Feb. 10 lecture to explore life of a citizen scientist


Harvard researcher Mathew William Lensch will speak about “Nature and Nurture: The Life of a Citizen Scientist” Friday, Feb. 10, as part of the QBIC Confluence seminar series. The event is free and will begin at 3:30 p.m. in the College of Law, RDB 1100, at Modesto A. Maidique Campus.

Lensch is the fourth speaker in the QBIC (Quantifying Biology in the Classroom) series, which introduces undergraduates to researchers, their work and the ways in which their personal lives inspire their scientific questions. He will discuss recent research that probes the complexities of genetic blood diseases. Using various types of stem cells, biomedical investigators are now able to not only study the tissues affected by disease, but may also view the developmental changes impacting the very formation of diseased cells and tissues as they grow in the lab. This powerful new approach to the study of human disease will be presented in the context of how Lensch has integrated his career, family life, and personal philosophy as a “citizen scientist.”

Lensch is an instructor in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, principal faculty member and faculty director of education at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, affiliate member of the Children’s Hospital Boston Stem Cell Institute and senior scientist in the George Q. Daley lab (HHMI/Children’s Hospital Boston/Harvard Medical School). He enjoys bluegrass/American folk music, recommends slate.com and edge.org, and prefers mandolins to mandolines. His research uses human stem cells as platforms for understanding genetics, development and disease, primarily of the blood-forming system.