Reflection: 1 year of Internal Seminar Series (ISS)

With the conclusion of BioZone’s 6th Internal Seminar, the Internal Seminar Series (ISS) has completed its first year. Since launching on September 29, 2025, the ISS has featured 11 research labs, 15 trainee presenters, and 6 session moderators. 

The series provides BioZone students, postdoctoral fellows, and research associates with opportunities to share their research and develop presentation and session-moderation skills. The ISS was initiated by Ariel Tastassa, 2025 BioZone Council Co-President and a third-year Ph.D. student supervised by Professor Elizabeth Edwards. Ariel explains, “BioZone is a collaborative center where we do really diverse research, and we interact with each other in a lot of social events and a lot of different workshops, but it's not a common thing for us to get to share our own research and to practice doing that. The idea is also to give this experience to enrich the center and also to enrich the training and the experience of people. That's the big thing with the internal seminars.”  

Each ISS highlights research across BioZone and associated labs focused on microbial processes for sustainable biomanufacturing and bioremediation. At the 6th Internal Seminar, research talks explored how microbes deconstruct complex molecules. Aiden Liu, a Ph.D. student in the Edwards Lab, presented his work on anaerobic microbes that may break down chlordecone, a persistent environmental toxin. He also shared insights from his recent exchange at the University of Lyon, where he synthesized reference compounds to help unravel the biotransformation pathway. Neha Joshi, a second-year Ph.D. student in the Lawson Lab, discussed her approach to identifying bottlenecks in the anaerobic digestion of proteins in organic food waste. 

A distinctive feature of the ISS is its opportunity for trainees to serve as session moderators and develop valuable leadership and facilitation skills. Ariel explains, “A few of my peers have been registered as session chairs for conferences, which is mostly something that professors, PIs do. But we don't get opportunities to do that as trainees. It's tough when you're thrust into that as a professor or an industry professional where you've never moderated a session before. I think it's quite a skillful thing to do.” Christiana Anih, a Ph.D. student in the Diosady Lab, embraced the opportunity to serve as a first-time moderator for the inaugural Internal Seminar Series session. Reflecting on the experience, Christiana said:  “As a moderator, you ensure that the session runs smoothly, stays on time, and remains meaningful for the audience. You guide the Q&A, encourage thoughtful discussion, and balance engagement with time management. Moderating is also rewarding because it builds strong organizational and facilitation skills that are transferable to any professional setting. For me, the experience was especially valuable: it gave me the confidence to accept the invitation to serve as a chair for a technical session at the IFHN‑2026 conference in Rome — a much larger audience and a more formal environment.” 

While the ISS was designed to foster cross-lab collaboration, Ariel did not expect these connections to emerge so quickly— or to benefit from one herself. During the second session, Chelsea Nguyen, a second-year PhD student in the Allen Lab, presented her research on growing Chlorella vulgaris, a type of green algae, in polymer bag photobioreactors for energy production. When Chelsea discussed experiments testing different polyethylene films, Ariel recognized a shared research interest. 

“Our research is very different! I study the biological modification of plastic polymers like polyethylene, so without the ISS we may never have connected and shared this niche material (scientific research-grade polyethylene film),” says Ariel. 

Chelsea adds, “It felt great to make that cross-lab connection with Ariel to learn that other students in BioZone are working with polymer materials. Ariel was also very helpful by showing me some suppliers for polymer materials.” 

The ISS also revealed something unexpected to Ariel: presentation nerves are common at every stage of an academic career. She explains, “I think as early career researchers we have this perception that postdocs and professors are expert presenters and don't get nervous; through this series I have found that it is frequency of presentation rather than experience that may reduce nerves, and a friendly audience as we find in the ISS helps all build confidence before committee meetings and conference talks and about their research and communication skills”. 

Chelsea recalls feeling similarly when first invited to present: “I felt both nervous and excited. I felt nervous because giving public presentations is one skill that needs a lot of improvement. On the other hand, I felt excited to share the overall vision of the project as I think it’s fascinating and a great example of interdisciplinary research within the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering.” 

Looking Ahead

As the ISS enters its second year, Ariel hopes it will become a lasting BioZone tradition. “My hope is the ISS will continue to become more embedded in our semesters and seen as a great opportunity to showcase themselves and their research and build more connections within our center,” says Ariel. 

Following the first-year pilot, the ISS will introduce a sign-up sheet for BioZone members interested in presenting or moderating. This will provide students with an opportunity to practice for upcoming conferences, committee meetings, qualification exams, and other research presentations. 

The second year will also introduce a “Summer Undergraduate Research Extravaganza”, running alongside the ISS to give undergraduate researchers an opportunity to present their summer research. “It would allow undergrads to really practice, going all the way from the beginning of the background of their research all the way to the results that they themselves generated and get to be proud.” says Ariel. 

To launch the second year, Ariel will present at the October ISS. Her advice to students considering participating is: “Everyone gets nervous; it is really fun. It is a friendly audience, and the stakes are low. Remember, communicated science is strong science! Science is a team sport, and communication is how we build our teams. Through participating in programs like this, you form and foster weak ties in the scientific community that remember your name and your engagement, which fills conferences and potential employers with friendly faces in the crowd.” 

Thank you to all presenters, moderators, organizers, and audience members who made the first year of the ISS a success. We look forward to its second year and the continued opportunities it will create for BioZone’s research community.