Dr. Afshin Beheshti 
 

Bio:
Afshin Beheshti, Ph.D. is a professor of surgery and of computational & systems biology at the University of Pittsburgh. He serves as director of the newly launched Space Center for Space Biomedicine and as associate director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Pitt​. In addition,Beheshti holds a visiting scientist appointment at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard​.

Abstract:
Human spaceflight presents significant health challenges driven by microgravity, space radiation, isolation and other environmental stressors. Recent multi-omics research has revealed that mitochondrial dysfunction is a central biological consequence of space travel, contributing to systemic impacts such as accelerated aging, cardiovascular disease, and impaired metabolic function. Data from astronaut missions and ground-based space analogs demonstrate persistent mitochondrial suppression even after returning to Earth. This talk highlights how space serves as an accelerated model for studying human diseases and aging, offering insights applicable both to space exploration and terrestrial medicine. Using advanced 3D organoid models and multi-omics analysis, we have identified promising countermeasures, including the natural flavonoid Kaempferol, which restores mitochondrial bioenergetics and reverses radiation-induced gene expression changes in multiple tissues. These findings underscore the critical role of mitochondria as both biomarkers and therapeutic targets for sustaining human health in deep space missions, while also advancing precision medicine strategies on Earth.

Dr. Afshin Beheshti 
 

Bio:
Afshin Beheshti, Ph.D. is a professor of surgery and of computational & systems biology at the University of Pittsburgh. He serves as director of the newly launched Space Center for Space Biomedicine and as associate director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Pitt​. In addition,Beheshti holds a visiting scientist appointment at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard​.

Abstract:
Human spaceflight presents significant health challenges driven by microgravity, space radiation, isolation and other environmental stressors. Recent multi-omics research has revealed that mitochondrial dysfunction is a central biological consequence of space travel, contributing to systemic impacts such as accelerated aging, cardiovascular disease, and impaired metabolic function. Data from astronaut missions and ground-based space analogs demonstrate persistent mitochondrial suppression even after returning to Earth. This talk highlights how space serves as an accelerated model for studying human diseases and aging, offering insights applicable both to space exploration and terrestrial medicine. Using advanced 3D organoid models and multi-omics analysis, we have identified promising countermeasures, including the natural flavonoid Kaempferol, which restores mitochondrial bioenergetics and reverses radiation-induced gene expression changes in multiple tissues. These findings underscore the critical role of mitochondria as both biomarkers and therapeutic targets for sustaining human health in deep space missions, while also advancing precision medicine strategies on Earth.

Dr. Antonis Rokas | Rokas Lab

Bio:
Antonis Rokas is a professor at the Departments of Biological Sciences and of Biomedical Informatics at Vanderbilt University and a holder of the Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Biological Sciences. He also serves as the founding director of the Vanderbilt Evolutionary Studies Initiative (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/evolution), an interdisciplinary center that unites scholars from diverse disciplines with broad interests and expertise in evolution-related fields. Rokas received his B.S. in Biology from the University of Crete, Greece (1998) and his Ph.D. from Edinburgh University, Scotland (2001).Before joining Vanderbilt in the summer of 2007, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2002–2005) and a research scientist at the Broad Institute (2005–2007). Research in the Rokas lab focuses on the study of the DNA record to gain insight into the patterns and processes of evolution. Through a combination of computational and experimental approaches, his current research aims to understand the molecular foundations of the fungal lifestyle, the reconstruction of the tree of life and the evolution of human pregnancy-associated traits.

Abstract:
Eutherian mammals have characteristic lengths of gestation that are key for reproductive success, but relatively little is known about the processes that determine the timing of parturition. This issue remains one of biology's great unsolved mysteries and has significant clinical relevance because preterm birth is the leading cause of infant and under 5-year-old child mortality worldwide. In my talk, I will describe my team’s and collaborative efforts to understand the genetic architecture of gestation length in (European) humans, the evolutionary forces acting on human loci involved (and an approach for extending this for any complex trait), and the evolution of gestation length in relation to other life history traits across mammals.

Dr. Antonis Rokas | Rokas Lab

Bio:
Antonis Rokas is a professor at the Departments of Biological Sciences and of Biomedical Informatics at Vanderbilt University and a holder of the Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Biological Sciences. He also serves as the founding director of the Vanderbilt Evolutionary Studies Initiative (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/evolution), an interdisciplinary center that unites scholars from diverse disciplines with broad interests and expertise in evolution-related fields. Rokas received his B.S. in Biology from the University of Crete, Greece (1998) and his Ph.D. from Edinburgh University, Scotland (2001).Before joining Vanderbilt in the summer of 2007, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2002–2005) and a research scientist at the Broad Institute (2005–2007). Research in the Rokas lab focuses on the study of the DNA record to gain insight into the patterns and processes of evolution. Through a combination of computational and experimental approaches, his current research aims to understand the molecular foundations of the fungal lifestyle, the reconstruction of the tree of life and the evolution of human pregnancy-associated traits.

