<html><body><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000"><div style="color:#000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;" data-mce-style="color: #000; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000" data-mce-style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt; color: #000000;"><div><img src="cid:35e3ee6233ebe97b761a5fc116caf92ac44c618d@zimbra" data-mce-src="cid:35e3ee6233ebe97b761a5fc116caf92ac44c618d@zimbra"></div><div><br></div><div>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE </div><div>January 7, 2016 </div><div><br></div><div>Contact: Susan Joslin<br>508-289-7281; <a href="mailto:sjoslin@mbl.edu" target="_blank" data-mce-href="mailto:sjoslin@mbl.edu">sjoslin@mbl.edu</a><br><div><br></div><br><strong>MBL Director Kicks Off New Season of Science Before Supper Talks at Falmouth Library, January 14</strong> <br><div><br></div>MBL, WOODS HOLE, MA—The MBL (Marine Biological Laboratory) Associates are pleased to announce the start of the fourth season of the <a href="http://www.mbl.edu/science-before-supper/" target="_blank" data-mce-href="http://www.mbl.edu/science-before-supper/">“Science Before Supper” </a>series of talks co-sponsored by the Falmouth Public Library. <br><div><br></div>Huntington Willard, Director and President of the MBL, will present a talk titled, “Secrets Genomes Tell Us—G’s, T’s, A’s and Seas” on Thursday, January 14. The presentation will be held at 5:00 PM in the library’s Hermann Foundation Meeting Room, 300 Main Street, Falmouth. The short presentation will be followed by a question and answer period. All of the “Science Before Supper” talks by MBL scientists are specifically designed for “non-scientists” and are free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.</div><div><br>Huntington Willard assumed the role of President and Director of The Marine Biological Laboratory in January 2015. He has earned a reputation as a groundbreaking scientist, a leader and builder of complex academic initiatives, as well as a talented educator who has received multiple teaching awards. Prior to his position at the MBL, Willard was founding Director of the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy, a highly interdisciplinary unit that spanned the life sciences, engineering, medicine, social sciences and the humanities at Duke University. He had previously chaired the Department of Genetics at Case Western Reserve University, and has held faculty positions at Stanford University and the University of Toronto.</div><div><br>Willard has explored many facets of genetics and genome biology in his research career, with a particular interest in the evolution and organization of complex genomes. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.</div><div><br>For more information about the “Science Before Supper” series, visit <a href="http://www.mbl.edu/science-before-supper" target="_blank" data-mce-href="http://www.mbl.edu/science-before-supper">mbl.edu/science-before-supper</a>. You may also contact the MBL Associates Office at (508) 289-7281; comm@mbl.edu or the Falmouth Library at (508) 457-2555<br><div><br></div>The remainder of the 2016 season includes:<br><div><br></div><strong>February 4, 2016 </strong> <br><em>Genie Out of the Bottle: Biological Feedbacks and the Acceleration of Climate Change</em><br>Jerry Melillo, Distinguished Scientist, MBL Ecosystems Center<br><div><br></div><strong>March 24, 2016 </strong><br><em>Lessons From the Lamprey on Spinal Cord Regeneration</em><br>Jennifer Morgan, Associate Scientist, MBL’s Eugene Bell Center <br><div><br></div><br>—###—</div><div><br><em>The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery and improving the human condition through research and education in biology, biomedicine, and environmental science. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the University of Chicago.</em></div><div><br><em>The MBL Associates are a group of individuals and businesses that support the scientific mission of the MBL through their gifts to the Annual Fund. The Associates sponsor educational and research programs for the MBL and raise funds for special projects. In addition, they operate the MBL Gift Shop, located on Water Street in Woods Hole, the profits from which support scientific fellowships.</em><br><div><br></div><br></div></div></div><div><br></div></div></body></html>