Symposium: From Cells to Developmental Systems and Beyond: A Symposium Honoring Ernest Everett Just, in the Fall of 2008 at Howard University, Washington, DC

Howard University, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

PI Full Name: W. Malcolm Byrnes, PhD (Co-PI: Stuart A. Newman, PhD) Proposal Number: IOS-0830114 Proposal Title: "From Cells to Developmental Systems and Beyond: A Symposium Honoring Ernest Everett Just" Abstract: This NSF award is for a one-day scientific symposium that coincides with the 125th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Ernest Everett Just, a pioneering African American biologist who was a faculty member at Howard University from 1910-1941. The symposium is to be held in the fall of 2008 on the campus of Howard University, a historically black college or university (HBCU). A number of prominent biologists will be presenting lectures on a variety of topics, including live cell imaging, the localization of RNA during egg development, fertilization in sea urchin, physical processes in development and in the evolution of developmental systems, non-Mendelian aspects of inheritance, and ecological aspects of developmental biology. The aims of the symposium are to recognize Just's contributions to biology on the 125th anniversary of his birth, to emphasize the ways in which early biological phenomena discovered in Just's day lay the foundation for modern developmental and cell biology, and to promote "diversity" in biological research. This last aim will be achieved by broadening participation of scientists and students at Howard University, as well as from HBCUs and other universities and agencies in the greater Washington DC area (and elsewhere). One impact of the symposium is that, by highlighting the work of E. E. Just and showing how it relates to cutting edge biological research today, it will encourage talented young minority scientists to likewise pursue careers in science. Additionally, the symposium will serve to disseminate scientific knowledge and present it in a historical context.