Surprise MSE panel discussion today featuring MSE members and speakers!

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

Spring 2023; January 18 – May 3, Wednesdays from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST.

Presented over Zoom. Registration is free!

You can register for any or all of the events from the same link here.

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


Surprise Panel discussion with MSE members and speakers!

March 29, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

This week, we’ll be hosting a panel with MSE members and speakers! We needed to accommodate a change in the schedule, and decided to have some fun with it. Join us to chat about our favorite microbiome facts, what we think pressing issues are in research, and more!

Panel will be hosted by Sue Ishaq.

Please note, this session will only be featured live in real-time and will not be recorded.


Logo designed by Alex Guillen

Surprise MSE panel discussion this Wednesday, featuring MSE members and speakers!

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

Spring 2023; January 18 – May 3, Wednesdays from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST.

Presented over Zoom. Registration is free!

You can register for any or all of the events from the same link here.

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


Surprise Panel discussion with MSE members and speakers!

March 29, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

This week, we’ll be hosting a panel with MSE members and speakers! We needed to accommodate a change in the schedule, and decided to have some fun with it. Join us to chat about our favorite microbiome facts, what we think pressing issues are in research, and more!

Panel will be hosted by Sue Ishaq.

Please note, this session will only be featured live in real-time and will not be recorded.


Logo designed by Alex Guillen

MSE seminar today on “Microbiome Research with the Yanomami” by David Good

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

Spring 2023; January 18 – May 3, Wednesdays from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST.

Presented over Zoom. Registration is free!

You can register for any or all of the events from the same link here.

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.

“Microbiome Research with the Yanomami”

David Good, University of Guelph

March 22, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. This event has passed, watch the recording here.

David Good

David Good is a PhD student in microbiology at the University of Guelph, Ontario. His general research goal is characterizing the structural and functional microbial diversity of his Yanomami family, the Irokae-teri, located in the Amazon rainforest of Venezuela. They are of great interest in the microbiome field since the Irokae-teri live fully immersed in the rainforest environment and subsist by an active lifestyle of hunting-gathering and small-scale gardening. Furthermore, their relative isolation deep in the Amazon limits their exposure to microbiome stressors such as antibiotics, highly refined and processed foods, industrial toxins and pollutants, food preservatives, etc. David will discuss this unique and rare opportunity to advance our understanding of the human microbiome of a community largely unperturbed by westernization, while building global awareness on the importance of protecting these few remaining isolated indigenous societies. However, such research brings numerous challenges surrounding bioethics. David hopes to build dialogue around going beyond simple compliance in microbiome research, and how the Yanomami have the right to self-determination and harness their bioeconomic potential to protect their home.

Photo sourced from: https://www.jointhegoodproject.org/team

Upcoming seminars on The environment, microbes, and us

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

Dr. Aminah Al-Attas Bradford, PhD. March 29, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

“The human-valued interest in microbiome science is the distillation of human-environmental interactions”

Dr. Stephanie Schnorr, PhD. April 5, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

“Anthropology, Microbiomes, and Antimicrobial Resistance”

Dr. Cecil Lewis, PhD. April 12, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

Soil health – towards a ‘microbial agriculture’?

Dr. Anna Krzywoszynska, PhD. and Paula Palanco Lopez. April 19, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

Panel Discussions on the environment, microbes, and us

April 26, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

May 3, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

These two weeks, we’ll be bringing our Theme 3 speakers back to engage in a panel discussion together on the importance of environmental microbiomes and our place in ecosystems, and then will continue talking about soil health. Panel will be hosted by Katherine Daiy, Kieran O’Doherty, Mallory Choudoir, Mustafa Saifuddin, and Hannah Holland-Moritz.

Please note, this session will only be featured live in real-time and will not be recorded.


Logo designed by Alex Guillen

MSE seminar this Wednesday on “Microbiome Research with the Yanomami” by David Good

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

Spring 2023; January 18 – May 3, Wednesdays from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST.

Presented over Zoom. Registration is free!

You can register for any or all of the events from the same link here.

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.

“Microbiome Research with the Yanomami”

David Good, University of Guelph

March 22, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. This event has passed, watch the recording here.

