The Microbial Systems Initiative (MSI) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was founded in 2018 with the goal of strengthening our robust international profile in microbial sciences research and education. MSI has grown to a community of over 300 members representing over 50 campus units. We have built a collegial, collaborative community through efforts to connect across disciplinary boundaries, to recruit and retain the next generation of microbial sciences faculty, and to support high quality education and professional development experiences for trainees. With institutional recognition and support, MSI is poised to broaden the scope of our impact in the following three priority areas.
Priority 1: Promoting connection and collaboration to support a vibrant research community
Accomplishments
- Monthly newsletter distributed to >300 subscribers
- Spring 2019 kickoff workshop attended by >100 participants
- Collaboration-building events, e.g., response to ‘Bugs as Drugs’ NIH RFA
- Spring 2021 Virtual Symposium attended by >100 participants
Ongoing and Future Plans
- Stand up Cancer and Microbes research theme in partnership with Cancer Center at Illinois
- Host National Symposium – The Microbial Multiverse
- Target seed funding opportunities to promote new cross-disciplinary collaborations
- Collaborate with the Personalized Nutrition Initiative to enhance nutrition-focused microbiome research
Priority 2: Recruiting and Retaining a Diverse Faculty in Microbial and Biomedical Sciences
Accomplishments
- Built coalition of five colleges for integrated cohort hiring program
- Secured Investment for Growth program funding to support cohort hiring
- Coordinated six searches (five colleges) through new collaborative recruiting process
- Recruited nine tenure-track ‘MSI cohort’ faculty
- Supported transition of MSI cohort faculty to campus during the COVID-19 pandemic
Ongoing and Future Plans
- Mentoring and networking activities to promote MSI cohort (and other junior faculty) success
- Coordinate additional MSI cohort hiring in new areas
- Lead a coalition of units to apply for NIH FIRST Cohort program to hire a diverse cohort of junior faculty and promote a sustainable institutional culture of inclusive excellence
Priority 3: Provide research, educational, and professional development opportunities for trainees
Accomplishments
- Support microERA, a career development organization for students and postdocs
- Supported a NIH training grant application for Microbial Systems Engineering
- Hosted and promoted research resources workshops
Ongoing and Future Plans
- Develop and launch an interdisciplinary master’s degree program in Microbiome Analytics
- Launch MSI Scholars program for undergraduate students
- Work with microERA to provide research and professional development opportunities
- Support development of new interdisciplinary training program grant applications
Consider joining us in this effort!