BRIGHT IDEAS FROM THE BOX CANYON

A monthly newsletter that includes a collection of important news and updates from Telluride Science.

IN THE NEWS

TOWN TALKS

After a stellar ski season and a chilly, snowy spring, we're ready for warm and sunny days to welcome our scientists to town on June 4th. We have a fantastic summer workshop schedule for our scientists and a great lineup for our public Town Talks as well!

This year we are bringing our Tuesday night public events back to the Telluride Conference Center in Mountain Village. Each week, we'll offer a presentation from one of our excellent Telluride Science workshop participants. Our presenters will provide our local community a chance to learn about cutting-edge science in a wide range of interest areas. We'll start the season off on June 6th with a talk about some exciting breakthroughs in the science of aging when Kristin Slade presents "Can you Teach an Old Cell New Tricks?".

Our talks will cover topics including smart and programmable sponges, smart engineering in urban environments, RNA therapeutics, and more. This summer's Tuesday Talks will feature one presenter per week with the exception of a special panel on June 20th when Telluride Science Board Member, Adam Chambers, will lead a broad-ranging discussion about the future of agriculture and its effect on society and the planet.

See the complete list of speakers at the bottom of this newsletter and visit our website for more information.

THE DEPOT

Take a video tour of progress at the Depot. The bottom floor is all framed. Construction is progressing on schedule for a grand opening of the Telluride Science & Innovation Center in summer 2024.

We are now accepting Depot rental reservations with event dates starting June 1, 2024.

We continue to work on our capital campaign and still need to raise an additional $4.35M to transform this historic building into the state-of-the-art Telluride Science & Innovation Center.

If you have friends or colleagues who might be interested in supporting the Telluride Science & Innovation Center, please email Annie Carlson.

SPOTLIGHT ON SCIENCE

DR. AYLIN RODAN

Associate Prof. of Internal Medicine

Adjunct Associate Prof. Human Genetics

University of Utah

Dr. Aylin Rodan has a very full plate. As a scientist, she spends countless hours in the Rodan Lab researching how the kidney responds to the high sodium, low potassium diet consumed by the majority of the US (and global) population. She is also a physician--a general nephrologist specializing in disorders of the kidney, electrolytes, and high blood pressure. She sees poor diet contributing to kidney disease and its consequences in many of her patients. Dr. Rodan is interested in the interface between our diet, environment, the availability of water and nutrients and how our habits impact our health. How will our bodies adapt to a changing world as the planet gets warmer with more stresses and less water?

Dr. Rodan is striving to solve this grand challenge and other interesting problems presented at Telluride Science workshops, which she has been attending since 2017. The Telluride workshops have been invaluable to her career, allowing her to develop collaborative and meaningful relationships with other scientists. In fact, one of these relationships led to the publishing of a paper and a grant from the National Institutes of Health. “My paper and the grant would never have happened without the collaboration in Telluride.”

Learn More

Dr. Rodan likes to brainstorm with colleagues in Telluride's outdoor classroom

Q & A with Dr. Rodan

What is special about Telluride Science workshops?

I really love the small size of the Telluride workshops because you get to interact with other scientists on a deeper and more meaningful level. You usually have between 45 minutes to an hour to present your work which is unheard of at other meetings - typically you have somewhere between 10 and 25 minutes and never get to take a deep dive into the topic. You get to know people in a way that is not possible at the big meetings where everyone is running around with limited time. I recently visited another university where a colleague that I met at a Telluride Science workshop told me about his latest research. We picked up our conversation right where we left it in Telluride.

How has Telluride Science impacted your career?

The first year that I attended a workshop I was a junior faculty member still trying to get my work known. At the workshop, I formed relationships with senior people in my field, which helped as I was trying to establish myself. Also, the meeting format really facilitates collaboration. One collaboration that started in Telluride led to us publishing a paper together and writing a successful grant. I remember listening to my collaborator’s talk and then telling him afterward that I had noticed something in a protein that I was studying that I thought might be related. So Telluride was really instrumental in initiating what has now become an ongoing collaboration.

Complete Q & A

HOST A SCIENTIST

Finding affordable lodging for our scientists is a growing challenge. If you are interested in hosting a scientist for five or six nights at an affordable rate in your guest house, condo, or home this summer or fall, email Annie Carlson.

A SPECIAL THANKS

We are so grateful to the following people for offering to host a scientist:

Andi Alexander
Vadim Backman & Luisa Marcelino
Meg & Jay Bodnar
Miles & Nicole Cook
Sally Puff Courtney & Jim Harley
John & Sueanne Kim
Dave & Kelly Jemison
Scott Pearson & Diana Farrell
Tom & Josie Preston
Jim & Joanne Steinback
Tom & Donna Stone

WHAT TO WATCH

Dr. Aylin Rodan, featured in Spotlight for Science, expands upon why she believes Telluride Science workshops are so unique and beneficial.

WATCH NOW

WHAT'S HAPPENING

TOWN TALKS

From aging to RNA Therapeutics to urban environments, the speakers at Town Talks will cover a myriad of stimulating and mind-opening topics. All Town Talks will be held in Mountain Village at the Telluride Conference Center:

• June 6 - Kristin Slade

• June 13 - Omar Farha

• June 20 - Special Panel

• June 27 - Jennifer Hollingsworth

• July 11 - Amy Mueller

• July 18 - Athma Pai

• July 25 - Stephen Boppart

A SPECIAL THANKS TO ALPINE BANK FOR SPONSORING OUR TOWN TALKS AND TO TELLURIDE MOUNTAIN VILLAGE OWNERS ASSOCIATION FOR GRANT SUPPORT.