MBL Announces 2020 Friday Evening Lecture Series

The Marine Biological Laboratory is pleased to announce the Friday Evening Lecture schedule for the summer of 2020. The hour-long presentations are geared for a diverse and engaged audience and appeal to scientists and non-scientists alike.

Although all in-person events at the MBL are cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tradition continues this summer with streamed lectures delivered by notable FEL “alumni” who will help us carry on the legacy of the Friday Evening Lectures.

The 2020 lineup of speakers will explore some of the most fascinating subjects in science today. The series kicks off July 3 with a special lecture from Hannah Valantine of the National Institutes of Health who will discuss how to foster a more diverse scientific workforce.

All lectures will be presented virtually at 8:00 PM ET every Friday from July 3 through August 14 and followed by a live Q&A.

The schedule is below. Visit mbl.edu/FEL for lecture abstracts, speaker bios and to register.

July 3
“NIH’s Scientific Approach to Inclusive Excellence”
Hannah Valantine, National Institutes of Health
 
July 10
Forbes Lecture
“Personal, National, and World Crises”
Jared Diamond, University of California
 
July 17
“The Edison of Medicine: Robert Langer’s Quest to Solve Global Health Challenges Using Biotechnology”
Robert Langer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 
July 24
"The Taste of Blood"
Leslie Vosshall, The Rockefeller University; Howard Hughes Medical Institute
 
July 31
Porter Lecture
"Dropping in to 'Listen': Eavesdropping on the Complex Molecular Dialogue of Host and Symbiont Throughout their Lifelong Partnership"
Margaret McFall-Ngai, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa; Howard Hughes Medical Institute
 
August 7
Glassman Lecture
“Fossils, Genes and the Origin of Limbs from Fish Fins”
Neil Shubin, University of Chicago
 
August 14
"Molecular Convergence in Brain Regions for Song Learning in Birds and Spoken Language in Humans"
Erich Jarvis, The Rockefeller University; Howard Hughes Medical Institute