Heads Together: Hansen Life Sciences Retreat Fosters Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration

Utah State University’s inaugural Hansen Life Sciences Retreat was a small, modest affair, when it started some 15 years ago.

“At our first retreat, we gathered at the American West Heritage Center and held breaks outdoors, helping ourselves to snacks out of the back of Professor Joanie Hevel’s car,” said Lance Seefeldt, professor and head of USU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, who welcomed nearly 100 participants from departments throughout the university to the Oct. 25 gathering at the Larry W. and Lindi Miller Champion’s Club at Maverik Stadium on campus. “I’m very proud of how this retreat has grown, how the quality of the presentations remains consistently high, and how we’ve remained student-centric and faithful to our mission of providing an event where ideas can be shared across diverse disciplines.”

Carson Stoker, a doctoral student in the Department of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, was among researchers making oral presentations. Stoker, who conducts research in the lab of Research Assistant Professor Iuri Viotti Perisse, presented on the intricate genetics of sickle cell disease.

“This was my second year at the Hansen Retreat,” Stoker said. “I returned because I was so impressed by the interdisciplinary experience. We talk a lot with people in our own department, but I had no idea researchers throughout the university were exploring questions similar to ours.”

His faculty mentor agreed.

“I like that the retreat is focused on biological study at the molecular level,” Viotti Perisse said. “I like to see what’s going on beyond our department. It’s good to learn outside of the box and meet with other researchers throughout the university.”

USU undergraduate and graduate student scholars presented 37 research posters at the event, representing academic departments from the College of Arts & Sciences, the Quinney College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the College of Engineering and the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services.

Scholars who presented research talks were:

• Callie Newson, doctoral student, Erin Bobeck Lab, Department of Biology.
• Carson Stoker, doctoral student, Iuri Viotti Perisse Lab, Department of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences.
• Namhyeon Park, assistant professor, Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences.
• Noah Langenfeld, assistant professor, Department of Plants, Soils and Climate.

Students receiving outstanding research poster awards were:

• Mark Gold, “Regulation of Mtr4 helicase activity and complex specificity by post-translational modifications,” Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
• Md Mirajul Islam, “Biosynthesis and Secretion of Nectar in Northern Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.), Department of Biology.
• Sajad Karami, “Effect of UV-A light dehydration on micronutrients of mango and apple: A comprehensive metabolomic study,” Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences.
• Vincent Rossi and Sofiia Hakh, “Investigating allostery in the PRMT1 dimer using elegans enzyme model,” Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry doctoral student Edna Armah received the “Lightning Lamp” traveling trophy for her lightning pitch talk promoting her research poster, “Biochemical and functional characterization of ancestral archaeal protein tyrosine phosphatases.”

“There’s not a lot of opportunities to meet with so many different USU labs in one place at one time,” said Erin Bobeck, associate professor and co-director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Biology. “The Hansen Retreat provides the unique opportunity to integrate departments which are pursuing varied facets of life sciences research.”

The Hansen Life Sciences Retreat, coordinated by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, honors the memory of renowned biochemist R. Gaurth Hansen (1920-2002), a gifted scientist, teacher and administrator who spent much of his career enriching Utah State University. A native of Cache Valley, Utah, Hansen began his undergraduate studies at Utah State before transferring to the University of Wisconsin, where he completed bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees.

Hansen joined USU's faculty as an academic vice president in 1968, and was soon promoted to provost. His efforts contributed to a 20-fold increase in the university's research budget. In addition to his administrative and teaching endeavors, Hansen published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles in professional journals, and he received many prestigious national accolades. He was named USU Distinguished Professor Emeritus in 1985 and retired from Utah State in 1994.

The Hansen Retreat is supported by R. Gaurth Hansen’s son Lars Peter Hansen, a USU alum and Nobel Laureate, and daughter-in-law Grace Tsiang, along with their son, Peter Hansen.