UW Genome Sciences

 

Wednesdays, 3:30, Foege Auditorium (Foege S-060) unless otherwise noted | remote viewing option

UW Genome Sciences brings leading researchers from a broad spectrum of scientific areas to campus to discuss the latest advances in genetics, genomics, proteomics, computational research and related emerging tools and technologies.

subscribe or unsubscribe to the email list | past seminars

Not all seminars are recorded, but those which are will be posted to the past seminars page and deleted after two weeks. Please note that a current UW NetID is required to access past seminar recordings.

Spring 2025

4/30 - Dr. Noah Zaitlen | UCLA
"Genetic Subtyping of Complex Traits with a Focus on Treatment Selection"
flier | talk will not be recorded

5/7 - Dr. Erez Lieberman Aiden | Baylor College of Medicine
"Fossils of Ancient Chromosomes"
flier

Abstract:
Analyses of ancient DNA typically involve sequencing the surviving short oligonucleotides and aligning to genome assemblies from related, modern species. Here, we report that skin from a female woolly mammoth (†Mammuthus primigenius) that died 52,000 years ago retained its ancient genome architecture. We use PaleoHi-C to map chromatin contacts and assemble its genome, yielding 28 chromosome-length scaffolds. Chromosome territories, compartments, loops, Barr bodies, and inactive X chromosome (Xi) superdomains persist. The active and inactive genome compartments in mammoth skin more closely resemble Asian elephant skin than other elephant tissues. Our analyses uncover new biology. Differences in compartmentalization reveal genes whose transcription was potentially altered in mammoths vs. elephants. Mammoth Xi has a tetradic architecture, not bipartite like human and mouse. We hypothesize that, shortly after this mammoth’s death, the sample spontaneously freeze-dried in the Siberian cold, leading to a glass transition that preserved subfossils of ancient chromosomes at nanometer scale. 

5/14 - Zan Armstrong
"Data Visualization for Discovery"
COGS-invited speaker | talk will not be recorded

5/21 - Dr. Tami Lieberman | MIT
"Community assembly in microbiomes at the strain level"
talk will be recorded | student-invited speaker

5/28 - Dr. Krishna Niyogi | UC Berkeley
"Understanding and altering chloroplast photoprotection to improve photosynthesis"
talk will be recorded

6/4 - Dr. Melina Claussnitzer | Broad Institute

 

Autumn 2025

9/24 - Dr. Christina Smolke | Stanford University

10/1 - Dr. Amy Ikui | Brooklyn College
"DNA replication during multiple division cycles in green algae"

 

10/8

10/15

10/22

10/29

11/5

11/12 - no seminar

11/19

12/3

Winter 2026

1/7 - no seminar

1/14

1/21

1/28

2/4

2/11

2/18

2/25

3/4

3/11

Spring 2026

4/1

4/8

4/15

4/22

4/29

5/6

5/13

5/20

5/27 - no seminar

6/3