The Program in American Studies, part of the University of Miami’s College of Arts and Sciences, presents a lecture by Alicia Schmidt Camacho, Sarai Ribicoff Associate Professor of American Studies at Yale University. Camacho will lecture on “Migrant Suffering and the Event Without Witness” on Monday, February 15 at 3:30 p.m. in the School of Communication’s International Building, Room 5063. For more information, contact David Luis-Brown at 305-284-5608, e-mail [email protected], or click here.

Laura Bianchi, assistant professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the Miller School of Medicine, will present “Glia/Neurons Functional Interaction: Understanding the Role of a New Player” on Monday, February 15 at 12:20 p.m. in the Cox Science Center, Room 166. To arrange a meeting with Bianchi, please contact Julia Dallman at 305-284-3954.

Shop the Spring 2010 Collection at Donald J Pliner locations at Aventura Mall and the Village Merrick Park on Monday, February 15 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., and support the UM Pediatric Mobile Clinic. Ten percent of sales will benefit the UM Pediatric Mobile Clinic. For more information call 305-243-9225 or send an e-mail to [email protected].

Josh Heiber, graduate student in Professor Glen Barber’s laboratory, will present “Characterization of Recombinant Vesicular Stomatitis Virus as an Oncolytic Vector” on Monday, February 15 at 12 p.m. in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, Room 3109. For more information or to add your name to the distribution list, contact Ilse Duarte at [email protected].

School of Communication alumnus Kyle Patrick Alvarez will screen his debut film Easier with Practice at the Bill Cosford Cinema on Monday, February 15 at 7 p.m. as part of the school’s annual Communication Week.

Winner of the Best International Feature Prize at the 63rd Edinburgh International Film Festival, Easier with Practice was written and directed by Alvarez, a 2005 motion picture program graduate. The film stars Brian Geraghty and is based on a novelist who embarks on a promotional tour with his brother and receives a phone call from a stranger.

The film also won the Grand Jury Prize at the 11th Annual CineVegas Film Festival and has been screened at more than a dozen other prestigious film festivals. For more information about the film, visit: www.easierwithpractice.com. Alvarez will present the film and host a Q&A following the screening. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Read what Variety had to say about Easier with Practice by clicking here. For more information, contact Melissa Rubi Falcon at 305-284-6748.