NIH Record - National Institutes of Health

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WALS Returns for 2022-2023 Season

Dr. Jill Banfield
Dr. Jill Banfield

The NIH Director’s Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series (WALS) launches its 2022-2023 season on Sept. 7. See https://oir.nih.gov/wals for the full schedule.

The big change this year is that WALS will be held an hour earlier, from 2 to 3 p.m. ET, and in Lipsett Amphitheater in Bldg. 10 to accommodate ongoing renovation of Masur Auditorium.

Nearly all lectures will be in person, and all are welcome to attend. However, due to Covid restrictions, in-person attendance will be capped at 50. To attend on site, email WALSoffice@od.nih.gov. Otherwise, watch virtually via https://videocast.nih.gov.

WALS kicks off on Sept. 7 with the annual Rolla E. Dyer Lecture, “Obligate Symbionts and Other Intriguing Members of Human Microbiomes,” by Dr. Jill Banfield of the University of California, Berkeley. She leads the Microbial Research Initiative within UC Berkeley’s Innovative Genomics Institute. Some of her most noted work includes discoveries about the structure and functioning of microbial communities and the nature, properties and reactivity of nanomaterials.

Rounding out the month: “Harnessing African Genomic Variation to Improve Health Globally” by Dr. Ambroise Wonkam of Hopkins Medicine, Sept. 14; “Molecular Origami: The Delicate Art of Protein Folding and Misfolding and Its Relevance to Health and Disease” by Dr. Judith Frydman of Stanford University, Sept. 21; and “RNA Splicing, Chromatin Modification and the Coordinated Control of Gene Expression” by Dr. Tracy Johnson of the University of California, Los Angeles, on Sept. 28—an NIH Director’s Lecture.

WALS is NIH’s highest-profile lecture program. Each season includes some of the best known names in biomedical and behavioral research. The goal is to keep NIH investigators abreast of the latest and most important research in the United States and beyond. All speakers are nominated by the NIH community.  

For updates and notice of future meetings, subscribe to the WALS listserv via: https://go.usa.gov/xhrKx.

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Assistant Editor: Eric Bock
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Staff Writer: Amber Snyder
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