The Black Association at Salk (BAS) affinity group invites the Salk community to celebrate Black History Month. Outstanding scientists from across disciplines discuss their research and their work to raise awareness and broaden opportunities for mentorship, professional development and academic support. Moderated by Austin Coley, Salk postdoctoral researcher and co-chair of the BAS.

Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Panel discussion: 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Networking reception: 3:30 – 5:00 p.m.

Location: Conrad T. Prebys Auditorium, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 N Torrey Pines Rd. La Jolla, CA 92037

Registration deadline: February 26, 2024

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KEVIN COX
Kevin Cox, PhD is a HHMI Hanna Gray Fellow that specializes in plant molecular biology. He was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, completing his B.S. in Biology at the University of Missouri in St. Louis. Kevin’s fascination with plant pathogens motivated him to attend Texas A&M University and earn his PhD in Plant Pathology. As a graduate student, he worked in the lab of Libo Shan where he focused on uncovering the molecular mechanisms of a cotton disease called bacterial blight. He returned to St. Louis, MO to work at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center for his postdoc with Blake Meyers where he worked on developing platforms to study spatial information at a single-cell resolution in plants. Kevin will start a joint faculty appointment as an Assistant Professor in Biology at Washington University in St. Louis and an Assistant Member/Principal Investigator at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center beginning July 2024. His future lab will be interested in uncovering the spatial organization of genes in plants, with a core objective of unraveling the communication mechanisms within plant cells.

ERIC ARCHER
Eric Archer, PhD leads the Marine Mammal Genetics Program at the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center. His work is focused on understanding the population structure and taxonomy of whales and dolphins using genetic/genomic tools. He also has expertise with integrated analyses of multivariate datasets merging diverse lines of evidence such as morphometrics, acoustics, and life history data. In his off time he enjoys hiking, playing the bass, and recreational flying.

CHARISSE N. WINSTON
Charisse N. Winston earned her B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Virginia (UVA) in 2006 and her M.S. in Biochemistry.

From Georgetown University in 2009, Winston’s Master’s thesis work led her to a yearlong Post-Baccalaureate IRTA Technical Fellowship at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) where she studied mechanisms associated with PCAP stressing signaling in mice. In 2010, Winston returned to Georgetown to obtain her PhD in Neuroscience where she studied neuronal remodeling mechanisms and genetic influences following repeat mild TBI. Winston would go on to make important scientific contributions as a postdoctoral researcher at UC San Diego, studying the bi-functional role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) as blood-based biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) diagnosis and understanding EV cargo pathogenicity using in vivo and in vitro model systems of AD. In 2021, Winston was awarded a MOSAIC K99/R00 where she proposes to examine the biomarker potential of blood EVs amongst African Americans at risk of developing AD in primary care settings. Currently, Winston is an Assistant Professor at the Alzheimer’s Disease Therapeutic Research Institute where she plans to continue her work in EV biology, health disparities, biofluid-based diagnostics of AD and other age-related dementias. The overall goal of Winston’s lab is to address the brain health inequities that exist amongst minority patients’ groups while increasing the translational capacity of race-specific, EV-based biomarkers in AD. In addition to her research, Winston has served as an adjunct biology professor and work-based learning coordinator for the last six years at Southwestern College in Chula, Vista, CA. Winston is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and numerous professional organizations including the Society for Neuroscience, International Society for Extracellular Vesicles, Alzheimer’s Association, and Black in Neuro.