Events will be hosted January – December in 2026, on the last Wednesday of every month, 11:00 – 13:00 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 Applied Microbiology International via the 2025 Dororthy Jones Diversity and Inclusion Acheivement Award.
New this year: the live session will be available free, but the on-demand video-recording will only be available to MSE members for the first year (and available to the public afterwards).
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 we, 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.
“The Secret World Within: How the Microbiome Provides Insight into Gynecologic Health”
Dr. Nicole Jimenez, PhD
Aug 26, 2026, 11:00 – 13:00 EDT. The recording will be available online here after the event.
Dr. Nicole Jimenez is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix, specializing in gynecologic health research. Raised in Arizona, she was inspired by mentors in programs such as the Si Se Puede Foundation and ASU’s Los Diablos, and by her innate curiosity, to pursue a career as a scientist. She completed her doctoral degree in 2021 from Virginia Commonwealth University as part of the Vaginal Microbiome Consortium, studying the microbiome in the context of bacterial vaginosis, trichomoniasis, and pregnancy. Currently, her postdoctoral research, conducted in Dr. Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz’s lab, focuses on conditions such as chronic pelvic pain, endometriosis, adenomyosis, cervical and endometrial cancer, utilizing multi-omic pipelines, microbial culturomics, and 3D epithelial cell models. Dr. Jimenez has demonstrated a strong commitment to academic excellence, evidenced by recently securing the American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellowship, publishing manuscripts in microbiology and clinically focused journals, and receiving the 2025 University of Arizona Outstanding Postdoctoral Scholar Award. Driven by her passions for science, advocacy, and mentorship—having guided 22 students across various levels—she is actively preparing for a transition to an independent faculty position to continue her translational work on understudied gynecologic conditions through the lens of the microbiome. A recent article can be found here.
The Ishaq Lab 