David Good

David Good is a PhD student in microbiology at the University of Guelph, Ontario. His general research goal is characterizing the structural and functional microbial diversity of his Yanomami family, the Irokae-teri, located in the Amazon rainforest of Venezuela. They are of great interest in the microbiome field since the Irokae-teri live fully immersed in the rainforest environment and subsist by an active lifestyle of hunting-gathering and small-scale gardening. Furthermore, their relative isolation deep in the Amazon limits their exposure to microbiome stressors such as antibiotics, highly refined and processed foods, industrial toxins and pollutants, food preservatives, etc. David will discuss this unique and rare opportunity to advance our understanding of the human microbiome of a community largely unperturbed by westernization, while building global awareness on the importance of protecting these few remaining isolated indigenous societies. However, such research brings numerous challenges surrounding bioethics. David hopes to build dialogue around going beyond simple compliance in microbiome research, and how the Yanomami have the right to self-determination and harness their bioeconomic potential to protect their home.

Photo sourced from: https://www.jointhegoodproject.org/team

Upcoming seminars on The environment, microbes, and us

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

Dr. Aminah Al-Attas Bradford, PhD. March 29, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

“The human-valued interest in microbiome science is the distillation of human-environmental interactions”

Dr. Stephanie Schnorr, PhD. April 5, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

“Anthropology, Microbiomes, and Antimicrobial Resistance”

Dr. Cecil Lewis, PhD. April 12, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

Soil health – towards a ‘microbial agriculture’?

Dr. Anna Krzywoszynska, PhD. and Paula Palanco Lopez. April 19, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

Panel Discussions on the environment, microbes, and us

April 26, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

May 3, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

These two weeks, we’ll be bringing our Theme 3 speakers back to engage in a panel discussion together on the importance of environmental microbiomes and our place in ecosystems, and then will continue talking about soil health. Panel will be hosted by Katherine Daiy, Kieran O’Doherty, Mallory Choudoir, Mustafa Saifuddin, and Hannah Holland-Moritz.

Please note, this session will only be featured live in real-time and will not be recorded.


Logo designed by Alex Guillen

MSE seminar today on “Invisible Friends: How Microbes Shape Our Lives and the World Around Us” by Dr. Jake Robinson

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!

You can register for any or all of the events from the same link here.

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.

“Invisible Friends: How Microbes Shape Our Lives and the World Around Us”

Dr. Jake Robinson, PhD.

March 15, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. This event has passed, watch the recording here.

Headshot of Dr. Jake Robinson

Dr. Robinson is a microbial ecologist based in the UK (soon to be Australia). In 2021, he received a PhD from the University of Sheffield. He is passionate about researching microbes, ecosystems, social equity issues and the connections between them, and at the same time, he is keen to develop ways to conserve and restore nature. Invisible Friends is his first book. This book counters the prevailing narrative of microbes as the bane of society, along the way providing much-needed clarity on the overwhelmingly beneficial role they play. Discover how the microbiome is highly relevant to environmental and social equity issues while there’s also discussion about how microbes may influence our decisions; even the way we think about how we think may need to be revisited. Invisible Friends introduces the reader to a vast, pullulating cohort of minute life – friends you never knew you had! Jake has worked on several publications with the MSE Working Group founder Dr Sue Ishaq and even interviewed her for the Microbes and Social Equity chapter in Invisible Friends.

Upcoming seminars on The environment, microbes, and us

“Microbiome Research with the Yanomami”

David Good, March 22, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

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

Dr. Aminah Al-Attas Bradford, PhD. March 29, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

“The human-valued interest in microbiome science is the distillation of human-environmental interactions”

Dr. Stephanie Schnorr, PhD. April 5, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

“Anthropology, Microbiomes, and Antimicrobial Resistance”

Dr. Cecil Lewis, PhD. April 12, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

Soil health – towards a ‘microbial agriculture’?

Dr. Anna Krzywoszynska, PhD. and Paula Palanco Lopez. April 19, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

Panel Discussions on the environment, microbes, and us

April 26, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

May 3, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

For two weeks, we’ll be bringing back our Theme 3 speakers back to engage in a panel discussion together on the importance of environmental microbiomes and our place in ecosystems, and then will continue talking about soil health. Panel will be hosted by Katherine Daiy, Kieran O’Doherty, Mallory Choudoir, Mustafa Saifuddin, and Hannah Holland-Moritz.

