Dr. John Allison and Dr. Marcia O’Connell, TCNJ
September 22, 2015
12:30 – 1:30pm
SCP-101
*Refreshments will be served
Dr. John Allison, Department of Chemistry
“A Forensic Investigation into a Very Cold Case of Local Interest: The Kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh’s Baby”
Abstract: In 1927, Charles Lindbergh became the first pilot to fly from New York to Paris, solo and nonstop, putting him in the spotlight as an American and International Hero. In 1932, Lindbergh and his wife called the local state police to report that their first child had been kidnapped. The country demanded justice, and two years later a suspect was tried and put to death. Since then, people continue to work on the Trial of the Century, trying to determine who killed the Lindbergh Baby. We have been working on the case, a classic “cold case”, considering new technology now available to forensic scientists. We find the case intriguing because it all took place in New Jersey, and most of the evidence actually resides in the New Jersey State Police Museum in Ewing. After more than 80 years, is there anything left to learn?
Dr. Marcia O’Connell, Department of Biology
“How to make a zebrafish embryo: It’s all about the timing”
Abstract: In our lab we investigate the molecular regulation of early development in vertebrates. In particular we are studying a mechanism used by zebrafish embryonic cells to trigger the synthesis of specific proteins at specific times during embryogenesis. I will present data supporting a model whereby the sequential activation of the molecular regulators themselves leads to the precise temporal synthesis of a protein required for the generation of bilateral symmetry.
