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​35th Annual CSU Biotechnology Symposium

Friday – Saturday, January 13-14, 2023

The annual CSU Biotechnology Symposium program is designed to broaden exposure to cutting-edge biotechnologies, product-focused innovation and the spectrum of career paths available in the life sciences. The symposium brings CSU students, faculty and administrators together, along with biotech professionals working in academia, government and industry. Faculty and administrators system-wide, along with community college colleagues, use the event to catch up, initiate collaborations, share ideas, and swap lessons learned.

CSUPERB hosts the annual symposium each year and subsidizes the travel and registration costs for CSU students and faculty.  

The symposium program includes professional development opportunities for both students and faculty, a forum at which to share research results and innovative curriculum redesigns, and rare access to CSU alumni, professionals and employers working in the biotechnology industry, as well as graduate school recruiters from top universities.

The symposium offers opportunities for students, faculty, alumni, and administrators to join in and actively participate as part of the CSU’s biotechnology community. We hope all participants come to the symposium to learn from others, gain inspiration, mentor peers, support students attending their first professional meeting, share career advice, meet new colleagues, and broker new research partnerships.


Click Here to see the 2023 Poster Listing <






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​​Schedule-At-A-Glance


​Thursday, Jan. ​12​
Symposium Lodging Check-In, Santa Clara Marriott

CSU I-Corps Ideas Lab Workshop

Hosted by:
Stanley Maloy, San Diego State University 
Chris Meyer, California State University, Fresno​​
6:00 - 7:30​​​​​ pm
Game Night, Grand Ballroom A-C

Pre-Sympsoium networking opportunity.
​​7:00 - 10:00​​​​​ pm

Friday, J​​an. 13

​​Welcome: Opening Plenary Session:

Coffee/tea available starting at 7:30am.

Introduction by Ikhide Imumorin, Executive Director of CSUPERB 

Plenary Speaker:
Stanley Maloy, Emeritus Associate Vice President for Research &
Innovation and 
Professor of Biology, San Diego State University

Talk Title:  How understanding the evolution of emerging infectious
diseases will help us prepare for the next pandemic.

Session is open to all symposium participants.​ 
​8:30 - 10:00 am
CSU CUREs Showcase

Hosted by:
​Paula Fischhaber, California State University, Northridge
Aparna Sreenivasan, California State University, Monterey Bay
Matt Escobar, California State University, San Marcos

Featuring:
Graham Hatfull, University of Pittsburgh
Anya Goodman, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Joe Ross, California State University, Fresno

Session is open to all symposium participants. 
​10:15 - 12:00 pm
Lunch
​12:00 -1:30 pm
CSUPERB Story Corps open during lunch inside former Parcel 104 restaurant.
Don Eden Graduate Student Research Award - Finalist Talks

Eden Award Chair:
Karin Crowhurst, California State University, Northridge

Award Finalists
Anthony Perez, California State University, Sacramento
Molly Tuttle, California State University, Chico
Aaron Stibelman, California State University, Northridge)
Francisco Acosta, California State University, Long Beach
Kinsey Nelson, San Diego State University

Session is open to all symposium participants.  
​1:30 - 3:00 pm
Student Workshop: GRFP Writing Workshop (Click for details and bios)

Speaker:
Nicole Lynn, University of California, Los Angeles, Alumnus​

Hosted by:
Koni Stone, California State University, Stanislaus
Sally Pasion, San Francisco State University 
​3:15 - 4:45 pm
Faculty Workshop: Broader Impacts 101 and Scientific Communication (Click for details and bios)​

Hosted by:
Chris Meyers, California State University, Fresno
Math Cuajungco, California State University, Fullerton

Speakers:
Megan Heitmann, ARIS
3:15 - 4:45 pm
Student Workshop: Career Networking Session

Opening remarks by Ikhide Imumorin, Executive Director of CSUPERB

Session Topics:
  • Clinical Trials Management
  • Forensics
  • Regulatory Affairs
  • Forensic Science (DNA analysis)
  • Biomanufacturing, Entrepreneurship, Startups and Business Development, Emerging Markets, Informatics, Non-human health biotech and Synthetic biology
  • Biorenewables, Biotech/Biomed/Biodevice Product Development, Discovery Research, Drug Safety, Life Sciences Project Management, Process Development
  • Entrepreneurship, Startups, Biotechnology Business Development, Venture Capital​
3:15 - 4:45 pm
Faculty Short Talks​ 

Hosted by:
Math Cuajungco, California State University, Fullerton
Deepali Bhandari, California State University, Long Beach

Speakers
Leslie Hamachi, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
"Mechanical Properties of Bacterial Cellulose/SiO2 Composites"

Daniel Nickerson, California State University, San Bernardino
"Sleuthing the unusual transport itinerary of a novel transmembrane Rab GTPase accelerating protein"

David Quintero, San Francisco State University
"Providing an All-in-One Upper-Body Therapeutic System for In-Home Care for Stroke Patients​"

​5:00 - 6:00 pm

CSUPERB Award Presentation & Dinner

Pauling Award Chair:
Deepali Bhandari, California State University, Long Beach

Andreoli Award Chair:
Mike Goldman, San Francisco State University

6:00 - 7:30 pm
​First Poster Session​
Posters Numbers 1-113
​7:30 - 9:00 pm
CSUPERB Story Corps open during poster session inside former Parcel 104 restaurant.

Saturday, J​​an. 14
Second Poster Session
Posters Numbers 114-228

Coffee/tea available starting at 7:30am.
8:30 - 10:00 am
CSUPERB Story Corps open during poster session inside former Parcel 104 restaurant.
2023 CSUPERB Faculty Research Award Talk and Eden & Nagel Award Presentation

Nagel Award Chair:
Kasuen Mauldin, San José State University

Eden Award Chair:
Karin Crowhurst, California State University, Northridge

Faculty Research Awardee & Speaker
Jeffrey Gustafson, PhD, Professor of Organic
Chemistry, San Diego State University

Talk Title: Molecular Handedness as an inspiration
for more selective drugs new chemistry

Session is open to all symposium participants.​
10:15 - 11:15 am
Student Workshop: Graduate School Information Session​

Session Topics:  
  • Preparing for graduate school
  • Selecting the right graduate school or program for you
  • How to find or choose a mentor
  • Work-life balance during and after graduate school
  • Where will a Ph.D. or M.S. degree take me?
  • "Always writing" - a strategy to crank out a great thesis
  • Graduate school representatives from UC’s, CSU, Harvard, and Keck Graduate Institute
11:30 - 12:30 pm
​Faculty DEI Workshop

Hosted by
Koni Stone, California State University, Stanislaus​​​
Bori Mazzag, California State University, Humboldt
Aparna Sreenivasan, California State University, Monterey Bay

Speakers: TBA
​11:30 - 12:30 pm
​Lunch
​12:30 - 1:30 pm
​CSUPERB Story Corps open during lunch inside former Parcel 104 restaurant.
CSU I-Corps Competitive Presentations and Symposium Closing

Teams:
BiotechniColor, SDSU
Solidstate, Cal Poly SLO
Spidersilk, SDSU
Vivogenics, CSUB

I-Corps Presentation Evaluators:
Elise Brownell, Founder, Zephyr Biotech LLC
Jim Cooper, Braid Theory, Chief Technology Office 
David Heckadon, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP
Ikhide Imumorin, CSUPERB, Executive Director
Craig Pritsky, Chief Strategy and Chief Business Development Officer


Closing remarks by Ikhide Imumorin​​
1:30 - 3:30​ pm
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