Please note, this session will only be featured live in real-time and will not be recorded.


Logo designed by Alex Guillen

MSE seminar this Wednesday on “Invisible Friends: How Microbes Shape Our Lives and the World Around Us” by Dr. Jake Robinson

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!

You can register for any or all of the events from the same link here.

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.

“Invisible Friends: How Microbes Shape Our Lives and the World Around Us”

Dr. Jake Robinson, PhD.

March 15, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. This event has passed, watch the recording here.

Headshot of Dr. Jake Robinson

Dr. Robinson is a microbial ecologist based in the UK (soon to be Australia). In 2021, he received a PhD from the University of Sheffield. He is passionate about researching microbes, ecosystems, social equity issues and the connections between them, and at the same time, he is keen to develop ways to conserve and restore nature. Invisible Friends is his first book. This book counters the prevailing narrative of microbes as the bane of society, along the way providing much-needed clarity on the overwhelmingly beneficial role they play. Discover how the microbiome is highly relevant to environmental and social equity issues while there’s also discussion about how microbes may influence our decisions; even the way we think about how we think may need to be revisited. Invisible Friends introduces the reader to a vast, pullulating cohort of minute life – friends you never knew you had! Jake has worked on several publications with the MSE Working Group founder Dr Sue Ishaq and even interviewed her for the Microbes and Social Equity chapter in Invisible Friends.

Upcoming seminars on The environment, microbes, and us

“Microbiome Research with the Yanomami”

David Good, March 22, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

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

Dr. Aminah Al-Attas Bradford, PhD. March 29, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

“The human-valued interest in microbiome science is the distillation of human-environmental interactions”

Dr. Stephanie Schnorr, PhD. April 5, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

“Anthropology, Microbiomes, and Antimicrobial Resistance”

Dr. Cecil Lewis, PhD. April 12, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

Soil health – towards a ‘microbial agriculture’?

Dr. Anna Krzywoszynska, PhD. and Paula Palanco Lopez. April 19, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

Panel Discussions on the environment, microbes, and us

April 26, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

May 3, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

For two weeks, we’ll be bringing back our Theme 3 speakers back to engage in a panel discussion together on the importance of environmental microbiomes and our place in ecosystems, and then will continue talking about soil health. Panel will be hosted by Katherine Daiy, Kieran O’Doherty, Mallory Choudoir, Mustafa Saifuddin, and Hannah Holland-Moritz.

Please note, this session will only be featured live in real-time and will not be recorded.


Logo designed by Alex Guillen

MSE panel discussion today on ‘Prenatal to early-life microbes and health’

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

Spring 2023; January 18 – May 3, Wednesdays from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST.

Presented over Zoom. Registration is free!

You can register for any or all of the events from the same link here.

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


Panel discussion on Prenatal to early-life microbes and health

March 8, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. This event has passed and was not recorded.

Today, we’ll be bringing all of our Theme 2 speakers back to engage in a panel discussion together on the microbiome in early life. Panel will be hosted by Emily Wissel and Sue Ishaq.

Please note, this session will only be featured live in real-time and will not be recorded.

Dr. Eldin Jašarević, who presented on “The maternal microbiota and offspring development: Towards a translational systems approach in maternal-child health.”

Dr. Merilee Brockway, who presented on “The maternal microbiota and offspring development: Towards a translational systems approach in maternal-child health.”

Dr. Sarah Lebeer, who presented on T’he vaginal microbiome: key for women’s health & healthy newborns’.

Next week, we’ll start our “The environment, microbes, and us” theme!


Logo designed by Alex Guillen

MSE panel discussion this Wednesday on ‘Prenatal to early-life microbes and health’

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

Spring 2023; January 18 – May 3, Wednesdays from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST.

Presented over Zoom. Registration is free!

You can register for any or all of the events from the same link here.

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


Panel discussion on Prenatal to early-life microbes and health

March 8, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. This event has passed and was not recorded.

This Wednesday, we’ll be bringing all of our Theme 2 speakers back to engage in a panel discussion together on the microbiome in early life. Panel will be hosted by Emily Wissel and Sue Ishaq.

Please note, this session will only be featured live in real-time and will not be recorded.

