Sharp Minds

Engage with local scientists as they discuss their latest research and discoveries in a friendly, inviting environment. These lectures address hot topics on the first Monday of every month, in the Heikoff Giant Dome Theater. Stay for a special noon documentary showing. 

The Sharp Minds lecture is free with general admission or a Senior Monday ticket. This event is not included with the Annual Explorer Pass. 

February 2 - Seraphina Solders

Brain Aging and Alzheimer's Disease: Risk, Prevention, and New Insights from the Blood-Brain Barrier.

Finding accessible, low-cost ways to delay or prevent Alzheimer’s disease is a major public health priority. Encouragingly, recent research suggests that nearly half of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed by addressing modifiable lifestyle factors such as untreated hearing loss, poor cardiovascular health, and late-life social isolation. During this session, we will explore what puts some people at greater risk for Alzheimer’s disease and what we can do to protect our brains as we age. I will also share new insights from my recent research looking at the blood-brain barrier, a protective border between our blood vessels and brain which helps keep harmful substances out, deliver essential nutrients and oxygen, and clear away waste.

About the Speaker

Dr. Seraphina Solders is a postdoctoral scholar at UC San Diego and a teacher at San Diego State University. She studies brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease risk, with a particular interest in modifiable lifestyle factors for prevention. Her current work focuses on the blood-brain barrier, a highly selective and protective interface between the blood and the brain, which may play a role in early Alzheimer’s disease. Outside of the lab and classroom, Seraphina enjoys aerial arts, knitting, and obsessing over her cat, Callie.

March 2 - Nicole Steinmetz

 From Plants to Planets: Plant Virus Therapeutics for Global Health  

Nanoscale engineering is transforming how we detect, prevent, and treat disease. An unexpected hero in this revolution is the plant virus that has been re-engineered to solve challenges in human health, agriculture, and even space exploration – an approach toward One Health. In this lecture,  you will hear how engineering design principles allow us to build and tailor plant virus nanoparticles for cancer treatment, sustainable agriculture, and space medicine. From preclinical studies in mice and canine cancer patients to field-relevant agricultural models and extraterrestrial production concepts, plant virus nanotechnology illustrates how biology and engineering can converge to shape a healthier future. And because plant viruses can be produced efficiently in plants themselves, an approach known as plant molecular farming, they offer a sustainable, scalable platform for next-generation biotechnology. 

About the Speaker

Dr. Steinmetz is a Professor and Vice Chair of the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering at the University of California, San Diego; she holds the Leo and Trude Szilard Chancellor's Endowed Chair and is the founding Director of the Center for Nano-ImmunoEngineering. Her research program focuses on the engineering of plant-virus-based nanomaterials for applications in human and plant health, such as drug and pesticide delivery, vaccines, and immunotherapies. Dr. Steinmetz has authored more than 300 journal articles, and she is an inventor of >70 patents. 

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April 6 - James Neih

The Secret Language of Bees: How They Learn, Teach, and Move Each Other

Honey bees have a language of motion unlike anything else in the animal world. Through rhythmic dances, they share maps to flowers and water, teaching one another where to go and how to get there. In this talk, Professor Nieh reveals how bees learn their dances from experienced teachers, how their attentive audience responds with tiny body movements, and how this remarkable form of communication helps the colony thrive. Join us to explore the intelligence, coordination, and grace that make the honey bee’s dance language one of nature’s greatest marvels.

About the Speaker

Professor James C. Nieh was born in Taiwan and grew up in Southern California. He received his B.A. at Harvard in 1991 and his PhD from Cornell University in 1997. He received the prestigious Harvard Junior Fellowship and, in 2000, joined the faculty in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of California, San Diego, where he is a professor in the Department of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution. He held the Heiligenberg Chair of Neuroethology, was chair of his department, was elected Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, and received the Hambleton Award for his bee research and the Springer Nature Distinguished Editor Award. He is an Associate Dean in the School of Biological Sciences, and is the Chair of the City of San Diego Bee City Committee and the UC San Diego Bee Campus Committee.
Dr. Nieh’s interests focus on bee communication, cognition, and health. He studies many types of social bees, including honey bees, bumble bees, and stingless bees. His lab studies natural and man-made stressors of social bees. A major part of his work focuses on foraging and communication in honey bees and honey bee health. The research on honey bee health focuses on how pesticides alter honey bee behavior and learning, how a common pathogen, Nosema ceranae, infects bees and alters their behavior, how honey bee immunity can be boosted to fight Nosema infection, how the bee gut microbiome may help us find new ways to counter Nosema infection, and how a nutritionally balanced diet can help bees exposed to pesticides. 

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