Seminars – Center for Microbial Dynamics and Infection

Current schedule here. This trainee-run seminar series focused on new research in CMDI. It’s Fridays at 3pm and includes coffee and cookies. Most seminars are in College of Computing 017 for Spring 2025.

Upcoming seminar:

Abstract:

Advances in sequencing technology have revealed that the lung, once thought to be sterile, is home to a dynamic community of microbes. The shift in this community plays a role in a variety of lung diseases including asthma, COPD, and cystic fibrosis through impacting the innate and adaptive immune response. Despite its role in human health, little is known about the mechanisms of interaction between the airway microbiota and the host immune system. Preliminary studies with our collaborators at Sandia National Laboratory have identified several strains of Bacillus that, when administered as an airway probiotic, are protective against Burkholderia thailandensis (Bt) lung infection in a mouse model. Our lab seeks to use untargeted metabolomics on mouse tissue samples to uncover the molecular mechanisms of microbe-host interactions in the lungs in order to understand the role the airway microbiome plays in regulating the lung environment.