2025 Darwin Festival

Salem State's annual Darwin Festival is a weeklong event that celebrates the work of Charles Darwin, with sessions from leading researchers celebrating the field of biology and its impact on today's world.

All in-person talks will be held in Vets Hall, Ellison Campus Center, North Campus. A number of the talks are webinar only. Events are free and open to the public.

Students and guests who anticipate needing accommodations due to a disability or who have questions about access may contact the Center for Accessible Academic Resources at [email protected] or Ryan Fisher for more information.

Schedule:

10:50 am: Robert Logan, Biology and Biotechnology Program, Endicott College

“Neurodegeneration: Early Detection, Inflammation, Senescence”

Dr. Robert Logan's talk will explore cutting-edge approaches to understanding and addressing neurodegenerative diseases, with a focus on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). Early detection remains critical for improving outcomes, as neurodegeneration is progressive, irreversible, and often diagnosed too late. This talk will highlight Dr. Logan's work in pursuing the potential of retinal imaging as a non-invasive, cost-effective tool for identifying disease-associated biomarkers such as amyloid-beta (Aβ) and α-synuclein (αSYN), which appear before irreversible brain damage occurs. The findings of Dr. Logan and his colleagues demonstrate that retinal changes mirror brain pathology, providing a window for early diagnosis and intervention. The talk also examines the role of cellular senescence and inflammation in neurodegeneration, identifying AFF3 and DLC1 as senescence markers in AD retinas and showing that R-Spondin 1 suppresses inflammatory cytokines in human cortical astrocytes. Additionally, Dr. Logan will discuss the impact of SARS-CoV-2, revealing its ability to induce Alzheimer’s-like pathology in retinal models. In Drosophila studies, he investigates the effects of prevalent and novel senolytic treatments on neuroprotection and disease modification, as well as the shared molecular pathways between Parkinson’s disease and melanoma. By addressing inflammation, cellular senescence, and retinal biomarkers, his research highlights promising strategies for improving diagnostics, preventing irreversible brain damage, and ultimately enhancing patient outcomes in neurodegenerative diseases.

Sponsored by the Salem State Biology Department, Sigma Xi North Shore Chapter and ThermoFisher Scientific

12:15 pm: Nicholas Geron, Geography and Sustainability Department, Salem State University

"Searching for Shade: Adapting to Extreme Heat in the Northeast USA”

In early 2024, the world passed the 1.5C warming threshold for the first time. In the northeast of the United States, extreme heat events are becoming more frequent while aging infrastructure is not designed for a warmer climate. Cities across the northeast have responded by planting millions of trees to increase resilience and adaptability. In this talk I will evaluate different types of tree planting by examining how large shade trees such as Pin Oak (Quercus palustris) impact temperature compared to flowering smaller trees such as Dogwoods (Cornus kousa).

Sponsored by the Salem State University Geography and Sustainability Department and the Charles Albert Read Trust