Introduction/Information

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February 15th, 2024

UCUR Kickoff Party

Student Center from 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

The first ever UCUR Kickoff party MC'd by our very own Zach Whitlock, Student Body President, will be a great time to socialize with friends, peers and colleagues! The student center will be open from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm for all registered participants to enjoy all of the activities and games.

We will have green glow in the dark bracelets and green light up pompoms for the first 500.

Food Trucks: 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Plaza

Image of Waffle Love's food truck

Registered participants can enjoy food trucks in the Plaza. Be sure to check in to get your $10 voucher to use for dinner. You can choose from Fatty Tuna, Waffle Love and the Italian Place food trucks.

Dance-Off: 7:45 pm

Location Name

Image of the green man group

We are going to pump up the energy with our very own UVU Green Man Group a high-energy entertainment drumline known for bringing excitement and emotion to the entire crowd!

Espirit DC, UVU's hip-hop performance group have challenged Willy the Wolverine, Cosmo the Cougar, Buster the Badger, and Swoop to a dance off. Come cheer them on and see who sets the floor on fire!

Concert: 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Location Name

Image of a concert

Want to join in the fun? The Salamanders will be performing to get you on your feet! Get a sneak peek of the fun at https://youtu.be/VMYxsyQyfDU

February 16th, 2024

Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research

7:00 am - 5:00 pm

Full Conference agenda and schedule

UCUR 2024 Schedule at a Glance

Or access the agenda by scanning the QR code below.

QR Code for UCUR Agenda

Welcome Message - Gary R. Herbert

Vallejo Auditorium - 8:00 AM 

herbert_headshot

Gary R. Herbert was Utah’s 17th governor from 2009 to 2021. During his tenure, his relentless focus on economic development resulted in Utah being recognized as the number one economy in America. Herbert currently dedicates his time establishing the Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy at Utah Valley University. The Institute works to develop future policy leaders. Herbert and his wife, Jeanette, are the proud parents of six children and seventeen grandchildren.

Morning Keynote - brent baum

Vallejo Auditorium - 8:15 AM - 8:45 AM

brent_baum_headshot

Mr. Baum is a veteran entertainment executive and film producer whose creative, financial and film production career spans thirty years and encompasses the development, production, financing, distribution and sale of dozens of movies, some of which include: The Wedding Planner (Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey); Eye of the Beholder (Ashley Judd and Ewan McGregor); Drowning Mona (Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Neve Campbell); Thomas and the Magic Railroad (Alec Baldwin); Beautiful (Sally Field, Minnie Driver); and Buying the Cow (Jerry O’Connell, Alyssa Milano). He also directed and produced the award-winning feature documentary film Finding Noah. Mr. Baum has helped to raise over $2 billion dollars of financing for entertainment production and distribution over his career.

Mr. Baum is currently the CEO of FanX Studios, a Utah-based film production and distribution entity.  He started his entertainment career at DreamWorks as Vice President, corporate strategic planning. He was a member of the five-person initial start-up team responsible for creating and implementing DreamWorks’ ten-year strategic plan to build a competitive movie studio. In addition, Mr. Baum was President and co-founder of indie distributor Destination Films and a co-founder and COO of Resurgent Film Group, a leading film finance company. In 2008, he established Brent Baum Productions as a consulting and production vehicle through which he continues to produce films as well as advise companies on their investment and creative activities in the entertainment sector. He was a Senior Advisor to Torridon Films in their slate financing with Warner Bros. which included the films Blade Runner 2049 and 12 Strong. He is actively producing a number of high-profile film and television properties some of which include: the action thriller Valet written by Academy Award nominee Jason Hall; the action-comedy Hard Drive written and directed by Walt Becker; November Man 2 staring Pierce Brosnan and the sci-fi TV show Holoscape in conjunction with Roddenberry Entertainment.

Mr. Baum earned his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania; a Master of Arts, International Studies, from the University of Pennsylvania; and a Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude, from Brigham Young University with dual majors in Political Science and Asian Studies.

Morning Session

Lunch Keynote - Tammy Clark

Student Center Ballroom - 12:15 pm - 12:45 pm

Tammy Clark Headshot

Tammy’s path to serve as the Associate Provost of Academic Innovation at Utah Valley University was driven by her love of creating things of value and desire to impact the lives of students. Upon earning her Ph.D., Tammy started her career as a medicinal chemist at GlaxoSmithKilne Pharmaceuticals where she contributed to the development of Promacta, a drug that increases platelet levels in chemotherapy patients.  She also designed a molecule that was originally slated for clinical trials but was ultimately commercialized as a tool compound for cancer biologists instead. As a professor she enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate with a rich variety of disciplines to create new courses, programming and experiences that helped students realize their potential and pursue their dreams.

Afternoon Session

Access the agenda on the fly by downloading the mobile app.

iOS app QR Code

  iOS App

Google Play app QR Code

  Android App

Huntsman Cancer Session

Huntsman Cancer Session Introductioin - Brad Cairns

Center Stage - 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM

Brad Cairns

Brad Cairns received his B.S. (Honors) in Chemistry from Lewis and Clark College, his PhD in Cell Biology from Stanford University, and conducted his postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School (Genetics). He is now Professor and Chair of the Department of Oncological Sciences, an Investigator with HHMI, Chief Academic Officer at Huntsman Cancer Institute and is the Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Endowed Chair in Cancer Research (given by the 2018 Utah Legislature). He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2017 and the Royal Society (London/UK) in 2023.

Dr. Cairns’ lab strives to understand how chromosome and chromatin structure/remodeling regulates gene expression, development and cancer. Dr. Cairns was the first to purify a chromatin remodeling complex (SWI/SNF complex), which unpackages and opens genes within chromosomes to enable their expression – revealing their detailed mechanisms and their dysregulation in cancer. His studies of germline/sperm chromatin revealed the poising of developmental genesfor future expression in the embryo, and his single-cell analysis of human spermatogonial stem cells revealed how chromatin and gene expression mechanisms promote spermatogenesis and proper embryo development. He is committed to training and education, having trained over 28 graduate students and 10 undergraduates, and is the former Director of the University of Utah Molecular Biology graduate program.

Huntsman cancer session introduction - Donald Ayer

Center Stage - 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM

Don Ayer

Dr. Donald Ayer, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Oncological Sciences and an Investigator at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI). His lab is interested in cancer metabolism and how cells sense and respond transcriptionally to the abundant nutrient glucose. He is actively engaged in training the next generation of cancer researchers, having served as the Director of the University of Utah’s PhD program in Molecular Biology and as the Senior Director of Cancer Training and Career Enhancement. In this latter role, he has oversight of HCI’s training programs that serve learners from high school students all the way up to junior faculty. He is particularly proud of the various summer internship programs that provide hands on research experiences for young learners.