Alumni Weekend Special PresentationJoin us September 21 with renowned international speakers as they present "A Toothful Morsel of Dental Evolution"Tickets are only $5 (plus taxes and fees $6.12) for this great dive into the evolution of teeth and eligible for 4 continuing education credits. A Toothful Morsel of Dental Evolution 8:45AM - 9:00AM Dr. Sperber & Dr. Yacyshyn introductions 9:30AM - 10:30AM Scott Gilbert presentation – Eating for millions 10:30AM - 10:45AM Break 10:45AM - 11:45AM Julia Boughner presentation - Bad Molars: The Evolutionary Origins of Wisdom Teeth 11:45AM - 12:00PM Break 12:00 - 1:00PM* Tanya Smith presentation The Tales Teeth Tell *reception with light refreshments and book signing to follow. SPEAKER BIO'S Dr. Tanya M. Smith - Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution | Griffith Centre for Social & Cultural Research The Tales Teeth Tell: Human Development, Evolution, and Behavior Our teeth have intriguing stories to tell. These sophisticated time machines record our growth, diet, and evolutionary history as clearly as tree rings map a redwood’s lifespan. Each day of childhood is etched into tooth crowns and roots—capturing birth, nursing history, environmental variation, and illnesses. The study of ancient, fossilized teeth sheds light on our ancestors' development, how we evolved, and how prehistoric cultural transitions continue to affect humans today. I will offer an engaging and surprising look at what teeth tell us about the evolution of primates—including our own uniqueness. http://www.drtanyamsmith.com Scott currently has three textbooks in print: (1) Developmental Biology (now in its eleventh edition) is probably the most widely used textbook in the field; (2) The new textbook, Ecological Developmental Biology, which is trying to construct a new subdisclipine of biological science by bringing together aspects of embryology, medical physiology, ecology, and evolution; (3) Fear, Wonder, and Science in the New Age of Reproductive Biotechnology, a bioethics trade-book concerning fertilization, early human development, and infertility. Scott has received several awards, including the Medal of François I from the Collège de France, the Dwight J. Ingle Memorial Writing Award, the Choice Outstanding Academic Book Award, honorary doctorates from the University of Helsinki (Finland) and the University of Tartu (Estonia), and a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Grant. In 2002, the Society for Developmental Biology awarded him its first Viktor Hamburger Prize for Excellence in Education, and in 2004, he was awarded the Kowalevsky Prize in Evolutionary Developmental Biology. He has been elected a fellow of the AAAS and the St. Petersburg Society of Naturalists. He received the Burnhill Award from the American Reproductive Health Association in 2009, and in the last few years, he has presented the Burian-McNabb Lecture, Kurt Benirschke Lecture, and the Robert L. Brent Lecture. In 2016, he presented a lecture on developmental biology to His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. In 1994, Scott established the first website for a textbook, and he is also the co-author of a digitally-based history of developmental of biology. He is funded by the National Science Foundation to work with undergraduates on that most interesting of topics-how the turtle forms its
shell-and he continues to do research and write in both developmental biology and in the history and philosophy of biology. He is married to Dr. Anne Raunio and has three children. His hobbies have included playing piano in KNISH, one of Swarthmore's premier Klezmer bands. Dr. Julia Boughner Research Areas
My research background is in physical anthropology, broadly, the study of primate biology and evolution. Over time I’ve morphed into an evolutionary developmental biologist and have worked with various model organisms, including mouse, chick and snake. Perhaps because I am one, primates remain close to my scientific heart. While I use mouse models in much of my work, I typically ask scientific questions that I hope will inform some aspect of human evolution. In particular, I work to better understand primate craniofacial evolution and development. Recently, I organized Saskatoon's 2017 and 2018 March for Science YXE Events. Currently, I organize Café Scientifique-Saskatoon. Previously, I co-founded and co-organized one of the first Canadian Café Scientifiques in Vancouver, BC (est. 2004) with then fellow postdoc, Anne Mullin. In 2005, I created a home-grown science and technology radio show called “My Science Project” that aired on CiTR 101.9 FM UBC campus radio until 2008. Anne and I shared broadcasting duties as producers and hosts. In August 2009 I was fortunate enough to participate in the 2-week Science Communications Program at The Banff Centre. For me science outreach is both fun and crucial: I continue to be on the look-out for ways to fill the world with more science. In service to my research community, I serve on the Steering Committee of the Biological Anthropology Women's Mentoring Network, as an Evaluation Group member for NSERC's Discovery Grant program, on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Anatomists, and on the Executive of the Pan-American Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology. Bad molars: The evolutionary origins of wisdom teeth In my experience, everyone has a story to tell about wisdom teeth. I'm routinely asked the same great questions about why these molars get impacted, and how we know when they need to be removed. The answers actually seem to depend on our grasp of human evolution to understand how our paleobaggage is saddling us with dental problems. My talk will unpack how modern culture is affecting our oral biology, and will explore the latest research into wisdom tooth impaction, including new ways to predict the risk of bad molars. ____________________ Aaron LeBlanc, B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D. |