About the Speakers

Dr. Thomas Clements (he/him) earned his BS in Biochemistry from Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN) and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from Rice University (Houston, TX). He is in his sixth year teaching at Vanderbilt this fall and absolutely loves teaching Introduction to Biological Sciences in both the lecture as well as its associated labs and Principles of Genetics. He is continuing his Ph.D. research at Vanderbilt exploring CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing using the zebrafish model organism. He is an advocate for science communication and believes that everyone has the ability to succeed in STEM.

Dr. Lars Plate (he/him) is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University. He received his B.S. in Chemistry from MIT, and his Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley. After postdoctoral training at the Scripps Research Institute, he joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2017, where he leads a chemical biology research group. Research interests are directed at interrogating how protein-protein interaction networks are dynamically regulated in diverse cellular processes, such as protein quality control or viral infections. 

Lab website: https://www.plate-research.org/

Lauren Mitchell is a researcher and direct care practitioner with a current appointment as a Senior Lecturer in the Vanderbilt University Department of Medicine, Health and Society and through the Columbia University Narrative Medicine Certificate of Professional Achievement Program, after having served at the Burnett School of Medicine as their Director of Narrative Medicine.  She is the founder of The Doula Project, the United States' first formalized full-spectrum doula program and is the author of the book The Doulas: Radical Care for Pregnant People (Feminist Press 2016).  Her first academic book project, Alienating Aesthetics: Performance Art and the Medical Imagination, contends with the ethics of visual and performance culture, narrative, medical history, and the limitations of our current societal definition of empathy.  She has recently published in Configurations, Departures in Critical Qualitative Interventions, and The Journal of Clinical and Translational Science. She is also pursuing a Masters in Social Work at the University of Tennessee at this time, where she serves in the VUMC Inpatient Psychiatry Unit.

Dr. Rohit Panchal is a pulmonlogist and ICU care specialist at the Cherokee campus of Northside Hospital Atlanta. He practices patient-centered, evidence-based medicine in a friendly and compassionate environment, providing comprehensive care to adult patients with pulmonary and sleep diseases. Dr. Panchal specializes in COPD, asthma, pulmonary hypertension and sleep apnea, considering each patient’s unique needs to provide individualized care. He has been in practice for over a decade and is board-certified in pulmonary, critical care, internal and sleep medicine.

Laurie Woods is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology. Her PhD in Sociology with an emphasis on criminology is from Vanderbilt University. Her areas of interest include American gun culture and policing in the U.S. and abroad. Professor Woods has been featured in numerous publications, as well as telephone and radio broadcasts on the topic of both guns and policing. She teaches a variety of criminology courses and for the Osher Lifelong Learning program at Vanderbilt. Professor Woods is the Faculty Member in Resident of the McGill Project, a campus living/learning community that endeavors to foster “free thought, creative expression, and inclusive community.” She is the faculty advisor for a variety of student clubs and member of the Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball Leadership Circle. Prior to coming to Vanderbilt, Professor Woods was a special agent with the California Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement for 21 years.

Dr. Keri Tallman is a Research Assistant Professor and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at Vanderbilt University. She received her BA in Chemistry from The College of Wooster and PhD in Organic Chemistry at Colorado State University, where she focused on mechanisms of DNA damage. She joined the research lab of Ned Porter at Vanderbilt University and has continued doing research with him. They have studied mechanisms of free radical damage to biological systems and its implications. They are currently studying vaping and factors that affect cholesterol biosynthesis, such as disease and prescription drugs. She is also in her second year of teaching at Vanderbilt in the Biochemistry and Chemical Biology program.