Microbial Multiverse Symposium

September 14–16, 2023 | View Symposium Schedule

The launch of the Illinois Microbial Systems Initiative (MSI) in 2019 built upon the collaborative spirit of the UIUC campus and fostered a community of over 300 faculty, staff, and students from 60+ units across campus.

On September 14–16, 2023 the Microbial Multiverse Symposium will showcase the breadth of microbial systems research on campus and how this work is driven through collaboration. This two-and-a-half day symposium will open with a public lecture at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center by the Director of Biosphere Sciences and Engineering at Carnegie Science, Margaret McFall-Ngai.

Day two, hosted at the Beckman Institute, will include sessions led by UIUC researchers and featuring invited speakers who are working across disciplinary boundaries and a poster session featuring members of the MSI community. The symposium will close with a panel discussion on Microbes in Society.

The Microbial Multiverse Symposium is co-hosted by the Department of Microbiology, the Institute for Genomic Biology, the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, the College of Veterinary Medicine, and the Personalized Nutrition Initiative and made possible by the Olga G. Nalbandov Lecture Fund.

Find out more about the Poster Session.

Important Dates

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Schedule

Lecture and Reception – Thursday, September 14

Alice Campbell Alumni Center Ballroom
601 S. Lincoln Avenue, Urbana

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.	Welcome Cari Vanderpool, Director of the Microbial Systems Initiative Gene Robinson, Director of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
	Public Lecture Margaret McFall-Ngai, Director and Senior Staff Scientist at Carnegie’s Biosphere Sciences and Engineering Division
	Reception

Sessions – Friday, September 15

Beckman Institute Room 1025- Auditorium
405 N Mathews Ave, Urbana

8:30 – 9:00 a.m.	Breakfast and Registration
9:00 – 9:15 a.m.	Opening Remarks
9:15 – 10:45 a.m.	Session 1: Microbes and the Environment Chair: Katy Heath Featured Presenter: Maggie Wagner, University of Kansas Illinois Presenters: Shreya Arya, PhD student in O’Dwyer lab in the Department of Plant Biology Tony Yannarell, Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences Sierra Raglin, PhD student in Angela Kent’s lab, Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences
10:45 – 11:00 a.m.	Coffee Break
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.	Session 2: Microbe-microbe Interaction Chair: Asma Hatoum-Aslan Featured Presenter: Dominique Limoli, University of Iowa Illinois Presenters: Angad Mehta, Department of Chemistry Ido Golding, Department of Physics Christopher Brooke, School of Molecular & Cellular Biology
12:30 – 1:30 p.m.	Lunch break
1:30 – 3:00 p.m.	Session 3: Microbes and Nutrition Session chair: Sharon Donovan Featured Presenter: Suzanne Devkota, Cedars-Sinai Illinois Presenters: Sharon Donovan, Food Science & Human Nutrition Hannah Holscher, Food Science & Human Nutrition Jacob Allen, Kinesiology & Community Health
3:00 – 3:30 p.m.	Coffee Break
3:30 – 5:00 p.m.	Session 4: Microbes and the Brain Chair: Adrienne Antonson Featured Presenter: Helen Vuong, University of Minnesota Illinois Presenters: Brett Loman, Department of Animal Sciences Elisa Caetano-Silva, Postdoctoral student in Jacob Allen’s Lab Adrienne Antonson, Department of Animal Science
5:00 – 6:30 p.m.	Poster Session with Refreshments

Sessions and Panel – Saturday, September 16

Beckman Institute Room 1025 – Auditorium
405 N Mathews Ave, Urbana

9:00 – 9:30 a.m.	Coffee and Registration
9:30 – 11:00 a.m.	Session 5: Harnessing Microbial Activities Chair: Shannon Sirk Featured Presenter: Erica Majumder, University of Wisconsin – Madison Illinois Presenters: Brenda Wilson, School of Molecular & Cellular Biology Asma Hatoum-Aslan, School of Molecular & Cellular Biology Na Wei, Civil & Environmental Engineering
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.	Microbes in Society Panel Discussion Moderators: Pamela Martinez and Becky Smith Featured Presenter: Monica Green, Author and Historian, Independent Scholar Illinois Presenters: Jodi Schneider, School of Information Science Jacinda Dariotis, Family Resiliency Center Pamela Martinez, School of Molecular & Cellular Biology Sang-Hwa Oh, Department of Advertising
12:30 – 12:45 p.m.	Closing Remarks

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About the planning chairs:  

Paola Mera is a researcher passionate about unraveling the intricate molecular orchestration driving bacterial growth. The Mera Lab, employs a multidisciplinary approach, merging bacterial genetics, advanced imaging, and biochemistry to dissect the communication networks governing essential cell cycle processes such as chromosome replication, segregation, and cytokinesis in organisms like Caulobacter crescentus and Helicobacter pylori. Her work not only sheds light on fundamental bacterial biology but also holds promise for the development of antibiotics targeting these coordination pathways. Her research also explores how bacteria adapt to varying environments, investigating how factors like nutrient availability and stressors influence the cell cycle. Mera is an assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology. 

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Christopher Gaulke deciphers the intricate molecular mechanisms governing host-microbe interactions. The Gaulke lab employs a multidisciplinary approach that spans clinical and basic sciences, his research integrates high-throughput screens, advanced molecular techniques, and statistical modeling to pinpoint environmental factors capable of perturbing the microbiome’s taxonomic, genetic, and metabolic makeup. By merging these findings with measures of host physiology and immunity, his team identifies critical links between microbiome activity and host well-being. The goal is to utilize this comprehensive understanding to uncover exposure biomarkers, elucidate microbial bioremediation pathways, and engineer microbial communities that counteract the adverse impacts of exposures, ultimately fostering health and resilience. Gaulke is an assistant professor in the Department of Pathobiology.