Flyer text: 

INSIGHTS FROM A CLINICAL LABORATORY SCIENTIST

BELLA GRIGORYAN, MB (ASCP), CGMBS
Clinical Genetic Molecular Biologist Scientist 
Ambry Genetics

TUESDAY, MARCH 23, 2021
12:30PM-1:30PM
Zoom ID: 979 5162 8269
Passcode: 362010

FLEX AVAILABLE

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Sponsored by William Gohlke, in memory of OLE W. GOHLKE and STEPHANNE A. GOHLKE

Abstract:
Clinical lab testing plays a crucial role in detection, diagnosis and treatment of disease. In this session learn about academic requirements, experience and training for CLS, CGMBS license. The primary goal of this program is to train qualified individuals for eligibility and licensure as CGMBS by the State of California.

Qualified individuals who successfully complete the program will be prepared for the written examination in the limited license specialty as administered by the American Society for Clinical Pathologists [ASCP Website] and title 17 of California code of regulations, section 1031.3.

In this presentation, Bella Grigoryan will summarize DNA/RNA extraction, NGS (next generation sequencing) and PCR. Ambry Genetics offers covid testing, along with a menu of other comprehensive genetic testing, which includes hereditary cancer, epilepsy, hereditary cardiovascular disease, neurodevelopment disorders, rare disease and exome.

Bio:
Bella Grigoryan is a Clinical Genetic Molecular Biologist Scientist and a GCC alumnus. She immigrated to America in 1992 and settled in Glendale, CA. She continued her education at Hoover High School. After high school she attended Glendale Community College and transferred to California State University, Northridge, where she received her bachelor's degree in Biology.

Soon after graduation, she started exploring the job market and landed her first position as a lab technologist at LabCorp. She worked there for seven years after which she was laid off and after just a year was rehired at the company. But after her return, to LabCorp, three months later, she got a job offer from Ambry Genetics.

While in her new position as a lab associate, after a year and half, she took advantage of the company's in house training program to become a licensed Clinical Genetic Molecular Biologist Scientist. She started as a clinical lab scientist I and is now a technical trainer for the program, at Ambry Genetics, in extraction and distribution.

Flyer text: 

ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY AND TRAUMA: AN INTERSECTION OF SCIENCE AND COMPASSION
DR. ANNA KULIDJIAN

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2021
12:30PM-1:30PM
Zoom ID: 939 1677 9744
Passcode: 508544

FLEX AVAILABLE

The Science Lecture will be on Wednesday for April only. 
The May lecture returns to the 4th Tuesday of the month

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Sponsored by William Gohlke, in memory of OLE W. GOHLKE and STEPHANNE A. GOHLKE

Abstract:
Dr. Kulidjian will speak about her journey into orthopedic surgery and orthopedic joint reconstruction and tumor surgery as an Armenian female first generation immigrant. She will also speak about giving back to those in need in Armenia and around the world through medical outreach projects. 

Bio: 
Dr. Kulidjian performs primary and revision knee and hip replacements using advanced technologies and minimally invasive techniques. She has extensive experience restoring limb function through complex reconstructions. Her research interests include improving effectiveness and outcomes of knee and hip replacement procedures and understanding the mechanisms of metastases and role of stem cell initiation and maintenance of the disease. In the laboratory, she works to find novel therapies to treat metastatic disease to bone. Involved in the 1988 Armenian earthquake recovery efforts, she decided to become a physician after seeing her father, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, bring amputee children from Armenia to Toronto to receive life-changing orthopedic procedures. In her free time, Dr. Kulidjian enjoys spending time with her family, as well as hiking, surfing and cooking.

