The Eagle Room @ Town and Country Campus
1010 W. Sam Houston Pkwy. N.
Houston TX 77043
Dr. Richard Gunasekera leads the Biology program at the University of Houston- Victoria, which includes both coordinating the academic program and directing the biological science laboratories at Victoria and Sugar Land. His main interests in teaching lie in effective communication of information to his students, stewardship and service.
Gunasekera earned his BS in Biochemistry at Baylor University, where he researched the synthesis of biodegradable polymers. He earned an MS degree in bio-organic chemistry from the University of Houston-Clear Lake and went on to an MS and Ph.D. in biomedical sciences while at the Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. He held a post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
Before joining UHV, Richard Gunasekera led the Program in Bioactive Phytochemicals (Medicinal Plants) at the Center for Cancer Biology and Nutrition, of Texas A&M University's Institute of Biosciences and Technology at the Texas Medical Center in Houston. He continues to remain a major collaborator of this program, and is graduate faculty with the Texas A&M University System.
Dr. Gunasekera started his teaching career in the University of Houston system at UH Clear Lake in 1987 and has taught for the Texas A&M University System and Trinity International University. He considers classroom and lab instruction as his premier calling.
Gunasekera has presented a number of scientific publications and public lectures, and has received several awards, including a first place in oral presentation at the American Chemical Society: DFW.
CSI Texas: Forensic Science from recent criminal cases
Forensic science, an emerging modern science of today, has been known as a discipline since the early 1900s. With the advent of DNA analysis it has exploded into the public consciousness and has raised the interest of many science students. The public has developed a fascination with and respect for science as an exciting and important profession unseen since the Apollo space program. Enrollment in forensic science educational programs across the U.S. is exploding.
In this seminar, an introduction to criminal scene investigations (CSI) and forensic science will be discussed. General forensic science techniques pertaining to firearms, toxicology, drug analysis, photography, drug analysis, latent prints, and questioned documents will be briefly described. Basic concepts in serology, blood stain pattern analysis, DNA collection, extraction, and analysis will be discussed with illustrations from well known Texas cases- where forensic science was essential for solving the case. Techniques used in DNA analysis will be described and discussed with relevance to the scientific method. Other fields in forensic science such as forensic pathology, entomology, odontolgy, anthropology, psychology, and newer emerging areas such as forensic computer science will be mentioned. Recent cases in Texas where the author was an expert witness and DNA consultant will be presented as relevant*.
A. Tineke Berends, PhD Biology Instructor
Houston Community College Northwest
1010 W. Sam Houston Pkwy. N. (TCSC 804)
Houston TX 77043
tineke.berends@hccs.edu
(713) 515-8569
The Cyber Lounge (#195) @ Westgate Campus (in Katy)
2006-2008
Postdoctoral Fellow, Children Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
2006
Resident Pediatrics, Enschede, The Netherlands
1999-2006
Medical School, Free University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The epidemic of overweight and its associated diseases in children and adolescents are two of the biggest public health concerns of our time. To illustrate this: 1) Type 2 diabetes was previously only seen in adults, but now it also is diagnosed in children;2) High blood pressure at young age is now an emerging serious problem. Understanding how obesity can lead to various health problems is a very important subject to clarify. The treatment and prevention of obesity and its diseases are enormous challenges and represent important goals to reach.
Finding answers to these questions triggered me to work at the Children’s Nutrition Research Center in Houston. Under supervision of Dr. Agneta Sunehag, I focus on measuring the effect of different exercise programs on body fat distribution, fat and sugar metabolism and hormone excretion in lean and obese Hispanic adolescents. We do this by using state of the art Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and blood measurements. The findings from this work will provide significant knowledge on the exact effects of an exercise program as a tool to prevent or delay the onset of obesity related diseases.
For more Info Contact
A. Tineke Berends, PhD Biology Instructor
Houston Community College Northwest
1010 W. Sam Houston Pkwy. N. (TCSC 804)
Houston TX 77043
tineke.berends@hccs.edu
(713) 515-8569
As our Seminar Series proved to be successful in the past, we have scheduled the next one for February 21, 2008 @ 1:00pm at the Eagle Room, Town and Country Campus. The seminar will be presented by Marta W. Vasconcelos, Ph.D
Speaker's Bio
2005-2008
2005-2008 Research Associate, USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Houston, TX, USA, working on plant environmental stress and plant biofortification of iron, zinc and vitamin A, in particular on rice, soybean, and Medicago truncatula
2003-2005
2003-2005 Post Doctoral Research Associate, USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Houston, TX, USA
2000-2003
2000-2003 PhD researcher, working on the improvement of the nutritional content of rice by increasing iron and zinc concentration through biotechnology.
