Microbiome Working Group

Mission

The microbiome working group intends to provide an informal infrastructure for networking and continuing education relevant to microbiome research. As the field is very new, rapidly evolving, and multidisciplinary by nature, the group strives to link basic, clinical, and population health sciences researchers, facilitating the exchange of ideas across CUMC.

To receive information about upcoming events, sign up for the listserv, or suggest speakers for the seminar series, please contact Anne-Catrin Uhlemman (au2110@cumc.columbia.edu), Medini Annavajhala (mka2136@cumc.columbia.edu), or Ryan Demmer (rdemmer@columbia.edu).

Fall/Winter 2017 Seminars

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14
4PM Florence irving auditorium AT THE herbert IRVING center for CANCER RESEARCH, 1130 Saint nicholas Avenue

Martin J. Blaser, MD, Muriel G. and George W. Singer Professor of Translational Medicine,
Professor of Microbiology, Director of the Human Microbiome Project

Precision Medicine and Human Microbiome
(s
ponsored by the 2017 Advances in Precision Medicine Seminar Series) 

Date/Time Location Speaker Title
September 27, 4pm  Atchley Loeb Room
PH 8 East 107A
Medini Annavajhala, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Scientist , CUMC
Microbiome 101: An Introduction to Microbiome Studies amd Bioinfomatics Tools

 



Spring 2017 Seminars

Date/Time Location Speaker Title
April 20, 4pm Hammer LL-110 Elena Ladas, PhD
Assistant Professor of Nutrition, CUMC
The use of probiotic therapy in children undergoing hematopoietic cell transplant
March 23rd, 4pm Hammer LL-110 Smita Gopinath, PhD

Iwasaki Lab
Yale School of Medicine
Antibiotic-mediated antiviral immunity
February 23rd, 4pm TBA Francesco Beghini, MSc student

Segata Lab
Centre for Integrative Biology (CIBIO)   
Smoking and the oral microbiome in the New York City Health and Nutrition Examination Study (NYC-HANES II)

 

Fall 2016 Seminars

Date/Time Location Speaker Title
December 15th
1 pm
Hammer LL-107 Brian Ji, MD/PhD Candidate
Dr. Dennis Vitkup Lab
Department of Systems Biology
Ecological Dynamics of Gut Microbiota
December 1st 1pm Hammer 304
Levi Waldron, PhD
Assistant Professor of Biostatistics
CUNY School of Public Health. 
New York, NY
curatedMetagenomicData: curated taxonomic and functional profiles for thousands of human-associated microbiomes   (See Resources section for more information)
November 17th
1pm
Hammer LL-210 Ravi Sheth, PhD Candidate
Dr. Harris Wang Lab
Department of Systems Biology
Comprehensive mapping of micron-scale microbial interactions in the gut
November 3rd
1 pm
MSPH 11th Floor Daniel Freedberg, MD,MS
Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases. CUMC
How the Hospital Environment Shapes Risk for C. difficile
October 26th
4 pm
Alumni Auditorium
650W 168th St
Ryan Demmer, PhD
Jeff Shaman, PhD
Brent Williams, PhD
(CUMC)
The Microbiome of Population Health

Sponsored by: The Dean’s Grand Rounds on the Future of Public Health
Mailman School of Public Health

 

Spring 2016 Seminars

Date/Time Location Speaker Title
May 23
4 pm
Lasker Building, 310C Jeremiah Faith, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Mount Sinai
Understanding the role of gut microbes and diet in inflammatory disease
April 18
1 pm
Lasker Building, 3960 Broadway
310C
Chris Mason, PhD
Associate Professor at Weill Cornell, Department of Physiology and Biophysics
Genetics, Epigenomics, and Metagenomics in cities and space stations
Click HERE to see the slidedeck.
March 21
4 pm
Irving Cancer Research Center, Room 816 Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello, PhD
Associate Professor, NYU School of Medicine
The ancestral and the early microbiome
February 22
4 pm
MSPH 11th Floor Brent Williams, PhD
Assistant Professor at Columbia University, Department of Clinical Pathology and Cell Biology
Seasonally Fluctuant Microbiota of Primates and Evidence Against the Enterotype Paradigm
January 28
4 pm
Hammer LL205 Jesse Zaneveld, PhD
Oregon State University, Department of Microbiology
Predictive functional profiling of microbial communities: Theory, tools and current applications from chronic disease to wildlife conservation


Fall 2015 Seminars

Date/Time Location Speaker Title
December 14
4 pm
Hammer LL206 Paul Planet, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center
The microbiome of cystic fibrosis
November 30   Susan Perkins, PhD
Curator, Molecular Systematics
Principal Investigator, SICG Genomics Lab
Professor, Richard Gilder Graduate School

