2025 Mini WISC Workshop for Interaction and Scientific Communication

Workshop for Interaction and Scientific Communication: A Celebration of Collaboration and Discovery

On Thursday, September 4, 2025, the UAlbany’s Department of Biological Sciences and the Life Sciences hosted the Mini Workshop for Interaction and Scientific Communication at the Life Sciences Research Building (LSRB) D’Ambra Auditorium. The event, which was organized by Dr. Malene Belfort and Dr. Paolo Forni, drew 106 participants that included graduate students, faculty, postdocs, and scientists from the UAlbany Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, and Psychology, the College of Nanotechnology, Science and Engineering, the RNA Institute plus the Neural Stem Cell Institute, the New York State Department of Health, and the Department of Biomedical Sciences (BMS). This workshop was designed to promote collaboration and share ideas among scientists at different stages of their careers and across various disciplines. 

Dr. Jeanette Altarriba Professor and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) together with Dr. Marlene Belfort, Distinguished Professor of Biology and Senior Advisor to the RNA Institute provided the opening remarks for the workshop. 

The event combined short research presentations plus a poster session that showcased the research being conducted by UAlbany faculty and students. Additionally, the workshop featured three invited speakers with each offering unique insights from their field of study:

Dr. Susan T. Sharfstein, Professor of UAlbany’s Nanoscale Science and Engineering opened the workshop with a talk that bridged engineering and life sciences. As a trained Biochemical Engineer, Dr. Sharfstein’s work focuses on Chinese hamster ovary cell biomanufacturing, regenerative medicine, and microphysiological systems such as organoids that are combined with semiconductor-based measurement systems.

Dr. Nilesh Banavali, a research scientist at the Wadsworth Center with a background in pharmaceutical sciences and postdoctoral positions at Cornell Medical College and the University of Chicago shared his expertise in molecular dynamics simulations, free energy estimation, structure prediction, and cryo-electron microscopy.

Dr. Bum-Kyu Lee, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at UAlbany, gave a presentation on gene regulation and stem cell biology. Dr. Lee’s current research investigates key regulators of trophoblast differentiation using stem cell and organoid models to understand placental development.

At this time, UAlbany, CAS and the Department of Biological Sciences wish to express their sincere gratitude to Drs. Paolo Forni and Marlene Belfort for their countless hours and support in organizing this very successful event.

Please click on link for additional information on UAlbany’s Department of Biological Sciences: https://www.albany.edu/biology.