to climate change, and develop alternatives to energy-intensive ultra-cold storage for biological materials.

Mary Hagedorn, PhD
Smithsonian Institution

Talk Title:

Helping to Secure Species Diversity Through Cryopreservation

Abstract:

TBA

Bio:

Dr. Mary Hagedorn is a Senior Research Scientist at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Biology from Tufts University and her Ph.D. in Marine Biology from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. Before focusing on coral conservation, she studied weakly electric fish and worked in aquatic ecosystems around the world.

Dr. Hagedorn’s research uses interdisciplinary approaches to address conservation challenges facing threatened coral reefs and marine biodiversity. Her team develops cryopreservation and reproductive technologies to create genomic libraries and frozen biorepositories of coral genetic material, helping protect corals from climate change, disease, and loss of genetic diversity. Her research is also expanding cryotechnology to preserve eggs, embryos, and other tissues from aquatic organisms that have previously been difficult to bank.

John Bischof, PhD
University of Minnesota

Talk Title:

Stopping Time: Advanced Vitrification Technologies for the Emerging Cryo-Supply Chain

Abstract:

The inability to reliably preserve living biological systems on demand remains a major bottleneck across modern medicine, agriculture, and biodiversity conservation. This presentation explores the technological innovations driving the NSF Engineering Research Center ATP-Bio in its mission to establish a robust “Cryo-Supply Chain”. By advancing ice-free vitrification alongside complementary preservation modes like high subzero supercooling and partial freezing, ATP-Bio and the Bischof Lab are developing scalable methods to bridge the gap between benchtop biology and clinical/industrial deployment. Special emphasis will be placed on state-of-the-art vitrification protocols and directional rewarming approaches that maintain structural and functional integrity in complex systems. Featured milestones include the first robust, indefinite cryopreservation of Drosophila and Zebrafish embryos for genetic model banking, vitrification of porcine tissues, and functional organ recovery leading to successful rat kidney transplantation after 100 days of cryogenic storage. The talk will conclude with insights into how technological breakthroughs are integrated with workforce development, commercial translation, and ethical considerations (ELSI) to bring biopreservation benefits to society.

Bio:

Dr. John Bischof is a Distinguished McKnight University Professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota and holds the Medtronic-Bakken Endowed Chair for Engineering in Medicine. He earned his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco, followed by a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley. He joined the University of Minnesota in 1993 and currently serves as Director of the Institute for Engineering in Medicine and the NSF Engineering Research Center for Advanced Technologies for Preservation of Biological Systems (ATP-Bio).

Dr. Bischof’s research focuses on thermal bioengineering, with applications in biopreservation, thermal therapies, and nanomedicine. His work explores how heat, cold, and thermal processes can be used to preserve cells, tissues, organs, and whole organisms, as well as to develop new approaches for treating disease. His research includes cryopreservation and nanowarming, thermal therapies, and the use of nanoparticles in biomedical applications, with the broader goal of advancing transplantation, regenerative medicine, diagnostics, and biomedical research.

Catherine Royer, PhD
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Talk Title:

TBA

Bio:

Dr. Catherine Royer began her academic career in France and earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1985. After her postdoctoral research in France, she held positions at the University of Illinois and the University of Wisconsin–Madison before joining the Center for Structural Biochemistry in Montpellier, France, as an INSERM Director of Research. She later served as Associate Director and Director of the institute before joining Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2013 as a Professor of Biological Sciences and Constellation Professor in Bioinformatics and Biocomputation.

Her research focuses on understanding the molecular basis of biological function, particularly how protein sequence influences structure and dynamics and how protein interactions regulate gene expression. Using advanced biophysical and quantitative microscopy approaches, her work examines protein behavior, cellular growth and division, and their implications for protein engineering, biotechnology, and disease research.