Grand Challenges: Microbiome Sciences

FDA-Funded Study Could Lead to Advances in Fight Against Endometriosis

September 20, 2024 

Hall Receives $3.5M in Federal Funding for Innovative Gut Microbiome Research

September 11, 2024

Safeguarding Our Salads From the Roots Up

August 29, 2024
 

The New Frontier of Microbiome Science: Computational Challenges and Solutions

April 12, 2024

October 15, 2024
MicroSocial Seminar Series
"Multimodal Inference of Virus-microbe Infection Networks and Microbial Interactions from Population Dynamics," Speaker: Raunak Dey, Ph.D student, Physics  
"A Comparison of Daidzein-Metabolizing Phenotypes and its Relationship to Cardiovascular Disease Risk," Speaker: Holly Childs, Ph.D student, Nutrition & Food Science  
This monthly series takes place on Tuesdays from 4:00–5:00 p.m. Location: ESJ 1224  
The MicroSocial Seminar Series aims to facilitate scientific exchange and community building across UMD's microbiome research community. Seminars will feature short talks by students and faculty, followed by 30 minutes of informal socializing over coffee and snacks. 

November 12, 2024
MicroSocial Seminar Series
4:00 p.m.,  Location: ESJ 1224  
Talk: "Electrochemical Detection of Gastrointestinal Serotonin Toward Understanding the Gut Brain Axis," Sydney Overton, Ph.D. student, electrical engineering               
Talk: "Exploration of the Upper Respiratory Tract Microbiome and Probiotic Interventions In Chickens," Madhusudan Timilsina, Ph.D. student, veterinary medicine  

November 26, 2024
Microbiome Sciences Invited Speaker Series: "BLAST to the Future: A Story of Sequences in Biology"
Speaker: David J. Lipman, senior science advisor for bioinformatics and genomics at the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, 4:00–5:00 p.m., Location: ESJ 1224 — Zoom Link 
Abstract: Questions about DNA and amino acid sequence data have evolved alongside advances in biological knowledge and sequencing technology. This presentation traces the historical trajectory of molecular sequencing, from foundational protein sequencing methods to modern high-throughput DNA sequencing, highlighting how each era has demanded specialized tools and resources and led to novel biological insights.

December 10, 2024
MicroSocial Seminar Series
4:00 p.m.,  Location: BRB 1103  
Speaker #1: Robert Kirian, Ph.D. student, Bioengineering           
Speaker #2: Lora Cheng, Ph.D. student, Civil and Environmental Engineering

March 21, 2025
Microbiome Symposium
The Microbiome Sciences initiative is holding its second annual one-day symposium at the University of Baltimore. The team is looking for student, postdoc, and/or faculty volunteers to help with organizing the symposium. Please contact Gabi Steinbach or Mihai Pop to indicate interest.

Complex microbial communities (known as microbiomes) inhabit virtually every part of our planet—from ocean depths to mountaintops, across vegetation surfaces, within agricultural soil, and both on and within all living creatures. The Microbiome Sciences initiative joins faculty, postdoctoral scholars and graduate students from across the University of Maryland in pursuit of a deeper understanding of complex microbial communities, and how those microbiomes interact with each other and with our ecosystem.

The initiative will conduct transformative research, develop new technologies, advance microbiome science, and translate microbiome science into innovative interventions and economic growth. Its three-part mission includes:

1. Advancing cutting-edge and transformative interdisciplinary research in microbiome sciences.
2. Training future generations of scientists and helping develop a regional workforce with strong expertise in microbiome sciences.
3. Supporting the development of a regional innovation ecosystem that contributes to economic growth in microbiome-related industries within Maryland.