MicroSocial Seminar Series
The MicroSocial Seminar Series aims to facilitate scientific exchange and community building across UMD’s microbiome research community. Monthly seminars feature UMD speakers, including students and faculty, who give short research presentations (either 2 x 12 minutes or 1 x 20 minute talks) followed by a social happy 1/2 hour over coffee and snacks. We welcome presentations about in-progress work or recent results, with the goal to provide an overview, receive feedback, promote opportunities for collaboration, or identify community interests and needs that the center may address. Open to all of UMD, the monthly seminar takes place on Tuesdays from 4–5 p.m.
To present at the MicroSocial Seminar Series, please contact Gabi Steinbach (gabis@umd.edu) to be added to the schedule.
Spring 2025 Schedule
| Date | Speakers | Talk Title | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 4 | Darby Steinman, Ph.D. student, Bioengineering | “Vaginal Microbes Communicate with Reproductive Tissues via Production of Extracellular Vesicles” | ESJ 2204 |
| Taiwo Bankole, Ph.D. student, Nutrition and Food Science | “The Effect of Broccoli Glucoraphanin Supplementation on Ameliorating High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity through the Gut Microbiome and Metabolome Interface” | ||
| April 15 | Qingyue Zeng, Ph.D. student, Food Science | “Microbial Dynamic in Food Waste Compost” | ESJ 2204 |
| Dhiraj Chundru, Ph.D. student, Veterinary Medicine | “Optimizing Metagenomic Approaches for Enhanced Food Safety in Poultry Production Environment” | ||
| May 13 | Yuzhu Mao, Ph.D. student, Environmental Engineering | “Flushed with Data: Tracking COVID-19 to Candida auris in Community Sewage” | ESJ 2204 |
| Aishwarya Pradeep Rao, Ph.D. student, Nutrition Food Science | “Seed to Salad: Detecting Pathogens and Profiling Microbiomes in Microgreens – A Quasimetagenomic Approach” |
Fall 2024 Schedule
| Date | Speakers | Talk Title | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 15 | Raunak Dey, Ph.D. student, Physics | “Multimodal Inference of Virus-microbe Infection Networks and Microbial Interactions from Population Dynamics” | ESJ 1224 |
| Holly Childs, Ph.D. student, Nutrition & Food Science | “A Comparison of Daidzein-Metabolizing Phenotypes and its Relationship to Cardiovascular Disease Risk” | ||
| November 12 | Sydney Overton, Ph.D. student, Electrical & Computer Engineering | “Electrochemical Detection of Gastrointestinal Serotonin Toward Understanding the Gut Brain Axis” | ESJ 1224 |
| Madhusudan Timilsina, Ph.D. student, Veterinary Medicine | “Exploration of the Upper Respiratory Tract Microbiome and Probiotic Interventions In Chickens” | ||
| December 10 | Robert Kirian, Ph.D. student, Bioengineering | “Biocalorimetry to Predict Bacterial Extracellular Vesicle (bEV) Production and Improve Biomanufacturing” | BRB 1103 |
| Lora Cheng, Ph.D. student, Environmental Engineering | “New Horizons in Microbial Dynamics within Anaerobic Bioremediation Systems” |