First Friday Lecture Features Genetic Engineering Expert

The National Park College (NPC) First Friday Lunch and Lecture Series will feature Dr. Tsunemi Yamashita, professor of Biology at Arkansas Tech University (ATU). The event will be held Friday, April 6 at noon in Lab Sciences 118 and is sponsored by the NPC Math and Sciences Division.

Dr. Yamashita will discuss the development of genetic engineering and its impact in agriculture and medicine. He will share the newest techniques and how they impact our daily lives.

Dr. Yamashita grew up in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Hendrix College and his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He won the Faculty Excellence Award for Scholarship in 2014. His background with scorpions and their evolution has directed him into research to understand the variation and action of toxin proteins. His previous work has focused upon the ecology and population variation of the North American scorpion, centruroides vittatus

The event is open to the public and community members are welcome to attend.