Events will be hosted January – December, 2025, on the last Wednesday of every month, 12:00 – 14:00 pm ET. Presented over Zoom.
After each talk, we will continue the discussions in an informal social meeting with MSE. All speakers and members of the audience are welcome to join the social meeting.
Hosted by: Sue Ishaq, MSE, and finacially supported by the University of Maine Institute of Medicine and the UMaine Cultural Affairs/Distinguished Lecture Committee.
Summary:
Microorganisms are critical to many aspects of biological life, including human health. The human body is a veritable universe for microorganisms: some pass through but once, some are frequent tourists, and some spend their entire existence in the confines of our body tissues. The collective microbial community, our microbiome, can be impacted by the details of our lifestyle, including diet, hygiene, health status, and more, but many are driven by social, economic, medical, or political constraints that restrict available choices that may impact our health. Access to resources is the basis for creating and resolving social equity—access to healthcare, healthy foods, a suitable living environment, and to beneficial microorganisms, but also access to personal and occupational protection to avoid exposure to infectious disease. This speaker series explores the way that microbes connect public policy, social disparities, and human health, as well as the ongoing research, education, policy, and innovation in this field.
You can find recordings from previous series here.
“Defending against Phage Predators: Trading Public Goods via Integrons”
Dr. Landon Getz, PhD
July 30, 2025, 12:00 ET. This event has passed, watch the recording here.
Dr. Landon J. Getz (He/Him, PhD) is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Biochemistry within the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Landon is a Gay/Queer man and a molecular bacteriologist specializing in bacterial genetics and phage-host interactions. Dr. Getz is a CIHR Postdoctoral Fellow and the recipient of the inaugural GSK-EPIC Convergence Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Toronto. Dr. Getz’s work is currently focused on the collaborative and competitive relationship between bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, and their bacterial hosts. Primarily, this work has revolved around the mechanisms that bacteria, and their integrated bacteriophages, defend themselves from incoming phage infection through anti-phage defence.
Landon is an LGBTQ+ advocate and works to enhance the justice and belonging of Queer and Trans folks in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Most recently, Landon founded the Pride in Microbiology Network along with Dr. Edel Pérez-López
and Dr. Bruno Francesco Rodrigues de Oliveira. The Pride in Microbiology Network has over 200 international members, and has recently launched PiM Connections – a mentorship and professional development network connecting students and early career researchers with more seasoned mentors. Landon has a keen interest in the connections and overlaps of science and society, has written a number of commentaries on the topic. Landon is also an alumnus of the inaugural Youth Council of the Chief Science Advisor of Canada.
Logo designed by Alex Guillen
The Ishaq Lab 