2000-2003
PhD, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica - Universidade Nova de Lisboa (ITQB-UNL), Portugal & International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines. General Area: Genetics & Biotechnology. Thesis Title: A Biotechnological Strategy to Improve Iron Content in the Endosperm of Elite Rice Varieties. Advisors: Dr. S.K. Datta (IRRI, Philippines) and Dr. M. M. Oliveira (ITQB-UNL, Portugal). (2000-2003)
1995-2000
BS/MS, Applied Plant Biology, from Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa (FCUL), Portugal (1995-2000) graduated with honors.
More than half the world's people—mostly the poor in developing countries—suffer from the devastating consequences of micronutrient malnutrition. Micronutrients, such as Vitamin A, Zinc, and Iron, are required only in very small amounts, but are essential to good health. Iron deficiency, in particular, is the most common micronutrient deficiency in the world, and the WHO estimates that most preschool children and pregnant women in developing countries and at least 30–40% in developed countries are iron deficient. At IRRI I learned techniques of genetic engineering and molecular Biology, and the paper from my work won the prize for best scientific paper award of 2004 amongst all CGIAR centers in the world. While still in the Philippines, I contacted Dr. Michael Grusak at the USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, with several scientific questions, and he invited me to come and work as a Postdoctoral Researcher. In October of 2005 I was offered a position as a Research Associate and now I am continuing to work on how to improve the nutritional content of plant foods through the process of biofortification. (Please see attached brochure on further explanation of biofortification and the Harvest Plus program).
For more Info Contact
A. Tineke Berends, PhD Biology Instructor
Houston Community College Northwest
1010 W. Sam Houston Pkwy. N. (TCSC 804)
Houston TX 77043
tineke.berends@hccs.edu
(713) 515-8569
Date:
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Starting at 2:00pm
Location:
Room SJAC 151 @ Central College
The next seminar has been arranged for November 14th at 2 PM in room SJAC 151 ofCentral College. Dr. Andon Placzek of Baylor College of Medicine will present a Title V sponsored seminar on his researchand will speak on the topic "Nicotine Addiction: How the Brain Learns the Smoking Habit".
"Dr. Placzek earned his B.A. in Psychology at the University of South Florida in Tampa. During this time he became interested in biomedical science and began working in the laboratory of Dr.Michael Mullan, where he studied Alzheimer's disease. He then moved to the University of Florida where he learned techniques in electrophysiology and molecular biology in the laboratory of Dr. Roger Papke, and was awarded a Ph.D. for his studies of neuronal nicotine receptors. He is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Baylor College of Medicine in the laboratory of Dr. John Dani. His current research involves the study of how nicotine makes long-term changes in reward circuits of the brain."
This will be a unique opportunity for both faculty and students to get a student-friendly taste of the field of neuroscience.
We hope that the Faculty and students of this as well as other colleges benefit from this seminar.
For more info Contact
Pramila Sen, Ph. D.
Assistant Depmartment Chair
Biology/Nutrition Dept-Central College
(713) 718-6051
Town & Country Student Center - Eagle Room.
Houston Community College - Northwest
1010 W. Sam Houston Pkwy N.
Houston, TX 77043
[see map]
Dr. David Mittelman of Baylor College of Medicine will present a Title V sponsored seminar on his research. Meant for a laypeople audience, this seminar will explain how genetic and environmental factors can change the DNA sequence of living organisms. Specifically, Dr. Mittelman is interested in the appearance of repetitive sequences called triplet repeats. Changes in the numbers of these triplet repeats can have many effects. Some are beneficial for the organism, making them better adapted to their environment. Others cause proteins to malfunction in certain individuals, leading to disease. These changes can also be used as an indicator for the likelyhood of cancer.
Amazingly, Dr. Mittelman is not only an accomplished researcher, he is also an inventor. Studying these triplet repeat diseases has led him to look for ways to treat them. He is currently in the process of working with biotech companies to market his invention of a new therapeutic strategy for triplet repeat disease treatment.
We are very fortunate to have secured such a young, dynamic speaker. The Title V team would love for you to join us on October 29. We'd love it even more if you would send us your students (science and non-science majors alike). Dr. Mittelman has promised he will not only talk science, but will also be happy to share his personal professional journey with our students. This will be a unique opportunity for both faculty and students to get a student-friendly taste of the field of biotechnology. Student signup sheets and proof-of-attendance slips will be made available. In case of questions, please feel free to contact Dr. Tineke Berends of the Title V team at tineke.berends@hccs.edu or (713) 515-8569. See you there!
For more Info Contact
A. Tineke Berends, PhD Biology Instructor
Houston Community College Northwest
1010 W. Sam Houston Pkwy. N. (TCSC 804)
Houston TX 77043
tineke.berends@hccs.edu
(713) 515-8569
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Dr. Richard Gunasekera leads the Biology program at the University of Houston- Victoria, which includes both coordinating the academic program and directing the biological science laboratories at Victoria and Sugar Land. His main interests in teaching lie in effective communication of information to his students, stewardship and service.
Location:
