MSE seminar today: “The human microbiome and cancer risk: Opportunities for prospective studies”

Events will be hosted January – December, 2024, on the last Friday 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.


“The human microbiome and cancer risk: Opportunities for prospective studies”

Dr. Emily Vogtmann, PhD, MPH

May 31, 2024 12:00 PM Eastern Time. This event has passed, watch the recording here.

Dr. Emily Vogtmann is an Earl Stadtman Investigator in the Metabolic Epidemiology Branch of the Division of Cancer Epidemiology & Genetics in the National Cancer Institute. She received her B.S. in biochemistry and molecular biology and B.A. in Spanish from Michigan State University, M.P.H. in international health epidemiology from the University of Michigan, and Ph.D. in epidemiology in 2013 from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Vogtmann’s research focuses on the association between the human microbiome and cancer risk and the evaluation of methods for collection, storage, and processing of samples and data for study of the human microbiome.


MSE Logo designed by Alex Guillen

MSE seminar this Friday: “The human microbiome and cancer risk: Opportunities for prospective studies”

Events will be hosted January – December, 2024, on the last Friday 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.


“The human microbiome and cancer risk: Opportunities for prospective studies”

Dr. Emily Vogtmann, PhD, MPH

May 31, 2024 12:00 PM Eastern Time. This event has passed, watch the recording here.

Dr. Emily Vogtmann is an Earl Stadtman Investigator in the Metabolic Epidemiology Branch of the Division of Cancer Epidemiology & Genetics in the National Cancer Institute. She received her B.S. in biochemistry and molecular biology and B.A. in Spanish from Michigan State University, M.P.H. in international health epidemiology from the University of Michigan, and Ph.D. in epidemiology in 2013 from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Vogtmann’s research focuses on the association between the human microbiome and cancer risk and the evaluation of methods for collection, storage, and processing of samples and data for study of the human microbiome.


MSE Logo designed by Alex Guillen

MSE seminar today: “Linking Plant, Animal, and Human Health in Livestock Systems: a Metabolomics Approach”

Events will be hosted January – December, 2024, on the last Friday 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.


“Linking Plant, Animal, and Human Health in Livestock Systems: a Metabolomics Approach.”

Dr. Stephan van Vliet, Phd.

Apr 26, 2024 12:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time. This event has passed, watch the recording here.

Headshot of Dr. Stephan van Vliet, wearing a blue and while shirt in front of a white wall and a tree.

Dr. Stephan van Vliet is a nutrition scientist with metabolomics expertise in the Center for Human Nutrition Studies at Utah State University. Dr. Stephan van Vliet earned his PhD in Kinesiology as an ESPEN Fellow from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and received training at the Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine and Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. van Vliet’s research is performed at the nexus of agricultural and human health. He routinely collaborates with farmers, ecologists, and agricultural scientists to study critical linkages between sustainable agriculture, the nutrient density of food, and human health. His work has been published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Scientific Reports, the Journal of Nutrition, and the Journal of Physiology.

His Faculty profile is here.


MSE Logo designed by Alex Guillen

MSE seminar this Friday: “Linking Plant, Animal, and Human Health in Livestock Systems: a Metabolomics Approach”

Events will be hosted January – December, 2024, on the last Friday 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.


“Linking Plant, Animal, and Human Health in Livestock Systems: a Metabolomics Approach.”

Dr. Stephan van Vliet, Phd.

Apr 26, 2024 12:00 PM Eastern Time. This event has passed, watch the recording here.

Headshot of Dr. Stephan van Vliet, wearing a blue and while shirt in front of a white wall and a tree.

Dr. Stephan van Vliet is a nutrition scientist with metabolomics expertise in the Center for Human Nutrition Studies at Utah State University. Dr. Stephan van Vliet earned his PhD in Kinesiology as an ESPEN Fellow from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and received training at the Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine and Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. van Vliet’s research is performed at the nexus of agricultural and human health. He routinely collaborates with farmers, ecologists, and agricultural scientists to study critical linkages between sustainable agriculture, the nutrient density of food, and human health. His work has been published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Scientific Reports, the Journal of Nutrition, and the Journal of Physiology.

His Faculty profile is here.


MSE Logo designed by Alex Guillen

MSE seminar today: “Don’t Stop Believin’: Managing student motivation on the journey from descriptive to mechanism.”

Events will be hosted January – December, 2024, on the last Friday 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.



“Don’t Stop Believin’: Managing student motivation on the journey from descriptive to mechanism”

Dr. Sonny Lee, PhD

Mar 29, 2024 12:00 PM Eastern Time. This event has passed, watch the recording here.

