ESP Biography



PETER LOVERSO, Bioinformatics Software Engineer




Major: Bioinformatics

College/Employer: Personal Genome Diagnostics

Year of Graduation: Not available.

Picture of Peter LoVerso

Brief Biographical Sketch:

Not Available.



Past Classes

  (Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

S11687: The Magical Beauty of Parasitic Wasps in Splash 2017 (Nov. 18 - 19, 2017)
Parasites have gotten a bad rap over the past couple centuries. They’ve been looked down upon as inferior, broken organisms that deserve to be objects of disgust, rather than study. But because of attitudes such as this, some of the most wondrous and complex biological pathways we know of have been left by the wayside. Here, we will look at the intricacies of mind control, neurosurgery, and symbiotic viruses through the study of Ampulex compressa and Cotesia congragata. Warning: this class will be looking at pictures and videos of parasitization. This includes videos and pictures of wasp larvae eating caterpillars, spiders, and other organisms alive. If pictures like this make you feel squeamish: http://i.imgur.com/RWBI8.jpg (Warning, it’s a picture of some larva emerging from a caterpillar), then this may not be the class for you.


S11688: Bioethics and 2017 in Splash 2017 (Nov. 18 - 19, 2017)
As the biotech and bioinformatics industry continues to grow rapidly in the US, genomic sequencing of patients is becoming more common. This brings with it a whole host of ethical issues of what is appropriate to do with that data. Topics discussed will include privacy, eugenics, genetic testing services such as 23andme, commercial rights, DNA databases, genetic screening, and future possibilities such as engineering humans. This is not a lecture-based course. Come with an open mind, but be prepared to defend your opinions!


S9665: The Magical Beauty of Parasitic Wasps in Splash 2015 (Nov. 21 - 22, 2015)
Parasites have gotten a bad rap over the past couple centuries. They’ve been looked down upon as inferior, broken organisms that deserve to be objects of disgust, rather than study. But because of attitudes such as this, some of the most wondrous and complex biological pathways we know of have been left by the wayside. Here, we will look at the intricacies of mind control, neurosurgery, and symbiotic viruses through the study of Ampulex compressa and Cotesia congragata. Warning: this class will be looking at pictures and videos of parasitization. This includes videos and pictures of wasp larvae eating caterpillars, spiders, and other organisms alive. If pictures like this make you feel squeamish: http://i.imgur.com/RWBI8.jpg (Warning, it’s a picture of some larva emerging from a caterpillar), then this may not be the class for you.


S9666: Bioethics and 2015 in Splash 2015 (Nov. 21 - 22, 2015)
As the biotech and bioinformatics industry continues to grow rapidly in the US, genomic sequencing of patients is becoming more common. This brings with it a whole host of ethical issues of what is appropriate to do with that data. Topics discussed will include privacy, eugenics, 23andme, commercial rights, DNA databases, genetic screening, and future possibilities such as engineering humans. This is not a lecture-based course. Come with an open mind, but be prepared to defend your opinions!


S9667: Bioethics and 2015: Movie Edition in Splash 2015 (Nov. 21 - 22, 2015)
As the biotech and bioinformatics industry continues to grow rapidly in the US, genomic sequencing of patients is becoming more common. This brings with it a whole host of ethical issues of what is appropriate to do with that data. Topics discussed will include privacy, eugenics, 23andme, commercial rights, DNA databases, genetic screening, and future possibilities such as engineering humans. This is not a lecture-based course. Come with an open mind, but be prepared to defend your opinions! This class will have 1.5 hours of discussion, then will watch the movie GATTACA, followed by an additional 1.5 hours of discussion.


S8492: The Magical Beauty of Parasitic Wasps in Splash 2014 (Nov. 22 - 23, 2014)
Parasites have gotten a bad rap over the past couple centuries. They’ve been looked down upon as inferior, broken organisms that deserve to be objects of disgust, rather than study. But because of attitudes such as this, some of the most wondrous and complex biological pathways we know of have been left by the wayside. Here, we will look at the intricacies of mind control, neurosurgery, and symbiotic viruses through the study of Ampulex compressa and Cotesia congragata. Warning: this class will be looking at pictures and videos of parasitization. This includes videos and pictures of wasp larvae eating caterpillars, spiders, and other organisms alive. If pictures like this make you feel squeamish: http://i.imgur.com/RWBI8.jpg (Warning, it’s a picture of some larva emerging from a caterpillar) then this may not be the class for you.


S8493: A closer look at the magic of parasitic wasps in Splash 2014 (Nov. 22 - 23, 2014)
Building off of my previous class, this lecture will look much more closely at the genetics and molecular biology surrounding the parasitization of $$Manducta\ sexta$$ by $$Cotesia\ congregata$$, focusing especially on the Cotesia congregata bracovirus. This will be an advanced class, and will touch several times upon cutting-edge molecular biology. You should have a good understanding of genetics and of a viral life cycle before signing up. That said, it will be fun! There will be time for discussion as well as lecture, too.


S8494: Bioethics and 2014 in Splash 2014 (Nov. 22 - 23, 2014)
As the biotech and bioinformatics industry continues to grow rapidly in the US, genomic sequencing of patients is becoming more common. This brings with it a whole host of ethical issues of what is appropriate to do with that data. Topics discussed will include privacy, eugenics, 23andme, commercial rights, DNA databases, genetic screening, and future possibilities such as engineering humans. This is not a lecture-based course. Come with an open mind, but be prepared to defend your opinions!


S8495: How RNA-Seq is changing our world in Splash 2014 (Nov. 22 - 23, 2014)
The ability to accurately determine what genes are being expressed in a cell is one of the newest and most promising technologies in the world of genomics. This class will teach you about exactly how these data are collected and analyzed, pulling back the mystery and demonstrating how easy and powerful this technique is. Both the methods and implications/uses of the technology will be discussed.


S7350: The Magical Beauty of Parasitic Wasps in Splash! 2013 (Nov. 23 - 24, 2013)
Parasites have gotten a bad rap over the past couple centuries. They’ve been looked down upon as inferior, broken organisms that deserve to be objects of disgust, rather than study. But because of attitudes such as this, some of the most wondrous and complex biological pathways we know of have been left by the wayside. Here, we will look at the intricacies of mind control, neurosurgery, and symbiotic viruses through the study of Ampulex compressa and Cotesia congragata. Warning: this class will be looking at pictures and videos of parasitization. This includes videos and pictures of wasp larvae eating caterpillars, spiders, and other organisms alive. If pictures like this make you feel squeamish: http://i.imgur.com/RWBI8.jpg (Warning, it’s a picture of some larva emerging from a caterpillar) then this may not be the class for you.


S7351: A closer look at the magic of parasitic wasps in Splash! 2013 (Nov. 23 - 24, 2013)
Building off of my previous class, this lecture will look much more closely at the genetics and molecular biology surrounding the parasitization of $$Manducta\ sexta$$ by $$Cotesia\ congregata$$, focusing especially on the Cotesia congregata bracovirus. This will be an advanced class, and will touch several times upon cutting-edge molecular biology. You should have a good understanding of genetics and of a viral life cycle before signing up. That said, it will be fun! There will be time for discussion as well as lecture, too.


S6149: The Magical Beauty of Parasitic Wasps in Splash! 2012 (Nov. 17 - 18, 2012)
Parasites have gotten a bad rap over the past couple centuries. They’ve been looked down upon as inferior, broken organisms that deserve to be objects of disgust, rather than study. But because of attitudes such as this, some of the most wondrous and complex biological pathways we know of have been left by the wayside. Here, we will look at the intricacies of mind control, neurosurgery, and symbiotic viruses through the study of Ampulex compressa and Cotesia congragata. Warning: this class will be looking at pictures and videos of parasitization. This includes videos and pictures of wasp larvae eating caterpillars, spiders, and other organisms alive. If pictures like this make you feel squeamish: http://i.imgur.com/RWBI8.jpg (Warning, it’s a picture of some larva emerging from a caterpillar) then this may not be the class for you.


S6150: A closer look at the magic of parasitic wasps in Splash! 2012 (Nov. 17 - 18, 2012)
Building off of my previous class, this lecture will look much more closely at the genetics and molecular biology surrounding the parasitization of $$Manducta\ sexta$$ by $$Cotesia\ congregata$$, focusing especially on the Cotesia congregata bracovirus. This will be an advanced class, and will touch several times upon cutting-edge molecular biology. You should have a good understanding of genetics and of a viral life cycle before signing up. That said, it will be fun! There will be time for discussion as well as lecture, too.


S5732: The Magical Beauty of Parasitic Wasps in Spark! 2012 (Mar. 10, 2012)
Parasites have gotten a bad rap over the past couple centuries. They've been looked down upon as inferior, broken organisms that deserve to be objects of disgust, rather than study. But because of attitudes such as this, some of the most wondrous and complex biological pathways we know of have been left by the wayside. Here, we will look at the intricacies of mind control, neurosurgery, and symbiotic viruses through the study of Ampulex compressa, Cotesia congragata, and Zatypota percontatoria. Warning: this class will be looking at pictures and videos of parasitization. This includes videos and pictures of wasp larvae eating caterpillars, spiders, and other organisms alive. If pictures like this make you feel squeamish: http://i.imgur.com/RWBI8.jpg (Warning, it's a picture of some larva emerging from a caterpillar) then this may not be the class for you.