Abstract:
Eutherian mammals have characteristic lengths of gestation that are key for reproductive success, but relatively little is known about the processes that determine the timing of parturition. This issue remains one of biology's great unsolved mysteries and has significant clinical relevance because preterm birth is the leading cause of infant and under 5-year-old child mortality worldwide. In my talk, I will describe my team’s and collaborative efforts to understand the genetic architecture of gestation length in (European) humans, the evolutionary forces acting on human loci involved (and an approach for extending this for any complex trait), and the evolution of gestation length in relation to other life history traits across mammals.

Dr. Antonis Rokas | Rokas Lab

Bio:
Antonis Rokas is a professor at the Departments of Biological Sciences and of Biomedical Informatics at Vanderbilt University and a holder of the Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Biological Sciences. He also serves as the founding director of the Vanderbilt Evolutionary Studies Initiative (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/evolution), an interdisciplinary center that unites scholars from diverse disciplines with broad interests and expertise in evolution-related fields. Rokas received his B.S. in Biology from the University of Crete, Greece (1998) and his Ph.D. from Edinburgh University, Scotland (2001).Before joining Vanderbilt in the summer of 2007, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2002–2005) and a research scientist at the Broad Institute (2005–2007). Research in the Rokas lab focuses on the study of the DNA record to gain insight into the patterns and processes of evolution. Through a combination of computational and experimental approaches, his current research aims to understand the molecular foundations of the fungal lifestyle, the reconstruction of the tree of life and the evolution of human pregnancy-associated traits.

Abstract:
Eutherian mammals have characteristic lengths of gestation that are key for reproductive success, but relatively little is known about the processes that determine the timing of parturition. This issue remains one of biology's great unsolved mysteries and has significant clinical relevance because preterm birth is the leading cause of infant and under 5-year-old child mortality worldwide. In my talk, I will describe my team’s and collaborative efforts to understand the genetic architecture of gestation length in (European) humans, the evolutionary forces acting on human loci involved (and an approach for extending this for any complex trait), and the evolution of gestation length in relation to other life history traits across mammals.

Dr. Antonis Rokas | Rokas Lab

Bio:
Antonis Rokas is a professor at the Departments of Biological Sciences and of Biomedical Informatics at Vanderbilt University and a holder of the Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Biological Sciences. He also serves as the founding director of the Vanderbilt Evolutionary Studies Initiative (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/evolution), an interdisciplinary center that unites scholars from diverse disciplines with broad interests and expertise in evolution-related fields. Rokas received his B.S. in Biology from the University of Crete, Greece (1998) and his Ph.D. from Edinburgh University, Scotland (2001).Before joining Vanderbilt in the summer of 2007, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2002–2005) and a research scientist at the Broad Institute (2005–2007). Research in the Rokas lab focuses on the study of the DNA record to gain insight into the patterns and processes of evolution. Through a combination of computational and experimental approaches, his current research aims to understand the molecular foundations of the fungal lifestyle, the reconstruction of the tree of life and the evolution of human pregnancy-associated traits.

Abstract:
Eutherian mammals have characteristic lengths of gestation that are key for reproductive success, but relatively little is known about the processes that determine the timing of parturition. This issue remains one of biology's great unsolved mysteries and has significant clinical relevance because preterm birth is the leading cause of infant and under 5-year-old child mortality worldwide. In my talk, I will describe my team’s and collaborative efforts to understand the genetic architecture of gestation length in (European) humans, the evolutionary forces acting on human loci involved (and an approach for extending this for any complex trait), and the evolution of gestation length in relation to other life history traits across mammals.

