Frontiers of Science: 2020 Webinar Series

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Our webinars deliver access to curated, customized intel on the latest innovations in science, medicine, and technology. We bring the experts to you to share discoveries, insights, and best practices. Each 75-minute webinar features two experts speaking on a given topic followed by Q&A from the virtual audience.

Video recording of prior “Frontiers of Science” webinars are publicly available for 60 days following publication, after which they are accessible by Academy Members only. Not a Member? Join today.

Fire and Ice: The Impact of Climate Change on Environmental Ecosystems

Climate change is having a significant effect on the biological, topological, and geophysical traits of various ecosystems. Featuring Eric Rignot from the University of California, Irvine, and William Anderegg from the University of Utah, this webinar will explore how climate change has caused massive ecological alterations through impacts on plant physiology and ice sheet melting.

Microbiome and Mental Health

The brain is affected by bodily changes—including microbiome composition—that influence cognition and behavior.  This webinar will explore the interaction between the brain, gut, and microbiome, with a focus on how the microbiome influences developmental, neuropsychiatric, and immune-related disorders, including socioaffective processing disorders such as autism.

Synthetic Shortcuts: Advances in Carbon-Hydrogen Activation Chemistry

The ability to target and manipulate specific C-H bonds in molecules allows chemists to efficiently functionalize, and in some cases, re-purpose existing drugs. Featuring Melanie Sanford from the University of Michigan and Igor Larossa from The University of Manchester, this webinar will explore why C-H activation is such an effective tool for synthetic organic chemists and how certain drugs can be re-purposed cost-effectively using this technique.

Computational Approaches to Clinical Medicine

Cancer is a complicated disease with multiple etiologies. The complexity of cancer makes accurate diagnosis and optimal treatments challenging. Featuring Olivier Elemento from Weill Cornell Medicine and Franziska Michor from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, this webinar will explore the recent advances on the use of Big Data analytics and applied mathematics to improve cancer diagnosis and anti-cancer treatments.

Manipulating Light with Novel Materials

Since prehistoric use of mirrors and lenses to divert light and magnify images, human beings have made effective use of light using materials. Featuring Alexandra Boltasseva from Purdue University and Andrea Alù of the City University of New York, this webinar will focus on cutting edge nano-structured materials that manipulate light in novel ways, with huge potential application in telecommunication and electronic industries.

The Era of Gravitational Wave Astronomy

With the first direct observation of gravitational waves announced in February 2016, astrophysics has entered a new era. Featuring Andrew Levan of Radboud University and Brian D. Metzger of Columbia University, this webinar will feature experimental and theoretical developments in gravitational wave studies from the early days of this new era and new insights from these studies.

Resolving Inflammation to Treat Cardiovascular Disease

Every year in the United States, more than 1.5 million people suffer from a heart attack or a stroke. Featuring Paul Ridker of Harvard Medical School, and Gabrielle Fredman of Albany Medical College, this webinar will elucidate the links between chronic inflammation and these conditions, and discuss how strategies to resolve inflammation could lead to new therapies.

Resolution of Neuro-Inflammation in Cognitive Dysfunction and Pain

Inflammation in the nervous system plays a key role in many acute health problems including neurodegeneration, Alzheimer’s disease, and chronic pain. Featuring Marianne Schulzberg of the Karolinska Institute, and Ru-Rong Ji of the Duke Center for Translational Pain Medicine, this webinar will explore how the body’s failure to resolve chronic neuro-inflammation contributes to disease, as well as opportunities to develop pro-resolving compounds as novel therapies.

The Future of Energy Storage

Energy storage devices are a critical component in mobile device technologies and will prove vital in revolutionizing both a greener electronic grid and transportation. Featuring Ying Shirley Meng of University of California, San Diego, and Gleb Yushin of Georgia Institute of Technology, this webinar will feature promising new research on advanced functional nano- and micro-scale materials that could very-well change the landscape of what is possible in energy storage devices.

Environmental Disrupters, Lung Disease and Cancer

Chronic inflammation can be caused by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Featuring Patricia Sime of Virginia Commonwealth University, and Dipak Panigrahy of Harvard Medical School, this webinar will examine the newest research describing how chronic inflammation can promote lung disease and cancer, with emphasis on emerging therapeutic approaches that promote resolution of inflammation.

Mechanisms Driving the Resolution of Inflammation

Inflammation is a common feature of many widely occurring human diseases. Featuring Charles Serhan of Harvard Medical School, and Catherine Godson of University College Dublin, this webinar will explore recent research on the molecular mechanisms driving resolution of inflammation, and approaches to therapeutically target these pathways in chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.