All Welcome to Oct. 8 Keynote Address at USU's Hansen Life Sciences Retreat

Cryo-electron microscopy, known as cryo-EM, allows imaging of biological samples, including viruses and whole cells, in a near-native, frozen, hydrated state – sometimes to near-atomic resolution.

“These images can offer dramatic new insights about these samples’ structure and function,” says biophysicist Grant Jensen, dean of Brigham Young University’s College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. “Such images can help us answer fundamental biological questions.”

Jensen, who served as director of the Caltech Center for Cryo-EM, is featured speaker at Utah State University’s 2021 Hansen Life Sciences Retreat, slated for Friday and Saturday, Oct. 8-9, at the Riverwoods Conference Center in Logan. Celebrating its 11th year, the annual gathering is open to all USU students, faculty and staff involved in the study of biological processes at the molecular level.

All are welcome to Jensen’s talk Friday, Oct. 8, at 6:30 p.m., at the center, located at 615 Riverwoods Parkway in south Logan. His presentation is preceded by a social hour beginning at 5:30 p.m. Admission is free.

The retreat continues Saturday, Oct. 9, from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. with research presentations, a poster session and career networking. Cost to participate in the retreat’s Saturday activities is $20 per person, which includes breakfast, lunch and a conference T-shirt. Participants should register by Sunday, October 3, 2021, and request their T-shirt size. An option to participate remotely via Zoom is available.

“Each fall, we invite scholars from all departments throughout campus, who are conducting study and research in the molecular life sciences, to pause their experiments, throw off their lab coats and join us to share ideas and approaches with one another,” says Sean Johnson, associate dean in the College of Science and associate professor in USU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, which coordinates the conference. “This is a gathering to encourage university-wide, collaborative efforts and celebrate each individual’s contributions in the larger research community.”

The gathering honors the memory of renowned biochemist R. Gaurth Hansen (1920-2002), a gifted scientist, teacher and administrator, who spent much of his career enriching Utah State University. A Cache Valley, Utah native, Hansen began his undergraduate studies at Utah State, before transferring to the University of Wisconsin, where he completed bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees.

Hansen joined USU's faculty as an academic vice president in 1968, and was soon promoted to provost. His efforts contributed to a twenty-fold increase in the university's research budget. In addition to his administrative and teaching endeavors, Hansen published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles in professional journals, and he received many prestigious national accolades. He was named USU Distinguished Professor Emeritus in 1985 and retired from Utah State in 1994.

The Hansen Retreat is supported by Gaurth Hansen’s son, USU alum Lars Peter Hansen ‘74 and daughter-in-law, Grace Tsiang.

For more information, contact the USU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at 435-797-0544.