Dr. Eldin Jašarević, who presented on “The maternal microbiota and offspring development: Towards a translational systems approach in maternal-child health.”

Dr. Merilee Brockway, who presented on “The maternal microbiota and offspring development: Towards a translational systems approach in maternal-child health.”

Dr. Sarah Lebeer, who presented on T’he vaginal microbiome: key for women’s health & healthy newborns’.

Next week, we’ll start our “The environment, microbes, and us” theme!


Logo designed by Alex Guillen

MSE seminar today on “The vaginal microbiome: key for women’s health & healthy newborns.” by Dr. Sarah Lebeer

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!

You can register for any or all of the events from the same link here.

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


Prenatal to early-life microbes and health

Theme organized by Emily Wissel.

“The vaginal microbiome: key for women’s health & healthy newborns.”

Dr. Sarah Lebeer, PhD

March 1, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. This event has passed, watch the recording here.

Dr. Sarah Lebeer is a research professor at the Department of Bioscience Engineering of the University of Antwerp, Belgium. She has studied bioscience engineering, with a specialisation in cell and gene biotechnology and food & health and obtained her Master’s degree at KU Leuven (Belgium) in 2004. In 2008, she obtained a PhD degree in Bioscience Engineering with a topic on probiotics and
inflammatory bowel diseases (KU Leuven). After a postdoc on the interaction between lactobacilli, viruses and mucosal immunology, Sarah was offered a tenure track position in applied microbiology
and biotechnology at the Department of Bioscience Engineering of the University of Antwerp in Nov 2011. In 2020, Sarah obtained an ERC StG Grant (Lacto-Be) that enables her to gain in-depth knowledge of the evolutionary history and ecology of lactobacilli. Within this ERC project, Sarah has launched the Isala citizen-science project to gain new insights in the ecology and role of vaginal lactobacilli for women’s health, but also to actively involve women to contribute with ideas on how to improve vaginal health and break some taboos together (https://isala.be/en). This project has won the
communication award from the Young Academy and Royal Academy of Science KVAB in 2021.

Panel discussion on Prenatal to early-life microbes and health

March 8, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

This week, we’ll be bringing all of our Theme 2 speakers back to engage in a panel discussion together on the microbiome in early life. Panel will be hosted by Emily Wissel.

Please note, this session will only be featured live in real-time and will not be recorded.


Logo designed by Alex Guillen

MSE seminar this Wednesday on “The vaginal microbiome: key for women’s health & healthy newborns.” by Dr. Sarah Lebeer

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!

You can register for any or all of the events from the same link here.

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


Prenatal to early-life microbes and health

Theme organized by Emily Wissel.

“The vaginal microbiome: key for women’s health & healthy newborns.”

Dr. Sarah Lebeer, PhD

March 1, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. This event has passed, watch the recording here.

Dr. Sarah Lebeer is a research professor at the Department of Bioscience Engineering of the University of Antwerp, Belgium. She has studied bioscience engineering, with a specialisation in cell and gene biotechnology and food & health and obtained her Master’s degree at KU Leuven (Belgium) in 2004. In 2008, she obtained a PhD degree in Bioscience Engineering with a topic on probiotics and
inflammatory bowel diseases (KU Leuven). After a postdoc on the interaction between lactobacilli, viruses and mucosal immunology, Sarah was offered a tenure track position in applied microbiology
and biotechnology at the Department of Bioscience Engineering of the University of Antwerp in Nov 2011. In 2020, Sarah obtained an ERC StG Grant (Lacto-Be) that enables her to gain in-depth knowledge of the evolutionary history and ecology of lactobacilli. Within this ERC project, Sarah has launched the Isala citizen-science project to gain new insights in the ecology and role of vaginal lactobacilli for women’s health, but also to actively involve women to contribute with ideas on how to improve vaginal health and break some taboos together (https://isala.be/en). This project has won the
communication award from the Young Academy and Royal Academy of Science KVAB in 2021.

Panel discussion on Prenatal to early-life microbes and health

March 8, 2023; Wednesday,11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST. Register for the Zoom link here.

This week, we’ll be bringing all of our Theme 2 speakers back to engage in a panel discussion together on the microbiome in early life. Panel will be hosted by Emily Wissel.

Please note, this session will only be featured live in real-time and will not be recorded.


Logo designed by Alex Guillen