Wednesday – Department of Genetics Colloquium: Priscila Santa Rosa
2026-03-25 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | 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.

Tuesday – GMB Student Seminar Series: Muron, Scoville, & Troncoso
2026-03-31 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 Savannah Muron from the Erin Heinzen Lab, Deena Scoville from the Melinda Yates Lab, and Karla Troncoso from the Bob Duronio Lab.

Wednesday – Department of Genetics Colloquium: Shawn T. O'Neil
2026-04-01 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 Shawn T. O’Neil, Assistant Professor of Genetics, Assistant Director of Translational Informatics Education (in TISLab) on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
Bioinformatics Toolsmithing: Engineering for Humans

Thursday – Spring 2026 UNC Well-Being Day: No Classes
2026-04-02 | NC
UNC Well-Being Day
No Classes
Full Academic Calendar Here

Thursday – GMB Defense: Chloe Whitworth
2026-04-02 09:00 - 10:00 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
GMB Curriculum Student Defense
GMB Curriculum Student Defense: Chloe Whitworth, student of Bill Polacheck and Vicki Bautch. Presented in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Friday – UNC Spring Holiday 2026
2026-04-03 | NC
UNC Spring Holiday 2026
No Classes
Offices Closed
Full Academic Calendar Here
Full UNC HR Calendar Here

Tuesday – GMB Student Seminar Series: Ott, Cully, & Guerra
2026-04-07 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 Isabel Ott from the Ross Boyce Lab, David Cully from the Whitney Edwards Lab, and Paolo Guerra from the Gaorav Gupta Lab.

Tuesday – GMB Defense: Brian Gural
2026-04-07 12:00 - 13:00 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
GMB Curriculum Student Defense
GMB Curriculum Student Defense: Brian Gural, student of Christoph Rau. Presented in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Tuesday – GMB Defense: Noor Singh
2026-04-07 13:30 - 14:30 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
GMB Curriculum Student Defense
GMB Curriculum Student Defense: Noor Singh, student of Kacy Gordon. Presented in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Tuesday – GMB Defense: Ian Curtin
2026-04-07 14:30 - 15:30 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
GMB Curriculum Student Defense
GMB Curriculum Student Defense: Ian Curtin, student of Jason Stein. Presented in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Wednesday – GMB Defense: Gabrielle Quickstad
2026-04-08 12:00 - 13:00 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
GMB Curriculum Student Defense
GMB Curriculum Student Defense: Gabrielle Quickstad, student of Karl Shpargel and Terry Magnuson. Presented in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Wednesday – Department of Genetics Colloquium: Gabrielle Quickstad
2026-04-08 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 Gabrielle Quickstad, Genetics and Molecular Biology Graduate Student in the labs of Karl Shpargel and Terry Magnuson on Wednesday, April 8, 2026.
Building the skeleton: The stage-specific interplay of chromatin and transcription factors

Thursday – BCB Student Seminar Series: Klein & Kavalipati
2026-04-09 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 Emma Klein from the Doug Phanstiel Lab and Archishma Kavalipati from the Daniel Dominguez Lab.

Friday - GMB/BCB Seminar Series: Ryan Tewhey
2026-04-10 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 Ryan Tewhey, Associate Professor at the Jackson Laboratory, on Friday, April 10, 2026. Dr. Tewhey’s talk title is “Functional Dissection of Trait Variants and Regulatory Syntax at Single-Nucleotide Resolution”. Dr. Tewhey is hosted by the Genetics and Molecular Biology Graduate Students.

Tuesday – GMB Student Seminar Series: Duprey, Burns, & Okoroafor
2026-04-14 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 Kelsey Duprey from the Dale Ramsden Lab, Ella Burns from the Wanda O’Neal Lab, and Uchechi Okoroafor from the Sam Young Lab.

Thursday – BCB Student Seminar Series: Huang & Nenad
2026-04-16 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 Emma Yu-Chen Huang from the Terry Furey Lab and Will Nenad from the Katie Hoadley Lab.

Friday – GMB/BCB Seminar Series: Matt Smola
2026-04-17 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 Matt Smola, Director of RNA Platform Development at Ribometrix, on Friday, April 17, 2026. Dr. Smola’s talk title is “Development of an RNA-targeting drug discovery platform and insights into early-stage careers in biotech”. Dr. Smola is hosted by Mauro Calabrese, Associate Professor of Pharmacology.