Dr. Antonis Rokas | Rokas Lab

Bio:
Antonis Rokas is a professor at the Departments of Biological Sciences and of Biomedical Informatics at Vanderbilt University and a holder of the Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Biological Sciences. He also serves as the founding director of the Vanderbilt Evolutionary Studies Initiative (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/evolution), an interdisciplinary center that unites scholars from diverse disciplines with broad interests and expertise in evolution-related fields. Rokas received his B.S. in Biology from the University of Crete, Greece (1998) and his Ph.D. from Edinburgh University, Scotland (2001).Before joining Vanderbilt in the summer of 2007, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2002–2005) and a research scientist at the Broad Institute (2005–2007). Research in the Rokas lab focuses on the study of the DNA record to gain insight into the patterns and processes of evolution. Through a combination of computational and experimental approaches, his current research aims to understand the molecular foundations of the fungal lifestyle, the reconstruction of the tree of life and the evolution of human pregnancy-associated traits.

Abstract:
Eutherian mammals have characteristic lengths of gestation that are key for reproductive success, but relatively little is known about the processes that determine the timing of parturition. This issue remains one of biology's great unsolved mysteries and has significant clinical relevance because preterm birth is the leading cause of infant and under 5-year-old child mortality worldwide. In my talk, I will describe my team’s and collaborative efforts to understand the genetic architecture of gestation length in (European) humans, the evolutionary forces acting on human loci involved (and an approach for extending this for any complex trait), and the evolution of gestation length in relation to other life history traits across mammals.

Dr. Antonis Rokas | Rokas Lab

Bio:
Antonis Rokas is a professor at the Departments of Biological Sciences and of Biomedical Informatics at Vanderbilt University and a holder of the Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Biological Sciences. He also serves as the founding director of the Vanderbilt Evolutionary Studies Initiative (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/evolution), an interdisciplinary center that unites scholars from diverse disciplines with broad interests and expertise in evolution-related fields. Rokas received his B.S. in Biology from the University of Crete, Greece (1998) and his Ph.D. from Edinburgh University, Scotland (2001).Before joining Vanderbilt in the summer of 2007, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2002–2005) and a research scientist at the Broad Institute (2005–2007). Research in the Rokas lab focuses on the study of the DNA record to gain insight into the patterns and processes of evolution. Through a combination of computational and experimental approaches, his current research aims to understand the molecular foundations of the fungal lifestyle, the reconstruction of the tree of life and the evolution of human pregnancy-associated traits.

Abstract:
Eutherian mammals have characteristic lengths of gestation that are key for reproductive success, but relatively little is known about the processes that determine the timing of parturition. This issue remains one of biology's great unsolved mysteries and has significant clinical relevance because preterm birth is the leading cause of infant and under 5-year-old child mortality worldwide. In my talk, I will describe my team’s and collaborative efforts to understand the genetic architecture of gestation length in (European) humans, the evolutionary forces acting on human loci involved (and an approach for extending this for any complex trait), and the evolution of gestation length in relation to other life history traits across mammals.

Dr. Deb Bell-Pedersen | Pedersen Lab

Abstract:
The circadian clock is a fundamental regulator of human health and drug metabolism, coordinating daily rhythms in protein production that affect cellular function and metabolism. Many proteins that cycle robustly are produced from nonrhythmic mRNAs, pointing to translational control as a key mechanism of rhythmic protein levels. Using the model eukaryote Neurospora crassa, we discovered that the clock exerts this regulation through rhythmic control of a conserved translation initiation factor (eIF2α) and by remodeling ribosome composition. Even more unexpectedly, we discovered that the circadian system governs the fidelity of protein synthesis by modulating ribosome makeup and tRNA synthetase activity. Both translational fidelity and circadian amplitude decline with age. We identified compounds that restore clock amplitude in old N. crassa cells, leading to improved translation accuracy and extended lifespan. These findings reveal how the circadian clock programs daily changes in the proteome beyond genomic instructions and highlight a novel link among circadian regulation, proteome integrity and aging.

Dr. Deb Bell-Pedersen | Pedersen Lab

Abstract:
The circadian clock is a fundamental regulator of human health and drug metabolism, coordinating daily rhythms in protein production that affect cellular function and metabolism. Many proteins that cycle robustly are produced from nonrhythmic mRNAs, pointing to translational control as a key mechanism of rhythmic protein levels. Using the model eukaryote Neurospora crassa, we discovered that the clock exerts this regulation through rhythmic control of a conserved translation initiation factor (eIF2α) and by remodeling ribosome composition. Even more unexpectedly, we discovered that the circadian system governs the fidelity of protein synthesis by modulating ribosome makeup and tRNA synthetase activity. Both translational fidelity and circadian amplitude decline with age. We identified compounds that restore clock amplitude in old N. crassa cells, leading to improved translation accuracy and extended lifespan. These findings reveal how the circadian clock programs daily changes in the proteome beyond genomic instructions and highlight a novel link among circadian regulation, proteome integrity and aging.