Eunsoo Kim, PhD
Assistant Curator, Protist Collectio
Principal Investigator, SICG Genomics Lab
Assistant Professor, Richard Gilder Graduate School
Tour of the "Meet Your Microbiome" exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History
November 16
4 pm
Hammer LL206 Dennis Vitkup, PhD
Associate Professor, Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Biomedical Informatics
Stability in microbial and non-microbial ecosystems
November 9
4 pm
Hammer LL206 Ryan Demmer, PhD
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Columbia University Medical Center
The subgingival microbiome and diabetes risk
October 26
4 pm
Hammer LL206 Harris Wang, PhD
Assistant Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Medical Center
Functional genomics approaches for microbiome research
October 5
4 pm
Hammer LL206 Sway Chen
MD/PHD Student, Dr. Harris Wang’s Lab, Department of Systems Biology
Digoxin metabolism by the gut microbiome
September 28
5 pm
PH-20 Esi Lamousé -Smith, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Department of Pediactric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition
Affiliate Member, CCTI, Columbia University Medical Center
How intestinal flora impacts the immune system's development and function
September 14
4 pm
Hammer LL206 Yana Bromberg, PhD
Assistant Professor, Rutgers University Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology
Tell me what you do and I'll tell you who you are: Functional basis of microorganism classification
August 24
4 pm
MSPH 11th Floor German Plata, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Dr. Dennis Vitkup's Lab, Department of Systems Biology
Review of computational methods to study bacterial communities and functions
August 10
5:30 pm
MSPH 11th Floor Nitzan Soffer, PhD
Research Scientist, INTRALTIX, INC. (Baltimore, Maryland)
Microbiome 101


Resources - Past Seminars


wednesday, SEPTEMBER 27
4PM, ACHTLEY ROEB ROOM, PH 8 EAST 107A

Medini Annavajhala, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Scientist, CUMC
Microbiome 101: An Introduction to Microbiome Studies and Bioinfomatics Tools Physicians & Surgeons

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24
4PM AT THE IRVING CANCER RESEARCH CENTER AUDITORIUM (1130 ST. NICHOLAS AVENUE)

Katherine Lemon, MD, PhD, Associate Member of Staff, Forsyth Institute, and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
Nose Picking for Progress: Mining the Nasal Microbiome for New Insights Into Pathobionts (sponsored by Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, Department of Genetics and Development) 

THURSDAY, NOV. 2,
4:30PM AT THE EDWARD S. HARKNESS EYE INSTITUTE 

Bryan J. Winn, MD Associate Professor of Opthalmology, CUMC
Division Director, Opthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
The Human Microbiome and Inflammatory Eye Diseases (sponsored by Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Department of Opthalmology Grand Rounds)

THURSDAY, NOV. 2,
9AM - 12:30PM AT NYP MORGAN STANLEY CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL 
TOWER 103 CONFERENCE ROOM (FIRST FLOOR)

ALL SPEAKERS ARE SPONSORED BY COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS, DIVISION OF NEONATOLOGY ANNUAL ALUMNI MEMORIAL LECTURESHIP 

9:20 - 10:15am:
Joseph Neu, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, University of Florida

Select Environmental Effects on Perinatal and Neonatal Microbiome

10:20 - 11:15am:
Kjersti Aagaaed, MD, PhD, Henry and Susan Meyer Chair, Professor and Vice Chair, Baylor College of Medicine

The Perinatal Microbiome: Old Friends & New Beginnings 

11:20 - 12:15
Daniel DiGiulio, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine

Ecological Approaches to Investigating the Microbiome and Risk for Preterm Birth

Talks and conferences of interest 

Date/Time Location Speaker Title Sponsored by:
"Gut Health, Microbiota & Probiotics Throughout the Lifespan 2016: Metabolic & Brain Function” Available for viewing via webcast : HERE
March 6th, 2017   Skip Virgin, MD, PhD
Chair of the Department of Pathology & Immunology at the Washington University School of Medicine
  Precision Medicine Seminar
December 16th, 2016   Amy Tsou, MD Senior fellow at Boston Children’s Hospital Investigating the Role of the Gut Microbiome in Intestinal Inflammation Division of Pediatrics Gastroenterology at CUMC
October
26th, 2016
4 pm
Alumni Auditorium
650W 168th St
Ryan Demmer, PhD
Jeff Shaman, PhD
Brent Williams, PhD
(CUMC)
The Microbiome of Population Health The Dean’s Grand Rounds on the Future of Public Health
Mailman School of Public Health

Publications

Websites

Organizers

Medini Annavajhala, PhD.
Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases Division
mka2136@cumc.columbia.edu

Anne-Catrin Uhlemann, MD, PhD, Florence Irving Assistant Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Infectious Disease Division
Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Department of Systems Biology
au2110@cumc.columbia.edu

Ryan Demmer, PhD , MPH
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology
rdemmer@columbia.edu

Past Organizers and Founders

Eugenia Lyashenko, PhD, co-founder

Boris Grinshpun, PhD, co-founder

Nitzan Sofferm, PhD, co-founder

Janet Woollen, PhD

Ravi Sheth, PhD