Indiana State University Newsroom

The Indiana State University Biology Speaker Series will celebrate Double Helix Day by welcoming Wes Warren as the guest speaker on April 12.

Warren, an assistant professor of genomics at Washington University at St. Louis, also serves as the assistant director of genomics at The Genome Institute.

The presentation will be held on campus at 4 p.m. in Room 12 of the Science building. Staff, students, and members of the public are all invited to attend free of charge.

Warren's research focuses primarily on the use of whole genome analysis methods to uncover molecular signatures. His research plays an important role of the analysis of the chicken, platypus and zebra finch genomes, also serving as an integral team member in the analysis of the macaque, orangutan, tarsier and marmoset genomes.

Warren holds three degrees: including a B.S. in animal sciences from Oklahoma State University, an M.S. in reproductive physiology from Clemson University, and a Ph.D in molecular endocrinology from the University of Missouri.

The Indiana State University Biology Speaker Series' Double Helix Day speaker recognizes the discovery of the shape of DNA. It honors the work of scientists James Watson, Francis Crick, Rosalind Franklinand Maurice Wilkins, whose research has pushed today's scientists to identify and understand more about an organism's genome.

The next speakers in the Biology Speaker Series will be Rick and Kriss Douglass, who will be welcomed onto campus on April 19. The pair will serve as the Earth Day Speakers in the series, and will present the topic of "Reclaiming strip mines via plant remediation".

For more information and additional speakers, visit www.indstate.edu/darwin/ or call 812-237-2400.

The series is sponsored by First Year Programs, the College of Graduate and Professional Studies, Office of Diversity, Center for Public Service and Community Engagement, the University Honors Program, Lilly Endowment and St. Mary-of-the-Woods College.

Contact: Rusty Gonser, Indiana State University, associate professor of life sciences, at 812- 237-2395 or Rusty.Gonser@indstate.edu

Writer: Scott Campbell, Indiana State University, media relations assistant, at 812-237-3773 or rcampbell10@indstate.edu