Category Archives: News

The Kast Lab News and Updates

The Kast Lab focuses in on microscope history at the Dutch School of Southern California

This previous weekend we had four members of The Kast Lab get into character, teach, and educate students at the Dutch School of Southern California on the importance of microscopes, invented by Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek.   Did you know that Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was a Dutch scientist that is credited with creating the first microscope?   Well, during the celebration of Dutch Scientists … Continue reading The Kast Lab focuses in on microscope history at the Dutch School of Southern California »

Julia Taylor Honored with Young Investigator Award

On Friday, August 21st Kast lab member Julia Taylor was given a young investigator award at Moving Targets 2015. Julia presented a poster outlining recent work published by several members of the lab entitled “Human papillomavirus-exposed Langerhans cells are activated by stabilized Poly-I:C,” and was 1 of 3 graduate students chosen from the 44 individuals presenting work at the conference. The translational science behind that … Continue reading Julia Taylor Honored with Young Investigator Award »

Top Prize Won in 2015 BeHEARD Rare Disease Science Challenge

For more background and up to date information on the Treeman project, visit our new research page dedicated to this topic. The Kast Labs very own Martin Kast,  Joseph Skeate, and Andrew Woodham were awarded an “Ultimate” prize in the 2015 BeHEARD Rare Disease Science Challenge from The Rare Genomics Institute. The prize, provided by Cypher Genomics (valued between $50,000-$100,000), will help us finally push … Continue reading Top Prize Won in 2015 BeHEARD Rare Disease Science Challenge »

Immunology LA 2015

This previous Friday we had members of The Kast Lab attend and participate in the 5th annual Immunology LA conference! Joseph Skeate and Julia Taylor both presented work during the day, and Dr. Kast chaired the session on Translational Immunology and Immunotherapy.   Joseph was one of 12 individuals throughout the day that was selected to give an oral presentation. He took the stage and … Continue reading Immunology LA 2015 »

H-index upgrade!

    W. Martin Kast’s H-index recently edged up to 64. It is believed that any scientist with an H-index over 60 is considered a “truly unique” individual within a given field, and we know this to be true about Martin! Congrats Martin!   The H-index is a measurement of both productivity and scientific impact in the peer-reviewed community.

Martin Teaches Parents About HPV at USC-NAI

This previous weekend Dr. W Martin Kast gave a presentation in both English and Spanish at the USC Neighborhood Academic Initiatives (NAI) Saturday Academy.   Dr. Kast spoke with 200 NAI (mostly Latino) parents about HPV induced cervical cancer and the importance of vaccinating their children (both boys and girls) with Gardasil. Brenda Farfan was a fabulous English/Spanish translator for the event! What made Martin’s … Continue reading Martin Teaches Parents About HPV at USC-NAI »

Joseph Skeate Awarded Research Fellowship

We are proud to announce that our new/renewed student, Joseph Skeate, has been awarded a 1-year Keck/Graduate School Ph.D. Fellowship for his studies starting in the fall of 2015. This winter Joseph was accepted into the Programs in Biomedical and Biological Sciences (PIBBS) program at the Keck School of Medicine and we are thrilled that he will be continuing his education here at USC. The … Continue reading Joseph Skeate Awarded Research Fellowship »

Dr. Martin Kast stresses HPV awareness at the 31st annual LMSA West Regional Conference

On Saturday, April 4th, Dr. W Martin Kast gave a presentation entitled, “Everything you always wanted to know about HPV and more” at the Latino Medical Student Association’s (LMSA) 31st annual Western Regional Conference.   The theme of this year’s event was “Manteniendo Nuestras Raíces, Branching Toward Success” which brought together over 650 Latino healthcare professionals and pre-health students for 2 days at the USC … Continue reading Dr. Martin Kast stresses HPV awareness at the 31st annual LMSA West Regional Conference »

The Netherlands America Foundation Donates to Our Cause!

Tuesday, March 3rd, The Kast Lab was the lucky recipient of a $4,000 donation from The Netherlands America Foundation. The award made possible through proceeds from the NAF gala dinner that was held in November 2014, was presented to our group by Jeff Keasberry president of the NAF Southern California Chapter, and we are very excited to put this donation to use! The NAF strives … Continue reading The Netherlands America Foundation Donates to Our Cause! »