The George W. and Mildred K. White Science Lecture Series at Otterbein University will present a free public lecture by Dr. Tyrone Hayes, “From Silent Spring to Silent Night: A Tale of Toads and Men,” at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23, in the Fritsche Theatre at Cowan Hall, 30 S. Grove St. The lecture will be followed by a reception and book signing. 

Hayes will also give a technical lecture to STEM students on March 23. Both lectures can be viewed remotely at www.otterbein.edu/slslivestream.  

Hayes is a professor of integrative biology at the University of California – Berkeley. He researches endocrine disrupting contaminants, particularly pesticides; the impact of chemical contaminants on environmental health and public health; and environmental justice concerns associated with targeted exposure of racial and ethnic minorities to endocrine disruptors and the role that exposure plays in healthcare disparities. 

He conducts both laboratory and field studies in the U.S. and Africa on the role of steroid hormones in amphibian development. His two main areas of interest are metamorphosis and sex differentiation, but Hayes is also interested in growth (larval and adult) and hormonal regulation of aggressive behavior.  

Currently, Hayes is also examining the effects of exogenous steroids on gonadal differentiation and the potential role of endogenous steroids. His main goal is to synthesize ecological/evolutionary, organismal/physiological, and biochemical/molecular studies to learn how an animal translates changes in its external environment to internal changes, how these internal changes are coordinated, what molecular mechanisms are involved, and in turn, how changes at the molecular level affect an animal’s ability to adapt to the changes in its external environment. 

Established in 1987, the George W. and Mildred K. White Science Lecture Series at Otterbein University sponsors annual scientific seminars that bring national leaders in science and technology to campus to share their insights about the future of scientific endeavor. Past speakers have included Dr. Robert Grubbs, 2005 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry; Dr. Tina Henkin, 2006 winner of the National Academies of Science Pfizer Prize; Dr. Steven Pinker, Harvard professor and renowned experimental psychologist; Dr. Andrea Ghez, an international expert in observational astrophysics; Dr. Sean B. Carroll, a leading voice of evolutionary science in the U.S.; animal behaviorist Dr. Steve Nowicki; and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Dr. William D.