Board Certifications 
American Board of Orthopedic Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery
Royal College of Physicians/Surgeons of Canada, Orthopedic Surgery

Medical Education
University of Toronto, MD, 2002

Residencies
University of Toronto, Orthopedic Surgery

Fellowships
Mount Sinai Hospital, Arthroplasty & Lower Extremity Reconstruction
Mount Sinai Hospital, Musculoskeletal Oncology

Current Work Site
Scripps MD Anderson Cancer Center / Scripps Clinic Torrey Pines

Flyer text: 

SCIENCE LECTURE SERIES 

READING THE RECORD OF FROST AND WIND AS IT SHAPES THE MARTIAN LANDSCAPE

DR. SERINA DINIEGA
Scientist/Systems Engineer
JPL

TUESDAY, MAY 25, 2021
12:30−1:30PM
ZOOM ID: 935 6808 8420
PASSCODE: 972284

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Sponsored by William Gohlke, in memory of OLE W. GOHLKE and STEPHANNE A. GOHLKE

Abstract:
Over the last decade, high-resolution images of Mars have shown that Mars is a very active world, with many surface features forming and evolving on seasonal timescales. Determining how these features change is important as this allows us to use them to estimate current and recent environmental conditions and active surface processes -- information that often cannot be acquired otherwise. For example, the dunes within the martian north polar erg have numerous alcove-apron features forming each Mars year. Based on when the changes occur (spoiler alert: during the Mars fall/winter) and the scale of activity observed within both the alcove-aprons and the dunes, we aim to learn more about wind-driven and polar/frost-related processes active over present-day Mars. Within this talk, several other examples of present-day martian surface activity will be shown and explored via the analysis of landforms and surface activity -- from migrating sand ripples to hovercrafting dry ice blocks. We'll also discuss how to link surface features with planetary conditions and history, and the challenges encountered in such studies.

Bio: 
Dr. Serina Diniega has loved math since she was a child and has been interested in space exploration since a visit to Johnson Space Center at the age of 12. As an undergraduate at Caltech, she found a way to combine both interests and decided to study the formation and evolution of planetary surfaces. She utilizes an interdisciplinary approach, using both geological insight and mathematical thinking while delving deep into the ways landforms evolve into specific patterns, shapes, and sizes. She received her PhD in Applied Mathematics at the University of Arizona where she explored dune and dune field pattern formation on the Earth and Mars. As a researcher at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), she looked into how lava flow dynamics evolve and form surface features on lava flows on the Earth, Mars, and Venus. She now works for the Europa Mission and the development of the Mars Exploration Program, as well as studying present-day surface activity on Mars. In addition to her research, she prioritizes encouraging students -- including women and minorities -- and the general public in STEM studies. She has a taught or mentored a wide variety of students (K-12 and undergraduate) in math, geology, and planetary science topics and research projects. 

LIVING WITH THE STARS: 
How the human body is connected to the life cycles of the Earth, the planets, and the stars

DR. IRIS SCHRIJVER
Lifestyle Medicine Physician
Clinical Pathologist 

DR. KAREL SCHRIJVER
Astrophysicist

Tuesday, September 28, 2021
12:30pm-1:30pm
Zoom ID: 926 8640 7294
Passcode: 547929

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
PENDING FLEX CREDIT

Abstract:
The human body is never finished, always changing. Our cells age, die, and are replaced at amazing rates; on average, our cells are only about 7 years old. We do not merely extract energy and water from what we eat and drink, but use it to replace cells and their contents all the time. This connects us to everything around us: the bacteria that are essential to digesting food in our gut, the plants and animals that we eat, the oxygen that we breathe, the carbon in our food that may have come from fossil fuels or from volcanic eruptions, the Sun's light, stellar explosions distant in space and time, and even the very beginning of the Universe. We are not just "star stuff", but are "living stars". We do not live outside of nature, but are dependent on all other life on Earth. All that with a body that defies an answer to the deceptively simple question: "How old are you?" What will you say? Are you as old as the Sun? Or are you still in the making?

Bios:
Dr. Iris Schrijver is a certified lifestyle medicine physician, also specialized in clinical pathology and molecular genetics. She is an adjunct clinical professor of pathology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. She co-wrote 'Living With The Stars', a popular science book about connections between the human body and the Universe. Her passion for lifestyle medicine, science, education, and the possibility of wellbeing for everyone sparked her upcoming book 'On the Path to Health, Wellbeing, and Fulfilment: To Your Health'.