Monday - UNC Department of Genetics Faculty Meeting: April 2026
2026-04-20 12:00 - 13:00 | Pagano Conference Room, 450 West Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
UNC Department of Genetics Faculty Meeting
Monday, April 20 / 12-1pm
Pagano Conference Room, LCCC 00-002

Tuesday – GMB Student Seminar Series: DiMaulo-Milk, Dawoud, & Bhatt
2026-04-21 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 Emily DiMaulo Milk from the Blossom Damania Lab, Alyaa Dawoud from the Chad Pecot Lab, and Urja Bhatt from the Edward Browne Lab.

Wednesday – Department of Genetics Colloquium: Jill Dowen
2026-04-22 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 Jill Dowen, Associate Professor of Biochemistry & Biophysics and Biology on Wednesday, April 22, 2026.
Bridging Genome Structure and Function: Linking Chromosome Architecture, Chromatin Modifications, and Gene Expression

Friday – GMB/BCB Seminar Series: William H. Majoros
2026-04-24 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 William H. Majoros, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics at Duke University, on Friday, April 24, 2026. Dr. Majoros’ talk title is “Structured Modeling of Allele-specific Gene Expression”. Dr. Majoros is hosted by Yun Li, Professor of Genetics & Biostatistics.
This seminar is co-hosted by PSTG Program of Statistical & Translational Genomics

Wednesday – Department of Genetics Colloquium: Tori Parsons & Daniel McKay
2026-04-29 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 Tori Parsons, Post-Doctoral Research Associate, and Daniel McKay, Associate Professor of Biology and Genetics on Wednesday, April 29, 2026.
Tori Parsons:
Prime Editing of Proinsulin GWAS Loci Reveals Modulators of Insulin Secretion
Daniel McKay:
Mechanisms initiating epigenetic gene control

Friday – GMB Defense: Oscar Arroyo
2026-05-01 13:00 - 14:00 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
GMB Curriculum Student Defense
GMB Curriculum Student Defense: Oscar Arroyo, student of Daniel McKay. Presented in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Friday – BCB Student Defense: Sean Connelly
2026-05-08 12:00 - 13:00 | 1131 Bioinformatics Building, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
BCB Curriculum Student Defense
Sean Connelly
Student of Jonathan Juliano and Yun Li
Friday, May 8, 2026 at 12:00pm
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.

Monday – BCB Student Defense: Alec Plotkin
2026-05-11 13:00 - 14:00 | 3116 Mary Ellen Jones Building, 116 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, United States
BCB Curriculum Student Defense
Alec Plotkin
Student of Justin Milner and Natalie Stanley
Monday, May 11, 2026 at 1:00pm
3116 Mary Ellen Jones 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 Defense: Mark Geisler
2026-05-12 14:00 - 15:00 | MBRB G202, 111 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
GMB Curriculum Student Defense
GMB Curriculum Student Defense: Mark Geisler, student of Bob Duronio. Presented in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Monday - UNC Department of Genetics Faculty Meeting: May 2026
2026-05-18 12:00 - 13:00 | 6004 Marsico Hall, 125 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, United States
UNC Department of Genetics Faculty Meeting
Monday, May 18 / 12-1pm
6004 Marsico Hall

Wednesday – 2026 GMB New Student Symposium
2026-05-27 09:30 - 12:00 | G100 Bondurant, 321 S. Columnbia St., Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, United States
2026 GMB New Student Symposium Schedule:

9:30 AM Sophie Addi, Bob Duronio Lab
Mechanisms Regulating Histone Transcription in Drosophila Cell Cycle and Development

9:45 AM Alyssa Stoner, Laura Lee Lab
Utilizing light sheet live microscopy to study plant regeneration at the root tip

10:00 AM Calen Paleologos, Zack Nimchuk Lab
Investigating Interactions between the BAM/CLE signaling pathway and ABA in root stem cells

10:15 AM Kasey Linton, Sarah Linnstaedt Lab
Epigenetic Landscape of the X Chromosome in Chronic Post-Traumatic Pain

10:30 AM Break

10:45 AM Claire Olson, Jesse Raab Lab
Investigating the Interaction Between SWI/SNF Chromatin Remodelers and the Integrator Complex

11:00 AM Rhea Premanand, Qingyun Liu Lab
Establishing a Representative Collection of M. Abcessus Strains to Capture DCC Diversity

11:15 AM Zhihan Gao, Karen Mohlke Lab
Functional Validation of Cardiometabolic Disease-Associated Non-Coding Genetic Variants

11:30 AM Kathleen Embury, Karen Mohlke Lab
The Coordination of the ZZ and SANT Domains in Ada2 Histone Binding

11:45 AM Christopher Smith, Melissa Haendel Lab
From Ontologies to Mechanisms: Integrating Disease Knowledge for Rare Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Discovery

Additional New GMB Students Not Presenting:
Ana Cunningham, Ed Browne Lab
Niki Hamraei, Dale Ramsden Lab
