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Cornell University

The Center for Vertebrate Genomics

Symposium 2026

poster of the symposium 2026 Trainee Symposium

Hosted by: The Center for Vertebrate Genomics & Cornell Center for Immunology

9:30 – 10:15 AM Keynote Address

Dr. Patrick Murphy, Associate Professor, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University: Source-Sink Chromatin Dynamics Regulate Developmental Progression Across Species

10:25 AM – 11:40 AM Session 1, Moderated by Saloni Dhopte

  • Kashish Jain, Decoding Ovulation: Spatiotemporal Mapping of Genomic Regulation to Cellular Function
  • Shuran Wang, When Epidermal Niches Collapse: SOX6 Spatial Heterogeneity as a Barrier to Melanocyte Vulnerability in Vitiligo
  • Banseok Lee, Meiotic sex chromosome inactivation begins during early prophase I via HORMAD1
  • Rachel Davis, From Fragmentation to Nearly Complete: Conservation Genomics of the Spoon-Billed Sandpiper

11:40 – 12:50 PM: Lunch, Poster Session & Best Poster Voting

12:50 – 2:05 PM: Session 2, Moderated by Brent Basso

  • Anna McKane, Centromeric Repeat Variation is Associated with Karyotype Evolution in Equus
  • Helen Scanlon, A Polycomb paralog CBX7 is required for somatic gene silencing in post-mitotic male germ cells
  • Connor Kean, Heterogeneity in the Naïve CD8⁺ T Cell Pool Influences the Infection Response
  • Dianne Gomez, Transcription Factor JunB is Required for NK Cell Expansion During Infection

2:15 – 3:30 PM: Session 3, Moderated by Akshayakeerthi Arthanarisami

  • Savita Sastry, Multiomics Approach to Regionally Profile Zinc-Driven Host-Gut Microbiome Interactions in the Intestinal Tract
  • Katalin Voss, The birds and the B-cells: The distinct architecture of avian immunoglobulin loci
  • Olivia Lang, A spatial and single-cell multi-omic approach to understanding peroxide stress response
  • Nina Maurer, Disruption of Hedgehog Signaling Is Associated with Region-Specific Immune Enrichment and Structural Remodeling in the Peripubertal Murine Epididymis

3:40 – 4:00 PM: Lightning Talks, Moderated by Dr. Olivia Lang

  • Jolie Carlisle, Coordinated Gene Copy Number Evolution in a Reproductive Protein Network Reveals a New Network Member
  • Jason David Chobirko, Strain-specific variation drives CD8+ T cell activation
  • Ananya Kohli, Epigenomic dysregulation on Monocytes in ME/CFS

4:00 – 4:15 PM: Final Discussion, Award Presentations, & Closing Remarks

4:15 – 5:00 PM: Reception