Microbiome Symposium held at Calit2

Jennifer Martiny presented "Microbial Biogography in Light of Traits" 
during the morning session of the fourth annual Southern 
California Microbiome Symposium

Irvine, September 23, 2016 — The fourth annual Southern California Microbiome Symposium was held Friday at Calit2.

The one-day event, titled, Connections to the Environment and Health, was co-hosted by UCI’s Institute for Genomics and Bioinformatics, Calit2 and Initiative for Data Science at UC Irvine.

The term "microbiome" was coined by Joshua Lederberg, an American molecular biologist, who argued that microorganisms inhabiting the human body should be included as part of the human genome because of their influence on human physiology. Microbiome's most important aspect may be its possible effect on auto-immune diseases like diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, and perhaps some cancers. 

This annual event is an occasion for experts and researchers in the microbiome community to share recent finding and discuss opportunities for future collaboration.

Morning sessions offered presentations focused on the environment, and included:
 

• Jennifer Martiny, UC Irvine, “Microbial biogeography in light of traits"
• Eric Allen, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, San Diego, “Metagenomic discovery of polybrominated toxin biosynthesis in the ocean microbiome”
• Rachel Mackelprang, California State University, Northridge, “Strategies for carbon metabolism and survival in permafrost: insights from microbial -omics”

Afternoon sessions focused on health, presenters and topics included:
 

• Albert Siryaporn, UC Irvine,  “Role of mechanical forces on biofilm formation”
• Sonia Michail, USC, “The Gut Microbiome: Bench to Bedside”??
• Nimisha Parekh, UC Irvine, “Fecal microbiota transplant for recurrent c. difficile, The UCI experience”
• Ilana Brito, Cornell, “Transmissible components of the microbiome”??
• Orianna Bretschger, JCraig Venter Institute, San Diego, “Microbiomes and Microbial Fuel Cells for Sustainable Sanitation”

The symposium concluded with a moderated discussion, and was followed by a reception in the Calit2 Atrium.