JAMS Symposium – Initiative launch teaser
The Australian Microbiome Initiative could not resist in taking part to the 8th Annual Joint Academic Microbiology Seminars Symposium on Wednesday 20 March 2019.
The national and international speakers at this year’s event were:
- Daniel Vaulot (CNRS & Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)
- Erica Donner (Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia)
- Andrew Holmes (University of Sydney)
- Emma Gagen (University of Queensland)
- Liz Watkin (Curtin University)
- James Tiedje (Michigan State University, United States)
The speakers showcased the breadth of research fields where microbes play a central role, from vital environmental bioprocesses to their impact on host health through harnessing the potential of microbes for industrial purpose such as bioleaching. The field of microbiology has evolved and changed rapidly over recent years due to the advances in genomics technologies but we are always reminded that practical understandings and getting back to basics are important. Jim Tiedje concluded the formal proceeding offering his predictions for the future of microbiome research, but reminding us all that foresight is not easy…
The talks were separated by the student poster session with 18 students vying for the renowned “Jeff Powell perpetual student poster award” supported by ISME, and the new Beckman Coulter sponsored People’s Choice Recommendation (PCR) award. Belinda Fabian from Macquarie University was awarded the Jeff Powell perpetual student poster prize, with a special commendation for Ben Ford, also from Macquarie University, who presented his work which is informed by data from the Australian Microbiome Initiative! The People’s choice prize was awarded to Fraser McLeod, from UNSW.
We also took this opportunity to present a teaser for the imminent launch of the Australian Microbiome initiative and the upcoming call for proposals. Details will be added onto this website and promoted widely, so stay tuned!
The formal event was live streamed and recordings can be found on the JAMS you tube channel
You can also get the feelings of the day through the Twitter feed using the official #JAMS2019 compliment of our active Twitter research community and the JAMS Twitter account
The event closed on the traditional evening of networking held this year at Harpoon Harry
Thank you to all the people who shared their views and exchanged ideas with me on the Australian Microbiome initiative, in particular Daniel Vaulot, Jim Tiedje, Emma Gagen and Liz Watkin.
Dr Sophie Mazard – Project Manager for the Australian Microbiome initiative