The Human Microbiome Seminar

When most people think about microbes, they think disease. For well over 100 years the medical community’s mantra has been that “the only good bug is a dead bug.” But the functions of the human body rely not only on our own cells, but on the intricate interplay between complex communities of bacteria, archaea, viruses and microscopic eukaryotes living within us. Its overall health and wellbeing is a reflection of the interactions and balance among these many microbial mini-ecosystems and the host.

The ability of these communities to properly perform vital functions, and to recognize and respond to environmental changes both outside and inside the human body depends on molecular networks comprising signaling and target molecules and their biosynthetic and regulatory pathways. These molecular networks including the many chemical molecules necessary for their function remain mostly unknown.

The Human Microbiome Seminar will explore the advances, opportunities and challenges to unveil the “chemical dark matter” of the human microbiome and its role in health and disease. The seminar will be webcast online at www.dels.nas.edu/csr. Please register to be a webcast participant or to attend in person by clicking this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-chemistry-of-microbiomes-human-seminar-tickets-27392663193

Wednesday, November 9, 2:00 – 5:00 pm