Community and Events
Protein Design Contest
Mines inaugural 2024 Protein Design Contest launched in honor of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John M. Jumper for the computational prediction and design of protein structures (as shown below). This contest is open to undergraduate and graduate students with no prior computational experience required. The goal is to design proteins, hopefully stable, for honor, glory, and cash prizes.
Source: Baker Lab; examples of de novo proteins successfully predicted before and after 2011
SEMINAR SERIES
We are excited to announce this year’s seminar series.
Seminars will be Wednesdays, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., in Berthoud Hall, Room 205. Open to the Oredigger campus community, undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff. No pre-registration required. If you have any questions, contact QBE Professor Kevin Cash.
Next seminar: Wednesday October 22nd, 2025
Welcome Dr. Natalie Davidson!
Navigating Sparse and Noisy Data: Machine Learning Approaches for Ovarian Cancer
High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC) remains one of the most heterogeneous and lethal malignancies, yet our ability to capture and interpret this complexity is limited by the technologies we use to study it. Bulk sequencing provides population-scale coverage but lacks cellular resolution, while single-cell and spatial profiling reveal fine-grained biology but remain constrained to small cohorts. Our lab is developing machine learning frameworks that bridge these worlds, integrating high-resolution but small-scale data with large-scale bulk datasets, to uncover clinically relevant and generalizable tumor features that are otherwise hidden.
We are particularly focused on understanding HGSC transcriptomic subtypes, which differ in survival outcomes but remain poorly characterized across tumor compositions and patient populations. By combining multimodal data integration with interpretable models, we aim to reveal whether these subtypes arise from tumor-intrinsic or compositional differences.
Dr. Davidson is an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz and I am currently funded by the NIH NHGRI K99/R00. My research program utilizes machine learning to transform the diagnosis and treatment of high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) of tubo-ovarian origin. My goal is to develop computational frameworks that uncover biologically meaningful patterns from large, multi-modal datasets, enabling new insights into disease mechanisms and accelerating the translation of these discoveries into improved patient care.
Upcoming Seminars
11/5/25- Cody Madsen (LLNL)
11/19/25- Guy Hagan (UCCS)
Past Seminars
Dr. Brecca Gaffney , CU Anschutz 10/8/25
“Anchored in Motion: The Biomechanical Promise of Bone-Anchored Limbs“
Dr. Bruno Klein, NREL 9/24/25
“The Power of Techno-Economic and Life-Cycle Analysis in Bioprocess Development”
Dr. Luke Jessup, Mines 4/30/25
“Towards Linking the Mechanics and Energetics of Human Locomotion: Using In-Vivo and In-Silico Techniques“
Dr. Ramya Kumar, Mines 4/16/25
“Tuning gradient steepness in copolymers augments intracellular pDNA Delivery“
Dr. Alina Handorean, Mines 4/2/25
“Aerobiology: A Breath of Fresh Air in QBE“
Dr. Alex Pak, Mines 3/5/25
“Combining Molecular Dynamics and Machine Learning to Study Biomolecular Complexes“
Dr. Terry Lowe, Mines 2/5/25
“Innovations for Human Health via Engineering of Biotic/Abiotic Interfaces“
Dr. John Spear, Mines 1/22/25
“Investigating Life on Eartly Earth by Hanging Out at Modern Hotsprings“
Dr. Duncan Davis-Hall, Mines 1/8/25
“Impact of Ungrading on Student Confidence in Capstone EngineeringDesign“
Dr. Matt Olm, CU Boulder 11/13/24
“Deciphering the impact of industrialization on the human gut microbiome“
Dr. Charlene Van Buiten, CSU 10/30/24
“Sourdough-Omics: Modern Analytical Approaches to Understanding an Ancient Fermented Food”
Dr. Ursula Goodenough, Washington University 10/16/2024
“The Religious Naturalist Orientation: Taking Nature to Mind and to Heart”
Dr. Julie Johnston, Hampshire College 10/02/24
“Life and Activity of Ammonia Oxidizing Organisms in Engineered Environments”
Dr. Teisha Rowland, FDA 09/18/24
“Alternative Science Careers in Writing, Academia, Industry, and Government”
Dr. Jana Montgomery, ActiVie 04/17/24
“A Career in Curiosity: Navigating Startups
and Academia”
Dr. Brady Worrell, University of Denver 04/03/24
“Catalytic Chain Transfer in Crosslinking Photopolymerizations: Towards Catalyst-Catalyst Multimaterial Additive Manufacturing”
Dr. Cris Argueso, Colorado State University 03/06/24
“Hormonal Regulation of Plant Growth and Defense”
Dr. Griffin Chure, Stanford University 02/21/24
“The Form of Growth and Growth of Form: Understanding Cell Growth and Size Homeostasis from First Principles”
Dr. Chesley Chen, University of Denver 02/07/24
“Zen and the Art of Starting Up a Start-up”
Dr. Yamuna Phal, Colorado School of Mines 01/24/24
“Harnessing and ShapingMid-Infrared Light for Biosensing”
Dr. Brennan Sprinkle, Colorado School of Mines 11/29/23
“The Countoscope: measuring self and collective diffusion with facncy counting”
Dr. Erin Nuccio, Lawerence Livermore National Laboratory 11/15/23
“Visualizing Microbial Oxygen Use Surrounding Roots Using Transparent Soils and Oxygen-sensitive Nanosensors”
Dr. Adrienne Williams, University of California 11/01/23
“Metacognition and Study Strategies as Drivers of Student Success in Biology”
Dr. Joshua Chan, Colorado State University 10/04/23
“Learning Microbial Metabolic Interactions and Their Evolution Through Artificial Intelligence”
Dr. Pavel Osten, The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai 09/20/23
“New Platform for Clinically Predictive Drug Recovery in Neuropsychiatry”
Dr. Xuewei Wang, Virginia Commonwealth University 09/06/23
“Optical and Electrochemical Sensors for Decentralized Health Monitoring”
QBE Clubs
Student Advisory Board
The uQBE Student Advisory Board is a board of elected students who each strive to make our major a welcoming and supportive environment. This board works hard to support the staff and the students by aiding and hosting QBE related events. The goal of this board is to bridge the gap between faculty and students to create a supportive community of Mines best students.
STUDENT CLUBS
Bio Builders
BioBuilders @ Mines was created to help foster creation through biology and provide interdisciplinary work and research opportunities for the Mines community. They plan to host classes, projects, and implement a team to compete and travel to the iGEM competition to explore the world of synthetic biology collaboratively. Ultimately, as a student-run organization, they aim to provide opportunities for students to learn from one another about biological research by giving them the space, resources, and support to do so.
We recognize that students majoring in engineering fields have an opportunity to impact medicine greatly by applying their critical thinking and their work ethic. We have been working hard for years to compile a range of contacts that allow our pre-med students to have opportunities other schools cannot offer. Previous opportunities included dissection of a cadaver, volunteering in an emergency department with patient contact, and scholarships for service-oriented events.
American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA)
Mines AMWA has connected with physicians, dentists, and nurses to bring you the best guest speakers. They hold bimonthly meetings, where they discuss women’s issues, medical pathways, potential specialties, and how to thrive in a medical career. AMWA has social events to connect you with other students to build a community and a premedical network.
International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineering
The ISPE club intends to provide students with a community of like-minded individuals who are interested in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, with no limitation on their major. They wish to provide professional development and social events to bring this community together and enrich their education. Every student at Mines will have a different career path and ISPE wants to encourage them to consider the biotech/pharma field.