MBE702 Seminar Evaluation: Nicholas Kron
The Stages of Aging: Differential Expression Time Series of Aplysia californica Sensory Neurons

Nicholas S. Kron

The marine model Aplysia californica (Aplysia) ranks among the most widely used organisms in neuroscience, primarily due to its ability to learn using simple neural circuits. Previously, the transcriptional profiles of sexually mature and aged Aplysia were investigated to determine transcriptional correlates of aging via RNA sequencing (RNAseq; Greer et al 2018). In this expanded study, cDNA from sensory neurons of 76 animals spanning 7 time points (6 months to 12 months), four Aplysia Stages of Aging (juvenile, mature, Aged I, and Aged II) and two identified neuronal clusters (pleural ventral caudal neurons of the pleural ganglia and buccal S cluster neurons of the buccal ganglia) was sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq2500 sequencer for 100 base pair, paired-end sequences.

Differential expression analysis identified 297 significantly differentially expressed (DE) transcripts (p0.05). Gene ontology annotation of DE transcript revealed significant enrichment (p<0.05) for several categories including divalent inorganic cation homeostasis (GO:0072507) and cellular metal ion homeostasis (GO:0006875), indicating these processes may mediate physiological changes associated with age in Aplysia sensory neurons observed previously. Finally, clustering of the expression profiles of these DE transcripts yielded 8 common transcriptional trajectories with age, revealing the complex activity of several genes that may underlie the aging process.

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Abstract
1 - 2:  Fails to describe work; inconsistent with talk; grammar and spelling errors.                                                                                                                    3 - 5:  Unclear; uninspiring; few errors.                                                                                                                                                       6 - 8:  Reasonable summary; interesting; minimal errors.                                                                                                                      9 -10: Easy to follow; inspiring text; very consistent with talk; no major errors.
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Introduction
1 - 2:  Lack of structure; audience feels lost; provides too much or too little background.                                                                                                      3 - 5:  Difficult to follow; inadequate information.                                                                                                                                      6 - 8:  Coherent; explanations could be improved; adequate information.                                                                                                                                       9 -10: Easy to follow; well structured; provides correct amount of background information for audience.
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Methods
1 - 2:  No explanation of methods; audience feels lost.                                                                                                                           3 - 5:  Difficult to follow; insufficient explanation of methods.                                                                                                                                      6 - 8:  Coherent but holes in methodology.                                                                                                                                               9 -10: Methodology clearly explained.
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Results (if applicable) and Discussion
1 - 2:  Unable to explain data; presentation of data is poor. Talk lacks conclusions.                                                                                                                                                                      3 - 5:  Incomplete results; graphs used ineffectively. Inadequate conclusions drawn from data.                                                                                                                                                                                                                   6 - 8:  Presentation of results could be improved; adequate graphs. Clear conclusions; demonstrates understanding.                                                                                                                        9 - 10: Great presentation of data; graphs appropriately explained. Well organized discussion; interprets the results in the context of relevant work.
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Ability to Communicate Importance of Research
1 - 2:  Unable to communicate importance of research and big picture ideas.                                                                                            3 - 5:  Importance of research unclear and not emphasized.                                                                                                                                                                                                                      6 - 8:  Places the research in the context of big picture ideas but leaves room for improvement.                                                                                        9 - 10:  Strong ability to communicate importance of the research and excites the audience.
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Acknowledgements
1 - 2:  Absent.                                                                                                                                                                                                  3 - 5:  Brief or incomplete.                                                                                                                                                                             6 - 8:  Adequate but does not go beyond the minimum.                                                                                                                              9 -10: Well thought out and describe contributions from both funding sources and individuals.
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Preparedness and Presentation Skills
1 - 2:  Very rushed; poor voice projection/eye contact; unprepared; reads entirely off slides.                                                                                                3 - 5:  Somewhat rushed; difficult to hear; poor eye contact; somewhat prepared.                                                                                                    6 - 8:  Reasonable pace/voice projection/eye contact; adequate preparation.                                                                                                                                                                                                    9 -10: Appropriate pace/voice projection/eye contact; well prepared; uses slides appropriately for guidance.
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Quality of Slides
1 - 2:  Dense text; unreadable figures; color scheme hinders readability.                                                                                             3 - 5:  Occasional use of dense text and unreadable figures; slide organization is poor.                                                                                            6 - 8:  Appealing slide design with appropriate text; readable figures; organized presentation.                                                                                                                                                                                              9 -10: Slides used extremely effectively; creative representation of material; easy to read.
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Ability to Answer Questions
1 - 2:  Unable to interpret or answer audience questions.                                                                                                                     3 - 5:  Difficulty answering most questions; fails to demonstrate understanding of topic.                                                                                          6 - 8:  Answers most questions well; adequate understanding of topic.                                                                                                                                                                                            9 -10: Answers all questions clearly and concisely; outstanding understanding of topic.
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