Galileo's Science Cafe

Hear about the latest findings surrounding hot topics in science and medicine that affect our everyday lives and the decisions that we make! Bring your family and friends for a free, casual, interactive science discussion. Learn from the experts and speak with them.

Location: To include everyone, our 2021-22 sessions will be conducted in a hybrid format via in-person and simultaneous Zoom webinar sessions. In-person sessions are at our new location-the Verizon Auditorium on the SciTech Campus in Manassas, VA. Free parking for each session is provided for our guests in the Occoquan Lot. Remote sessions will be held via live Zoom webinar. Pre-registration is required; links can be found under each session title below.

Evening Schedule:

For face-to-face sessions: All attendees 12 and older must complete Mason's COVID Health Check the day of the event and present their "green" healthy status to the greeter when you arrive.  Masks must be worn over the nose and mouth by all attendees 2 years and older when they are inside Mason buildings. The event is capped at 90% of capacity for social distancing. Attendees must pre-register for each individual session using the link below each session title. 

For in-person guests:

• 6:00-6:50 p.m. Check in at the Verizon Auditorium Lobby, pick up your individually packaged light dinner, and enjoy it in breakout rooms adjacent to the auditorium
• 6:30 p.m.  Auditorium seating begins
• 7:00-7:45 p.m Scientific discussion
• 7:45-8:15 p.m Ask the presenters! Questions from the audience
• 8:15-8:45 p.m Meet the scientist and networking reception (optional)
• 9:00 p.m Session closes

For remote guests:

• 6:30 p.m Logon begins
•  7:00-7:45 p.m Scientific discussion
• 7:45-8:15 p.m Q&A from the audience
• 8:15-8:45 p.m Meet the scientist and networking reception (optional)
• 9:00 p.m Session closes 

Thursday, September 16, 2021         

Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm, Ph.D., Dean of Mason's College of Science

https://science.gmu.edu/directory/fernando-miralles-wilhelm

Title: Human Demand vs Climate Change: which dominates the water scarcity problem around the world? View the Zoom webinar recording for this presentation.

Changes to socioeconomics and an evolving climate system are likely to play a vital role in how regions around the world use water into the future. Water projections for the future, while prolific, remain highly variable and dependent upon underlying scenario and model assumptions. This investigation explores the interactions between population, economic growth, energy, land, water, and climate systems and how they interact dynamically within a consistent economic modeling framework, to address how changing socioeconomic and climate conditions alter global water futures. 

Thursday, October 14, 2021

Mariaelena Pierobon, M.D., Ph.D.

https://ibi.gmu.edu/faculty-directory/mariaelena-pierobon/

Title:  When one size does not fit all: personalized medicine for breast cancer treatment 

Click HERE to register for this in person and remote session

Remote guest? Join us HERE. Logon begins at 6:30 p.m.

Abstract: Precision medicine has transformed cancer therapy from a one-size-fits-all approach to customized treatment. This relatively new approach in health care builds upon the knowledge that each individual is different and experiences disease differently. For example, biological changes within DNA, RNA, and proteins, the underlying cause of cancer, vary widely across patient populations. By targeting the malfunctioning biological mechanisms of individual tumors, precision medicine provides personalized solutions for each patient.

I will provide an overview of the role precision medicine currently plays in oncology, how it can be used to develop tailored treatment, and its impact on patients’ survival. As an example of how together we can advance precision medicine for cancer patients, I will discuss our collaborative work with the SideOut Foundation, a local non-profit organization. By sponsoring cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative research, the SideOut Foundation has brought together scientists and oncologists throughout the U.S. to demonstrate the incredible impact precision medicine has on cancer treatment and survival.

Thursday, November 18, 2021

Patrick Gillevet, Ph.D.  

https://mbac.gmu.edu/mbac_wp/news/

Title: The Selfish Microbiome and Human Cognition.
View a recording of this presentation HERE.
 

Abstract: Our studies on the Human Microbiome investigate how the microbial communities that reside in the human gut and mouth interact with the Gut-Brain-Liver Axis. It has now become apparent that the human microbiome is implicated in social behavior, reproduction, growth, cognition, as well as many diseases. Results will be presented on the interaction of the microbiome on human cognition in Cirrhosis and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The human microbiome is an integral component of the human ecosystem and is a major driver of the system. In fact, one could even say that the human host is there merely to propagate the “selfish microbiome.”

No January session is scheduled during Mason's winter break.

Thursday, February 17, 2022

Shobita Satyapal, Ph.D.           

  https://bgc.physics.gmu.edu/black-hole-experts/

Title:  In Search of Elusive Giants: Detecting supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies

View the session recording 

Abstract:   We know that monstrous black holes, one million to several billion times the mass of the sun, lurk in the centers of almost every large galaxy in the universe. They can have a profound effect on those galaxies and are capable of giving rise to the loudest gravitation signals in the universe when they merge.

In this talk, I will discuss my group’s research results in addition to several significant recent events in black hole astrophysics: the imaging of the event horizon of the M87 galaxy’s black hole; detection of colliding black holes from the LIGO interferometer; and the awarding of the 2020 Nobel Prize in physics to Andrea Ghez and Reinhard Genzel for identifying the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

Thursday, March 10, 2022           

Taylor Anderson, Ph.D., Andreas Züfle, Ph.D., Hamdi Kavak, Ph.D., and Tim Leslie, Ph.D. 

Title: Data Science for Pandemic Preparedness and Response

Abstract: People respond to crises in different ways. In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, we observe some individuals are more willing or able to engage in preventative behaviors than others. These behaviors might include mask use, social distancing, and more recently vaccine acceptance, all of which have major impacts on the trajectory of the disease. In this talk, an interdisciplinary team of researchers at GMU discusses the key role of spatial-temporal data in better understanding the relationship between human behavior, mobility, and disease spread and how we can use this knowledge to improve predictive models. The research provides opportunities to evaluate implemented policies aimed at mitigation and support evidence-based policy-making going forward.

Click HERE to view the recording of this webinar.

Links to presenter information: 

https://science.gmu.edu/academics/departments-units/geography-geoinformation-science

https://science.gmu.edu/academics/departments-units/computational-data-sciences

Thursday, April 21, 2022          

Jennifer Salerno, Ph.D.        Click HERE to view the recording.

Title: Life and Death on Coral Reefs: Microbes as Messengers of Coral Health and Disease

https://science.gmu.edu/directory/jennifer-salerno

Abstract: Dr. Salerno’s research interests focus on microorganisms and the role that they play in maintaining and destabilizing organism health and ecosystem function. Recognizing the important link between human health and ecosystem sustainability, this research is approached through the lens of seeking to advance basic science, while also developing environmental monitoring tools, practical applications, and policy guidance for environmental resource management and conservation. In this talk, Dr. Salerno will discuss ongoing research in her laboratory pertaining to coral health and disease in the Caribbean. Her research group is currently working with collaborators in Roatán, Honduras to investigate the microorganisms (bacteria, archaea, and fungi) involved in the progression of a coral disease outbreak in the region. They are also exploring the roles that microbes serve in inducing coral larvae (babies) to settle and grow on the reef. Her group uses field observations on SCUBA, molecular biology, genomics, and microscopy to carry out this work. For the past four years, she and colleagues at Mason have worked to bring student groups to learn in the field and participate in this research.

Register HERE for this session. 

Sign-up  here to join the Galileo's Science Cafe mailing list.

Andrea Cobb, Ph.D., George Mason College of Science, Director of Galileo’s Science Café, Director of Student Research and Internships,
Email: acobb4@gmu.edu