Monday - UNC Department of Genetics Faculty Meeting: February 2026
2026-02-16 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Pagano Conference Room, 450 West Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
UNC Department of Genetics Faculty Meeting
Monday, February 16 / 12-1pm
Pagano Conference Room, LCCC 00-002

Tuesday – GMB Student Seminar Series: Szymanski, Rostamian, & Puller
2026-02-17 09:00 - 10:00 | Pagano Conference Room, 450 West Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Genetics & Molecular Biology Student Seminar Series
Weekly seminar series featuring talks from the students of the UNC Curriculum in Genetics & Molecular Biology.
This week’s speakers are Rachel Szymanski from the Frank Conlon Lab, Hosein Rostamian from the Brian Strahl Lab, and Gabby Puller from the Pat Brennwald Lab.

Wednesday – Department of Genetics Colloquium: Gregory Smith
2026-02-18 12:00 - 13:00 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Genetics Research Colloquium
The UNC Department of Genetics Research Colloquium welcomes Gregory Smith, Assistant Professor of Genetics and Co-Director, UNC Pulmonary and Inhalation Research Core, on Wednesday, February 18, 2026.
From the genomes of the Collaborative Cross: a new mouse model for ozone health effects research

Thursday – BCB Student Seminar Series: Zhang & Hamilton
2026-02-19 10:00 - 11:00 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Bioinformatics & Computational Biology Student Seminar Series

Weekly seminar series featuring talks from the students of the UNC Curriculum in Bioinformatics & Computational Biology. This week’s speakers are Yiyan Zhang from the Yun Li Lab and Nolan Hamilton from the Terry Furey Lab.

Friday – GMB Student Seminar Series: Coke & Boyson
2026-02-20 12:00 - 13:00 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Genetics & Molecular Biology Student Seminar Series
Weekly seminar series featuring talks from the students of the UNC Curriculum in Genetics & Molecular Biology.
This week’s speakers are Addie Coke from the Bob Goldstein and Christina Burch Labs and Sam Boyson from the Mauro Calabrese Lab.
*This is a make-up date for talks cancelled previously due to weather.

Tuesday – GMB Student Seminar Series: Madden & Troncoso
2026-02-24 09:00 - 10:00 | Pagano Conference Room, 450 West Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Genetics & Molecular Biology Student Seminar Series
Weekly seminar series featuring talks from the students of the UNC Curriculum in Genetics & Molecular Biology.
This week’s speakers are Ethan Madden from the Brian Strahl Lab and Karla Troncoso from the Bob Duronio Lab.

Wednesday – Department of Genetics Colloquium: Ran Zhang
2026-02-25 12:00 - 13:00 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Genetics Research Colloquium
The UNC Department of Genetics Research Colloquium welcomes Ran Zhang, Assistant Professor, School of Data Science and Society, on Wednesday, February 25, 2026.
Tracing gene programs across contexts and time to interpret development and disease

Thursday – BCB Student Seminar Series: Winfield & Peterson
2026-02-26 10:00 - 11:00 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Bioinformatics & Computational Biology Student Seminar Series

Weekly seminar series featuring talks from the students of the UNC Curriculum in Bioinformatics & Computational Biology. This week’s speakers are Brittanie Winfield from the Sarah Linnstaedt & Natalie Stanley Labs and Sara Peterson from the Ian Davis & Alex Rubinsteyn Labs.

Thursday – GMB Defense: Riya Gohil
2026-02-26 15:00 - 16:00 | G100 Bondurant, 321 S. Columnbia St., Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, United States
GMB Curriculum Student Defense
GMB Curriculum Student Defense: Riya Gohil, student of Jill Dowen. Presented in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Friday – GMB/BCB Seminar Series: Alison Motsinger-Reif
2026-02-27 12:00 - 13:00 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
GMB/BCB Friday Seminar Series
The GMB/BCB Friday Seminar Series welcomes Alison Motsinger-Reif, Chief, Biostatistics & Computational Biology Branch and Principal Investigator at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, on Friday, February 27, 2026. Dr. Motsinger-Reif’s talk title is “Gene Environment Interactions in the Personalized Environment and Genes Study”. Dr. Motsinger-Reif is hosted by Samir Kelada, Professor of Genetics.

