Nerd Nite No 58: Stem Cell Science, OpenStreetsPHL, and Dr. Mario, Plus Music by Victoria Watts!
Hello! It’s just about time for our next Nerd Nite. And oh, what a lineup we have for you:
Ken Zaret, What’s the Big Deal About Stem Cells?
These tiny cells that were once a taboo topic will soon make a big impact on modern day healthcare, and you should get familiar with them. In this edition of Nerd Nite, Dr. Ken Zaret, Director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, will take you through the basics of stem cells and the new technologies that can help us cure diseases, how cells from your own skin can be used to make all kinds of new tissues, and a recent discovery in his lab that’s making a big wave in the early detection of cancer.
Bio: Kenneth S. Zaret, Ph.D. is the Joseph Leidy Professor in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. He is also the Director of UPenn’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Zaret did his graduate work on yeast genetics with Dr. Fred Sherman in the Department of Radiation Biology and Biophysics at the University of Rochester and his postdoctoral work on steroid hormone regulation with Dr. Keith Yamamoto in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco.
Nate Hommell, Talking Open Streets PHL
Most of us are surrounded by poorly served public spaces. How many of us think of streets as public spaces? University City District has developed a series of Placemaking devices fitting under the category “Tactical Urbanism” which we use to gradually improve a block or blocks and get people to care about their public spaces and most importantly, use them! Open Streets PHL strives to remind everyone that our streets are public spaces and there should be multiple Open Streets events each year to further emphasize this. But how? This talk will introduce (or further explain) the topics to you and detail how we plan to make them happen. I will describe the necessary advocacy work, the outreach, the marketing and media and the need for non-profit status so that we can fundraise! Its not just an event, you have to become an organization.
Bio: Nate Hommel, Director of Planning and Design at University City District, and External Communication Director at OpenStreetsPHL.
Glen Tickle, My Crippling Pill Addiction: A Dr. Mario Story
Glen Tickle is a Dr. Mario virtuoso and is currently in the process of setting the world record for the game. He will talk about his history with the game, the psychology of people who set world records, and why he’s so freaking good at stacking colored pills.
Bio: Glen Tickle is a comedian and writer who focuses primarily on jokes about his daughter, science, and his very dumb (very real) name. He has written for Pretending to be on TV, The Flighty Ducks, and Lexington Compost, but is proudest of his work on a series of jokes for his daughter’s toy robot Mr. Toyboto.
Plus! Music by returning Nerd Nite favorite Victoria Watts.
This is going to be a great one, so you aren’t going to want to miss it.
The details:
Wednesday, March 2nd.
Frankford Hall, 1210 Frankford Avenue in the heart of Fishtown.
$5
7:30pm/doors open at 4pm. We recommend you get there early to ensure that you snag a seat.
BE THERE AND BE SQUARE!
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