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  • Jan
    12

    Distribution of Toxic Peptides Produced by Cyanobacteria (a.k.a. "Blue-Green Algae") in Lakes and Their Removal by Drinking Water Treatment Plants

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering

    2:00 PM A230, Technological Institute

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    Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CHABs) are a growing problem worldwide due to inadequate protections for freshwater resources, poor land management, and in some cases global climate change. Toxins and biomass produced by CHABs present challenges for drinking water production, inhibits use of lakes and rivers for recreation, and alters food web dynamics. This is problematic since in the United States more than 60% of drinking water is produced from freshwaters while recent studies show an increasing number of lakes and rivers are becoming eutrophic, thus capable of supporting CHABs.
    CHAB species produce a fascinating number of secondary metabolites that display various activities in eukaryotic cells. While some are explored for their medicinal purposes others are acutely toxic affecting multiple organs including liver, kidney, reproductive, central and peripheral nervous systems. In particular, cyanobacteria produce a variety of linear and circular peptides that vary widely in their potency and physiological effects. Among these, microcystins and nodularin are well known inhibitors of protein phosphatases causing acute and chronic effects in the liver. Other cyanopeptides including anabaenopeptins, cyanopeptolins, microginins, and aeruginosins inhibit multiple enzymes in eukaryotic cells, primarily serine/threonine proteases. Originally considered non-toxic recent studies indicate some of these are potent neurotoxins.
    The temporal and spatial distribution of cyanopeptide mixtures in CHABs is relatively unknown. CHAB forming species are known to produce multiple cyanopeptide classes in laboratory cultures. Thus it is likely that CHAB events involve multiple toxic and/or bioactive compounds rather than a single toxin. This has important implications for human and environmental health as well as public health monitoring strategies. We have described the spatial and temporal dynamics of cyanopeptides in lakes distributed globally and their removal during drinking water treatment processes. Our results challenge the notion that CHAB events involve a single toxin, but rather involve a complex mixture of compounds whose effects on mammalian cells is relatively unexplored.

    Todd Miller holds a doctorate in Marine Estuarine Environmental Science from the University of Maryland - College Park where he studied organic sulfur metabolizing bacteria (Roseobacter species) associated with marine algae (dinoflagellates). Following graduate school Dr. Miller was a post- doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health where he studied the fate of antibacterial compounds Triclosan and Triclocarban in estuarine sediments, biodegradation of anthropogenic compounds by bacteria, and genomics of the dioxin degrading bacterium Sphingomonas wittichii. Following Johns Hopkins he did a second post- doctoral fellowship at the University of Wisconsin - Madison at the Center for Limnology and Department of Bacteriology where he studied the ecology of toxic cyanobacteria in freshwater lakes. He is currently an associate professor in the Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee and an affiliate with the School of Freshwater Sciences. His laboratory studies microbial ecology, and environmental chemistry of hazardous bacteria, chemicals, and natural products in aquatic environments.

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    TIME Friday, January 12, 2018 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

    LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Tierney Acott    tierney-acott@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering

  • Apr
    24

    SPREE Seminar Series - From Dots In Space To Space-Time-Magnitude Connections: Evolution of Energy Release Research As Applied to Damage Mechanics and Induced Seismicity- Jesse Hampton

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    11:00 AM A236, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION A236, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • Apr
    26

    EES Seminar Series- Kaize Ding

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    2:00 PM A236, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Friday, April 26, 2024 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

    LOCATION A236, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    1

    SPREE Seminar Series- Roman Makhenko

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    11:00 AM A236, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Wednesday, May 1, 2024 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION A236, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    3

    EES Seminar Series- X-ray fluorescence microscopy for life and environmental studies at the Advanced Photon Source- Si Chen

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    2:00 PM A236, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Friday, May 3, 2024 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

    LOCATION A236, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    6

    AED/MPM PD Seminar Series- Steve Nargang

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    11:00 AM 1101, Pancoe-NSUHS Life Sciences Pavilion

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Monday, May 6, 2024 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION 1101, Pancoe-NSUHS Life Sciences Pavilion    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    8

    SPREE Seminar Series- Investigating Single & Multi-Component Polymer Grafted Nanoparticles using Molecular Modelling- Subhadeep Pal

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    11:00 AM A236, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Wednesday, May 8, 2024 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION A236, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    8

    Extending Care: A Conversation about Conservation and Futurity

    Block Museum of Art

    6:00 PM Block Museum of Art, Mary and Leigh

    EVENT DETAILSmore info

    TIME Wednesday, May 8, 2024 at 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

    LOCATION Block Museum of Art, Mary and Leigh    map it

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    CONTACT Block Museum of Art    block-museum@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Block Museum of Art

  • May
    10

    EES Seminar Series- Phosphorous Recycling- Jade Basinski

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    2:00 PM A236, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Friday, May 10, 2024 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

    LOCATION A236, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    13

    AED/MPM PD Seminar Series- Albert Mena & Maya Stuhlbarg

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    11:00 AM 1101, Pancoe-NSUHS Life Sciences Pavilion

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Monday, May 13, 2024 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION 1101, Pancoe-NSUHS Life Sciences Pavilion    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    15

    SPREE Seminar Series- Understanding Heat Transport at Grain Boundaries Through High Resolution Imaging- Elenora Isotta

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    11:00 AM A236, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION A236, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    17

    EES Seminar Series- Dave Lampert

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    2:00 PM A236, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Friday, May 17, 2024 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

    LOCATION A236, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    20

    AED/MPM PD Seminar Series- Andres Marulanda Escobar

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    11:00 AM 1101, Pancoe-NSUHS Life Sciences Pavilion

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Monday, May 20, 2024 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION 1101, Pancoe-NSUHS Life Sciences Pavilion    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    22

    SPREE Seminar Series- Mechanism-Based Multi-Scale Models for Damage and Failure in Heterogeneous Materials- Kedar Kirane

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    11:00 AM A236, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Wednesday, May 22, 2024 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION A236, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    24

    EES Seminar Series- PFAS Characterization- Gordon Getzinger

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    2:00 PM A236, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Friday, May 24, 2024 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

    LOCATION A236, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • Jun
    6

    CEE Department Graduation Recognition and Ceremony

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    4:00 PM 1702 Chicago Ave

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Thursday, June 6, 2024 at 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM

    LOCATION 1702 Chicago Ave   

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • Jun
    7

    CEE Graduating Undergraduate Celebrating

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    6:00 PM 623 W Howard St

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Friday, June 7, 2024 at 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

    LOCATION 623 W Howard St   

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • Jun
    10

    Northwestern Engineering PhD Hooding and Master's Degree Recognition Ceremony

    McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

    9:00 AM Welsh-Ryan Arena

    EVENT DETAILSmore info

    TIME Monday, June 10, 2024 at 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

    LOCATION Welsh-Ryan Arena   

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    CONTACT Amy Pokrass    amy.pokrass@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

  • Jun
    10

    Northwestern Engineering Undergraduate Convocation

    McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

    2:00 PM Welsh-Ryan Arena

    EVENT DETAILSmore info

    TIME Monday, June 10, 2024 at 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

    LOCATION Welsh-Ryan Arena   

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    CONTACT Amy Pokrass    amy.pokrass@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science