Tuesday – GMB Student Seminar Series: Hysong & Gomez
2026-03-03 09:00 - 10:00 | Pagano Conference Room, 450 West Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Genetics & Molecular Biology Student Seminar Series
Weekly seminar series featuring talks from the students of the UNC Curriculum in Genetics & Molecular Biology.
This week’s speakers are Micah Hysong from the Laura Raffield Lab and Alejandro Gomez from the Hyejung Won Lab.

Wednesday – Department of Genetics Colloquium: Jesse Raab
2026-03-04 12:00 - 13:00 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Genetics Research Colloquium
The UNC Department of Genetics Research Colloquium welcomes Jesse Raab, Assistant Professor of Genetics on Wednesday, March 4, 2026.
Chromatin remodeler regulation and liver cancer

Thursday – BCB Student Seminar Series: Novy & Merhebi
2026-03-05 10:00 - 11:00 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Bioinformatics & Computational Biology Student Seminar Series

Weekly seminar series featuring talks from the students of the UNC Curriculum in Bioinformatics & Computational Biology. This week’s speakers are Brandon Novy from the Konstantin Popov Lab and Omar Merhebi from the Jeremy Purvis Lab.

Friday – GMB/BCB Seminar Series: Rajula Elango Alleva
2026-03-06 12:00 - 13:00 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
GMB/BCB Friday Seminar Series
The GMB/BCB Friday Seminar Series welcomes Rajula Elango Alleva, Principal Investigator, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences/National Institutes of Health, on Friday, March 6, 2026. Dr. Alleva’s talk title is “DNA-Protein Crosslinks: Molecular Fate and Consequences for Human Health”. Dr. Alleva is hosted by Dale Ramsden, Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics.

Tuesday – GMB Student Seminar Series: Gerdes Gyuricza & El-Shiekh
2026-03-10 09:00 - 10:00 | Pagano Conference Room, 450 West Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Genetics & Molecular Biology Student Seminar Series
Weekly seminar series featuring talks from the students of the UNC Curriculum in Genetics & Molecular Biology.
This week’s speakers are Isabela Gerdes Gyuricza from the Jonathan Parr Lab and Iman El-Shiekh from the Dale Ramsden and Gaorav Gupta Labs.

Wednesday – Department of Genetics Colloquium: Sarah Kohrt & Savannah Muron
2026-03-11 12:00 - 13:00 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Genetics Research Colloquium
The UNC Department of Genetics Research Colloquium welcomes Sarah Kohrt, Eshelman Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow in the Erin Heinzen Lab and Savannah Muron, Genetics & Molecular Biology
Graduate Student in the Erin Heinzen Lab on Wednesday, March 11, 2026.
Moving from gene to disease mechanisms to treatment for SLC35A2 epilepsy

Thursday – BCB Student Seminar Series: McInerney & Landis
2026-03-12 10:00 - 11:00 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Bioinformatics & Computational Biology Student Seminar Series

Weekly seminar series featuring talks from the students of the UNC Curriculum in Bioinformatics & Computational Biology. This week’s speakers are Katelyn McInerney from the William Valdar Lab and Justin Landis from the Michael Love Lab.

Thursday – GMB Defense: Sharon Edmiston
2026-03-12 15:00 - 16:00 | G100 Bondurant, 321 S. Columnbia St., Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, United States
GMB Curriculum Student Defense
GMB Curriculum Student Defense: Sharon Edmiston, student of Nancy Thomas. Presented in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Friday – GMB/BCB Seminar Series: Jichun Xie
2026-03-13 10:30 - 11:30 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
GMB/BCB Friday Seminar Series
The GMB/BCB Friday Seminar Series welcomes Jichun Xie, Associate Professor of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics; Computer Science, Member of the Duke Cancer Institute at Duke University, on Friday, March 13, 2026. Dr. Xie’s talk title is “A transcriptomics-native foundation model for universal cell representation and virtual cell synthesis”. Dr. Xie is hosted by Yun Li, Professor of Genetics & Biostatistics.
Co-Hosted By PSTG – Program of Statistical & Translational Genomics.

Friday – GMB/BCB Seminar Series: Alejandro Ochoa
2026-03-13 12:00 - 13:00 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
GMB/BCB Friday Seminar Series
The GMB/BCB Friday Seminar Series welcomes Alejandro Ochoa, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at Duke University, on Friday, March 13, 2026. Dr. Ochoa’s talk title is “Joint analysis of genetically complex cohorts”. Dr. Ochoa is hosted by Laura Raffield, Assistant Professor of Genetics.

