Eminent Entomologist on Honeybee Genome Will Be Featured at Conversations Program

Saint Louis, MO, August 12, 2015 (Newswire.com) - The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center’s Conversations Series will be held on Thursday, August 27, 2015 at the Danforth Center, 975 N. Warson Road.  A reception will begin the night at 5:15 p.m. and the program will immediately follow at 6:00 p.m. Gene E. Robinson, Ph.D., director of both the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology and the Bee Research Facility at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign will be the featured. Reservations are required but complimentary; seating is limited. To reserve your seat call (314) 587-1070 or register on-line at www.danforthcenter.org/events.

The program will feature a discussion focused on how science is revealing the basis of social life in vital insects, the evolution of mechanisms that promote cooperation and the connection between socially responsive genomes and human health.

The 2015 Conversations Series is sponsored by St. Louis Public Radio and HEC-TV. To view previous Conversations programs visit HEC-TV.org. Follow the discussion on Twitter at #ConvoSTL.

About the Speaker
Gene E. Robinson, Ph.D., director of both the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology and the Bee Research Facility at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Gene holds a University Swanlund Chair, and leads the Honey Bee Genome Sequencing Consortium. His scientific discoveries have illuminated the basis for social behavior of bees and other insects. His numerous honors include the Burroughs Wellcome Innovation Award in Functional Genomics; Founders Memorial Award from the Entomological Society of America; Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship; Guggenheim Fellowship; NIH Pioneer Award; Fellow, Animal Behavior Society; Fellow, Entomological Society of America; Fellow, American Academy of Arts & Sciences; and member of the US National Academy of Sciences.

About The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a not-for-profit research institute with a mission to improve the human condition through plant science.  Research aims to feed the hungry and improve human health, preserve and renew the environment and position the St. Louis region as a world center for plant science.  The Center’s work is funded through competitive grants and contract revenue from many sources, including the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Agency for International Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates and Howard G. Buffett Foundations. Follow us on Twitter at @DanforthCenter.