Defence and counter-defence strategies in the phage-bacterium arms race
Professor Peter Fineran (University of Otago)
Bacteria have evolved ‘immune systems’ as a result of their constant exposure to foreign mobile genetic elements, including bacteriophages and plasmids. Recently, there have been major advances in our understanding of these systems and the different strategies that phages have evolved to evade these immune mechanisms. This talk will present recent research into bacterial defence systems and phage counter-defences.
He Kākano – The Aotearoa Māori Variome Resource
Professor Stephen Robertson and Associate Professor Phil Wilcox (University of Otago)
Stephen Robertson is the Curekids Professor Paediatric Genetics at the University of Otago University. Phillip Wilcox (Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa, Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Rakaipaaka, Te Aitanga a Mahaki) is trained in molecular and quantitative genetics and has a background in both genomics and te ao Māori.
Epigenetic clocks for age prediction
Dafni Anastasiadi (Plant and Food Research)
Dafni Anastasiadi is a scientist at Plant and Food Research Nelson. Her research interests focus on the role of epigenetics in eco-evolutionary processes using marine species as models. Her work has produced results with far-reaching implications in the epigenetics field, including the first epigenetic clock to accurately predict age in fish.
Ruatau: connecting Māori genomic scientists and communities
Dr Catherine Colins (University of Otago)
Catherine is a Lecturer in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Otago. Her research focuses on population genomics of animals whose distributions have been influenced by humans transporting them, and subsequent interactions between humans and these animals.
Developing genomic resources of the haku/warehenga (Yellowtail Kingfish, S.lalandi) to support Māori-led aquaculture
Carla Finn (Victoria University of Wellington)
The aquaculture industry of Aotearoa relies heavily on the farming of three species, which includes only one finfish species (the non-indigenous king salmon). To enhance food security and better support local communities, The Smart Māori Aquaculture initiative has identified haku/warehenga as a high-potential indigenous finfish for aquaculture. However, genetic information for wild haku populations surrounding Aotearoa is limited; this project will develop new genomic resources for this species to support the aquaculture initiative.
Should I trust my bioinformatic tools?
Paul Gardner (University of Otago)
Seeing evolution through a cladistic blindfold. The challenges of thinking about evolving lineages in a world of taxa
Dr Ronald Jenner (Natural History Museum, London)
Privacy and the world of DTC (Direct to Consumer) - data breaches are already happening
Andelka Phillips (University of Oxford) and Jan Charbonneau (University of Tasmania)
Invasomics for Biosecurity
Manpreet Dhami (Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research), Ang McGaughran (University of Waikato)
The power of sharing detailed methods: credit, preservation, and reproducibility
Dr Gabriel Gasque (Protocols.io, Berkeley, CA)
Where an interest in genomes can take you
Richard Newcomb (Plant & Food Research)
Asia-Pacific Genetics Seminar: Ecological genetics of adaptation and speciation in sticklebacks
Professor Jun Kitano (National Institute of Genetics)
This seminar is part of the Asia Pacific Genetics Seminar Series.
Think before you spit - privacy perceptions in the context of direct-to-consumer genetic testing
Andelka Phillps (University of Queensland)
Adaptations to physicochemical stress: some like it salty and some like it hot
Associate Professor Kim Handley (University of Auckland)
This seminar is part of the Asia Pacific Genetics Seminar Series.
Conservation genomics and the hihi, a threatened Aotearoa New Zealand passerine
Laura Duntsch (University of Auckland)
Species-wide genomics of kākāpō provides transformational tools to accelerate recovery
Joseph Guhlin (University of Otago)
Expanding studies of global genomic diversity with complete, telomere-to-telomere (T2T) assemblies
Karen Miga (University of California, Santa Cruz)
Genomic Solutions: underpinning, implementation and impact
Shannon Clarke (AgResearch)
Ecological genomics of forest tree adaptation in the face of climate change
Santiago C. González-Martínez (INRAE and University of Bordeaux (France))
Using genomics to understand the evolution of New Zealand terrestrial invertebrates
Thomas Buckley (Manaaki Whenua Landcare)
From epigenome-wide discovery to clinical utility, delivering on the promise of ‘precision’ cardiovascular disease risk prediction
Professor Greg Jones (University of Otago)
Environmental viruses and their influence on the microbial dynamics of aquatic ecosystems
Michael Hoggard (University of Auckland)
Lessons for conservation biology and human genetics from Zoonomia (alignment of 241 Eutherian mammals)
Patrick Sullivan (University of North Carolina + Karolina Institute)
Wild strawberries as a model to investigate regulatory mechanisms of strawberry reproduction
Professor Zhongchi Liu (Maryland University)
A whole-genome approach to resolve the genetic structure of Antipodean and Gibson’s albatross populations
Imogen Foote (Victoria University of Wellington)
Inteins as a tool to trace the transfer of genetic information
Peter Gogarten (University of Connecticut)
The Kiwifruit Breeding Centre and critical issues on breeding faster
Roger Hellens (Kiwifruit Breeding Centre)
Nanopore sequencing for cattle breeding
Elizabeth Ross (University of Queensland)
Gene editing in perennial tree crops; why, how, what?
Andrew Allan (University of Auckland)
The Human Pangenome Reference Consortium (HPRC): Facing the ethical, legal and social issues (ELSI) of human pangenome construction
Alice Popejoy and Nanibaa' Garrison
Why is it so hard to actually do reproducible research in computational biology? Lessons learnt from a bioinformatician's past self
Leah Kemp
Acute Care Genomics: rapid rare disease diagnosis on a national scale
Kirsten Boggs (Sydney Children's Hospitals Network) and Zornitza Stark (Victorian Clinical Genetics Services)