UNC Spring Break 2026
2026-03-14 - 2026-03-22 | NC
UNC Spring Break 2026
See full academic calendar HERE.

Monday – GMB Defense: Fred Koitz
2026-03-16 12:00 - 13:00 | 215 Coker Hall, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
GMB Curriculum Student Defense
GMB Curriculum Student Defense: Fred Koitz, student of Kacy Gordon. Presented in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Monday - UNC Department of Genetics Faculty Meeting: March 2026
2026-03-16 12:00 - 13:00 | Pagano Conference Room, 450 West Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
UNC Department of Genetics Faculty Meeting
Monday, March 16 / 12-1pm
Pagano Conference Room, LCCC 00-002

Tuesday – BCB Student Defense: Brooke Felsheim
2026-03-17 15:00 - 16:00 | G100 Bondurant, 321 S. Columnbia St., Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, United States
BCB Curriculum Student Defense
Brooke Felsheim
Student of Charles Perou
Tuesday, March 17, 2026 at 3:00pm
G100 Bondurant Hall
Presented in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
This student defense will be broadcast via Zoom. Link will be provided through UNC Curriculum in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology emails. Contact jcornett@email.unc.edu for meeting link if you have not received. Links will be provided to UNC affiliated email addresses only or through written consent of defending student.

Wednesday – BCB Student Defense: Pradham Tanikella
2026-03-18 10:00 - 11:00 | MBRB G202, 111 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
BCB Curriculum Student Defense
Pradham Tanikella
Student of Di Wu
Wednesday, March 18, 2026 at 10:00am
G202 Medical Biomolecular Research Building
Presented in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
This student defense will be broadcast via Zoom. Link will be provided through UNC Curriculum in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology emails. Contact jcornett@email.unc.edu for meeting link if you have not received. Links will be provided to UNC affiliated email addresses only or through written consent of defending student.

Tuesday – GMB Student Seminar Series: Cummins, Ardery, & Hysong
2026-03-24 09:00 - 10:00 | Pagano Conference Room, 450 West Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Genetics & Molecular Biology Student Seminar Series
Weekly seminar series featuring talks from the students of the UNC Curriculum in Genetics & Molecular Biology.
This week’s speakers are Kit Cummins from the Brian Strahl Lab, Sam Ardery from the Melinda Yates and David Corcoran Labs, and Micah Hysong from the Laura Raffield Lab.

Tuesday – BCB Student Defense: Matthew Sutcliffe
2026-03-24 15:00 - 16:00 | Pagano Conference Room, 450 West Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
BCB Curriculum Student Defense
Matthew Sutcliffe
Student of Charles Perou
Tuesday, March 24, 2026 at 3:00pm
Pagano Room at Lineberger
Presented in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
This student defense will be broadcast via Zoom. Link will be provided through UNC Curriculum in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology emails. Contact jcornett@email.unc.edu for meeting link if you have not received. Links will be provided to UNC affiliated email addresses only or through written consent of defending student.

Wednesday – Department of Genetics Colloquium: Priscila Santa Rosa
2026-03-25 12:00 - 13:00 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Genetics Research Colloquium
The UNC Department of Genetics Research Colloquium welcomes Priscila Santa Rosa, Genetics and Molecular Biology Graduate Student in the labs of Jeff Sekelsky and Bob Duronio on Wednesday, March 25, 2026.
Histone Mutation Results in Mitotic Recombination at Hotspots in Pericentric Heterochromatin

Wednesday – BCB Student Defense: JP Flores
2026-03-25 14:00 - 15:00 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
BCB Curriculum Student Defense
JP Flores
Student of Doug Phanstiel
Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 2:00pm
1131 Bioinformatics Building
Presented in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
This student defense will be broadcast via Zoom. Link will be provided through UNC Curriculum in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology emails. Contact jcornett@email.unc.edu for meeting link if you have not received. Links will be provided to UNC affiliated email addresses only or through written consent of defending student.

Thursday – BCB Student Seminar Series: Kenney
2026-03-26 10:00 - 11:00 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Bioinformatics & Computational Biology Student Seminar Series

Weekly seminar series featuring talks from the students of the UNC Curriculum in Bioinformatics & Computational Biology. This week’s speaker is Grace Kenney from the Doug Phanstiel Lab.
