Arnold M. Clark Memorial Lecture
ARNOLD M. CLARK MEMORIAL LECTURE
The annual Arnold M. Clark Memorial Lecture brings high-level speakers in the field of biology to share the latest research and discoveries. Presented by the Department of Biological Sciences, the lecture is supported by a gift from Dr. and Mrs. Howard Hudson in honor of Arnold Clark.
About Arnold Clark
Arnold Clark served as a professor of biology at the 91原创 from 1946 to 1981. He was instrumental in setting in motion the biology education program and was a driving force in the creation of the biology graduate program. His areas of research included developmental genetics, aging, human heredity and radiation biology. His passion was teaching genetics in the classroom, especially to non-majors, and to mentoring undergraduate students.听
Dr. Hudson鈥檚 Motivation Behind the Lecture
鈥淎fter reading Tuesdays with Morrie, I felt compelled to thank Dr. Clark for directing and influencing my learning curve," said Hudson. "He was my professor and faculty advisor for four years during my undergraduate education. In later life we renewed our relationship. Once again as my friend and teacher, he insisted that discovery was a pilgrimage, not an end point, a philosophy I truly accept. We met by accident, but I would like others to have such good fortune and to desire to try to become as good a mentor.鈥澨
Howard Hudson, M.D., is an anesthesiologist based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, who graduated from the 91原创 in 1983. He established the Clark Lectureship as a tribute to selfless mentorship and guidance that Clark provided him during his undergraduate career at 91原创.
In particular, Clark imparted to Hudson the desire to embrace the discovery of learning as a lifelong journey. Hudson hopes the Clark Lectureship will not only recognize those who have already strived to instill the same passion for the exploration of knowledge in future generations, but that this lecture series will inspire others to do so as well.
2025 Speaker
Molecular changes in eggs, sperm, and females that mediate fertility: Lessons from the Drosophila model
People often assume that once eggs and sperm are produced, they鈥檙e immediately ready for fertilization and early development, and that the animal doesn鈥檛 need to change to support these processes. However, this isn鈥檛 correct! Using the Drosophila model, which is quick and easy to study and whose results generalize to mammals and other animals, we鈥檝e learned how eggs 鈥渁ctivate鈥 for development, that proteins in the female reproductive tract associate with sperm, and how male proteins induce changes in female Drosophila to support successful reproduction.
About the Guest Speaker
Mariana Federica Wolfner
Mariana Federica Wolfner is Cornell鈥檚 Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Molecular Biology & Genetics, a Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow, and is currently Associate Department Chair. Her research focuses on understanding the genetic and molecular bases for important reproductive processes that occur around the time when a sperm fertilizes an egg. Primarily using the Drosophila model, the Wolfner laboratory studies how seminal proteins modulate the physiology and behavior of female insects and (separately) the molecular signals that "activate" an oocyte to initiate embryo development. Mariana received a B.A. in Biology (Genetics concentration) and Chemistry from Cornell, a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Stanford, and did postdoctoral work at UC San Diego. She has mentored 46 graduate students, 31 postdoctoral scholars, and over 100 undergraduate or high school students in research. Her current teaching includes EvoDevo and (separately) Advanced Genetics.
Mariana has been honored to receive awards and recognition for her research from the Genetics Society of America, the Entomological Society of America, the International Congress of Entomology Council, a MERIT award from NICHD, and from Cornell for her teaching and advising, and for fostering diversity, inclusion, and equity in graduate education. Mariana is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In addition to serving on editorial Boards and grants panels Mariana was President of the Genetics Society of America in 2024, Chaired the 2017 Gordon Research Conference on Fertilization & Activation of Development, and was a member of the Scientific Advisory Council for the Frontiers in Reproduction course at Woods Hole/MBL.
Previous events
Name: Dr.听Susan B. Golden
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Title:听Distinguished Professor of Molecular Biology,听Center for Circadian Biology,听University of California San Diego
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Lecture topic:听Circadian regulation of gene expression in vivo and in vitro
Name: Dr.听Jeffrey Gordon
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Title:听Dr. Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Professor,听Washington University in St. Louis
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Lecture topic:听Developing microbiome-directed therapeutics for treating childhood undernutrition听
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Name: Dr.听Van Bennett
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Title:听George Barth Geller Distinguished Professor,听Duke Cancer Institute,听Duke University
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Lecture topic:听New insights from human neurodevelopmental mutations
Name:听Dr.听Craig C. Mello
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Title:听Blais University Chair in Molecular Medicine,听Distinguished Professor of RNA Therapeutics Institute,听2006 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine,听University of Massachusetts听
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Lecture topic:听RNA-guided inheritance in C. elegans
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List of past speakers
2024 - Susan B. Golden- University of California San Diego
2023 -听Jeffrey Gordon- Washington University in St. Louis
2022 - Vann Bennett- Duke Cancer Institute
2019 - Craig C. Mello - Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Massachusetts
2018 - Anne Carpenter - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University
2017 - Joshua R. Sanes - Harvard University
2016 - Joan A. Steitz - Yale University
2015听- Reed E. Pyeritz - University of Pennsylvania
2014听- Rudolf Jaenisch 鈥 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2013听- Elaine A. Ostrander - National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health
2012听- John D. Gearhart - University of Pennsylvania
2011听- Don C. Johanson - Arizona State University
2010 - Edwin H. Cook - University of Illinois at Chicago
2009 -听Christine E. Seidman - Harvard University
2008 -听Marcy E. MacDonald - Harvard University
2007听- Alfred Sommer - Johns Hopkins University