Dr. Karel Schrijver (karelschrijver.com) is an astrophysicist who studies the Sun, stars like it, and their impacts on planets. He was the lead scientist and principal investigator for NASA’s TRACE satellite and for the extreme-ultraviolet telescopes on NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, both of which observed the hot and ever-changing atmosphere of the Sun. He co-wrote 'Living With The Stars’ about our many connections to the universe around us, and authored ‘One of Ten Billion Earths’ about stars and their exoplanets. In his science fiction writings, he explores reality, consciousness, and identity. 

Quantifying Giant Kelp Associated Microbiome Community Members

SEVAN ESAIAN
PhD candidate at UCSB
Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology 
(focus: Microbial Ecology and Genomics)

Tuesday, October 26, 2021
12:30pm-1:30pm

Zoom ID: 919 5445 6322
Passcode: 863404

PENDING FLEX CREDIT
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Abstract:
The lecture will inform the audience about quantifying giant kelp associated microbiome community members. The study of the bacterial members of the giant kelp microbiome is important because it allows scientists to understand how those communities form under varying environmental conditions and how the metabolic capabilities of those microbial communities differ. During the lecture career advice will also be given to students who want to pursue similar paths in the broader realm of Ecology/Marine Biology and higher education.

Bio:
Sevan Esaian is from Tujunga, CA. He earned a B.Sc. in Biological Sciences (2016) from CSU Los Angeles while working as a research technician studying skeletal muscle development and chicken embryonic gene regulatory networks. He earned an M.Sc. in Biological Sciences (2018) from CSU Los Angeles studying urban wildlife ecology. He is currently working on his Ph.D. (2023) at UC Santa Barbara in the lab of Dr. Lizzy Wilbanks where his research focuses on quantifying giant kelp microbiome community members and their respective metabolic capabilities. Due to his broad research experience, Sevan has received formal training in molecular biology, cell culture, embryology, field ecology, geographic information systems, microscopy, genomics, and bioinformatics. 

Undergraduate Research in Sprayable Antiviral Coatings and Photoactivated Treatments for Degenerative Myopia, an Overview

JC DANIEL CALSO
Mentors: Professor Robert H. Grubbs and Dr. Christopher Marotta,
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology

Special Date: Tuesday November 30, 2021
12:30pm-1:30pm

Zoom ID: 985 6198 7844
Passcode: 688292

PENDING FLEX CREDIT
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Abstract:
An overview of two summer research sessions conducted with the Grubbs Research Group. In 2020, public safety measures prevented a traditional summer research experience at Caltech, but the ingenuity of the Grubbs Research Group and tenacity of the Student-Faculty Programs Office allowed for a remote summer research project. In that project, I remotely explored the adhesive abilities of a proposed antiviral coating developed in response to the COVID pandemic. I then created a digital image processing protocol to quantify adhesion based on industry standard tests. In 2021, I was afforded the opportunity to conduct in-person research and explore photoactivated formulations for the treatment of degenerative myopia. The efficacies of these treatments were measured by examining tensile properties of rabbit sclera under various conditions. We reported substantial improvements in scleral biomechanics in samples treated with select formulations and irradiation parameters, especially when compared to untreated scleral samples. Finding research as an undergraduate can be difficult, especially as a community college student and especially as an underrepresented student. We will discuss some best practices that will hopefully help other underrepresented community college students break into research.

Bio:
JC Daniel Calso is a first-generation, non-traditional, and veteran undergraduate student. A proud Los Angeles native born to immigrant parents and raised just minutes from the home of the Dodgers, he served as a medic for the United States Navy and Marine Corps shortly after high school. He was instilled with a desire to serve those most in need by continuing to practice medicine, but as with most first-generation and veteran students, it was hard to figure out the exact path to this goal. It was hard to figure out what the goal even was. He spent multiple years in community colleges “chipping away at random prerequisites”; he only ended up at Glendale Community College because he was initially accepted into a leadership position at the Verdugo Fire Academy. Now, armed with the experience of several community college classes, a couple of bartending jobs, and a proud survivor of organic chemistry, JC is currently working on his BS in Physiological Sciences with a minor in Bioinformatics at the University of California, Los Angeles. His goal is to obtain an MD or MD-PhD and continue to serve the underserved communities in his city.