Natalia Vergara Ph.D. ’08, an alumna of Miami University, will speak at two events at Miami’s Oxford campus this March. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She will deliver a Department of Biology seminar at 4:15pm in 218 Pearson Hall on Thursday, March 30, 2023. Her talk is titled “Stem cell-derived retinal organoids: from developmental insights to therapeutic promise”<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Vergara was a Ph.D. student in Professor Katia Del Rio-Tsonis’ lab from 2002 to 2008, as well as a postdoctoral fellow. then completed a second postdoctoral fellowship at John Hopkins. Vergara is currently an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of the Ocular Development and Translational Technologies Laboratory at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Professor Michael Robinson and Professor Del Rio-Tsonis are currently collaborating with Dr. Vergara on some of her retinal organoid work that received\u00a0two NIH award competition<\/a>s: the 3D Retinal Organoid Challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Vergara\u00a0will be presenting an\u00a0informal talk to Miami University’s SACNAS chapter and other students, staff, and interested faculty: “Navigating the academic journey as a minority: thoughts, experiences, and lessons learned”<\/strong>. This event will start at 4:30 as a social event until 5pm when Dr. Vergara’s presentation will start (007 Pearson Hall).<\/p>\n\n\n\n