Dr. Sonny Lee is a blue rainjacket standing in front of a forested river on a cloudy day.

Dr. Sonny Lee, PhD., Assistant Professor at Kansas State University, is an integrative microbiologist, with his work grounded in the field of microbiology, ecology and molecular biology with application to promote pro-health in human host, agricultural and the environment. His research relies heavily on bioinformatics, microbiological and molecular techniques to elucidate the mechanism of microbial populations in the contribution to the well-being of the host. His lab investigates the diversity and mechanism of the microbial population by looking at the microbiome as a whole holobiont, while using a reductionist approach in elucidating the role microbial populations play in maintaining the homeostasis of the microbiome.

His lab website is here.

MSE seminar this Friday: “Don’t Stop Believin’: Managing student motivation on the journey from descriptive to mechanism.”

Events will be hosted January – December, 2024, on the last Friday 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.



“Don’t Stop Believin’: Managing student motivation on the journey from descriptive to mechanism”

Dr. Sonny Lee, PhD

Mar 29, 2024 12:00 PM Eastern Time. This event has passed, watch the recording here.

Dr. Sonny Lee is a blue rainjacket standing in front of a forested river on a cloudy day.

Dr. Sonny Lee, PhD., Assistant Professor at Kansas State University, is an integrative microbiologist, with his work grounded in the field of microbiology, ecology and molecular biology with application to promote pro-health in human host, agricultural and the environment. His research relies heavily on bioinformatics, microbiological and molecular techniques to elucidate the mechanism of microbial populations in the contribution to the well-being of the host. His lab investigates the diversity and mechanism of the microbial population by looking at the microbiome as a whole holobiont, while using a reductionist approach in elucidating the role microbial populations play in maintaining the homeostasis of the microbiome.

His lab website is here.

MSE seminar today: “Precision Microbiome for Health.”

Events will be hosted January – December, 2024, on the last Friday 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.


“Precision Microbiome for Health”

Dr. Jack A. Gilbert, PhD.

Feb 23, 2024 12:00 PM Eastern Time. This event has passed, watch the recording here.

Professor Jack A Gilbert earned his Ph.D. from Unilever and Nottingham University, UK in 2002, and received his postdoctoral training at Queens University, Canada. From 2005-2010 he was a senior scientist at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK; and from 2010-2018 he was Group Leader for Microbial Ecology at Argonne National Laboratory, a Professor of Surgery, and Director of The Microbiome Center at University of Chicago. In 2019 he moved to University of California San Diego, where he is a Professor in Pediatrics and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Associate Vice Chancellor for Marine Science, and Director of both the Microbiome and Metagenomics Center and the Microbiome Core Facility. Dr. Gilbert uses molecular analysis to test fundamental hypotheses in microbial ecology.

He cofounded the Earth Microbiome Project and American Gut Project. He has authored more than 450 peer reviewed publications and book chapters on microbial ecology. He is the founding Editor in Chief of mSystems journal. In 2014 he was recognized on Crain’s Business Chicago’s 40 Under 40 List, and in 2015 he was listed as one of the 50 most influential scientists by Business Insider, and in the Brilliant Ten by Popular Scientist. In 2016 he won the Altemeier Prize from the Surgical Infection Society, and the WH Pierce Prize from the Society for Applied Microbiology for research excellence. In 2017 he co-authored “Dirt is Good”, a popular science guide to the microbiome and children’s health. In 2018, he founded BiomeSense Inc to produce automated microbiome sensors. In 2021 Dr Gilbert became the UCSD PI for the National institutes of Health’s $175M Nutrition for Precision Medicine program. In 2023 he became President of Applied Microbiology International, and won the 2023 IFF Microbiome Science Prize.

His lab website is here.

MSE seminar this Friday: “Precision Microbiome for Health.”

Events will be hosted January – December, 2024, on the last Friday 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.


“Precision Microbiome for Health”

Dr. Jack A. Gilbert, PhD.

Feb 23, 2024 12:00 PM Eastern Time. This event has passed, watch the recording here.

Professor Jack A Gilbert earned his Ph.D. from Unilever and Nottingham University, UK in 2002, and received his postdoctoral training at Queens University, Canada. From 2005-2010 he was a senior scientist at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK; and from 2010-2018 he was Group Leader for Microbial Ecology at Argonne National Laboratory, a Professor of Surgery, and Director of The Microbiome Center at University of Chicago. In 2019 he moved to University of California San Diego, where he is a Professor in Pediatrics and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Associate Vice Chancellor for Marine Science, and Director of both the Microbiome and Metagenomics Center and the Microbiome Core Facility. Dr. Gilbert uses molecular analysis to test fundamental hypotheses in microbial ecology.

He cofounded the Earth Microbiome Project and American Gut Project. He has authored more than 450 peer reviewed publications and book chapters on microbial ecology. He is the founding Editor in Chief of mSystems journal. In 2014 he was recognized on Crain’s Business Chicago’s 40 Under 40 List, and in 2015 he was listed as one of the 50 most influential scientists by Business Insider, and in the Brilliant Ten by Popular Scientist. In 2016 he won the Altemeier Prize from the Surgical Infection Society, and the WH Pierce Prize from the Society for Applied Microbiology for research excellence. In 2017 he co-authored “Dirt is Good”, a popular science guide to the microbiome and children’s health. In 2018, he founded BiomeSense Inc to produce automated microbiome sensors. In 2021 Dr Gilbert became the UCSD PI for the National institutes of Health’s $175M Nutrition for Precision Medicine program. In 2023 he became President of Applied Microbiology International, and won the 2023 IFF Microbiome Science Prize.

His lab website is here.

Last MSE seminar today! on “Religion, Race and the Microbe: Theological Analysis of Public Health Resistance in the Pandemicine” by Dr. Aminah Al-Attas Bradford

You can find up to date details on the event page for all the talks in this series.

Spring 2023; January 18 – May, Wednesdays from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST.

Presented over Zoom. Registration is free!

Hosting Organizations: MSE and the University of Maine Institute of Medicine.


The environment, microbes, and us

Anthropology Theme organized by Katherine Daiy and Kieran O’Doherty, and Environmental Theme organized by Mallory Choudoir, Mustafa Saifuddin, and Hannah Holland-Moritz.

“Religion, Race and the Microbe: Theological Analysis of Public Health Resistance in the Pandemicine”

Dr. Aminah Al-Attas Bradford, PhD.

May 3, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. This event has passed, watch the recording here.

Dr. Bradford is a research scholar in NC State’s Public Science Lab for Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity of Humans and Food where she draws together interdisciplinary engagement of microbes, exploring fermentation, probiotic health and pathogens. Dr. Bradford is also a college Chaplain at Salem Women’s College, and Director of the Center for Contemporary Practice and Wellbeing. Working at the intersections of religion, microbiology, ecology and race, Dr. Bradford’s research investigates the historical entanglement of disease theories, public health strategy, Christian thought, and coloniality to cultivate ecological wisdom, scientific engagement and the pursuit of environmental justice in religious contexts. She asks questions like, how have the historical entanglement of epidemiology, coloniality and Christian teaching contributed to the disease of both body and planet, the disproportionate effects of which are born by black and brown communities? How has demonizing the microbe paved the way for oppression of those deemed sub-human? And how might microbiome science reform Christian thought that often disrupts engagement of science and is complicit in exploitative and exclusionary ways of being?


Logo designed by Alex Guillen

Last MSE seminar this Wednesday on “Religion, Race and the Microbe: Theological Analysis of Public Health Resistance in the Pandemicine” by Dr. Aminah Al-Attas Bradford

You can find up to date details on the event page for all the talks in this series.

Spring 2023; January 18 – May, Wednesdays from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST.

Presented over Zoom.

Hosting Organizations: MSE and the University of Maine Institute of Medicine.


The environment, microbes, and us

Anthropology Theme organized by Katherine Daiy and Kieran O’Doherty, and Environmental Theme organized by Mallory Choudoir, Mustafa Saifuddin, and Hannah Holland-Moritz.

“Religion, Race and the Microbe: Theological Analysis of Public Health Resistance in the Pandemicine”

Dr. Aminah Al-Attas Bradford, PhD.

May 3, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. This event has passed, watch the recording here.

Dr. Bradford is a research scholar in NC State’s Public Science Lab for Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity of Humans and Food where she draws together interdisciplinary engagement of microbes, exploring fermentation, probiotic health and pathogens. Dr. Bradford is also a college Chaplain at Salem Women’s College, and Director of the Center for Contemporary Practice and Wellbeing. Working at the intersections of religion, microbiology, ecology and race, Dr. Bradford’s research investigates the historical entanglement of disease theories, public health strategy, Christian thought, and coloniality to cultivate ecological wisdom, scientific engagement and the pursuit of environmental justice in religious contexts. She asks questions like, how have the historical entanglement of epidemiology, coloniality and Christian teaching contributed to the disease of both body and planet, the disproportionate effects of which are born by black and brown communities? How has demonizing the microbe paved the way for oppression of those deemed sub-human? And how might microbiome science reform Christian thought that often disrupts engagement of science and is complicit in exploitative and exclusionary ways of being?


Logo designed by Alex Guillen