Day 1 - August 18 Schedule: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (Touchdown Terrace)
8:15am – Check-in and breakfast
8:45am – Opening Remarks and Introduction of New Graduate Students
- Dr. Julie Maupin-Furlow
Moderated by: Dr. Melissa Jones
9:00am – MCS: Mass-spec Catalyzed Science in graduate research
- Dr. Xin Wang, Adam Mearig (Triplett Lab), Alex Schultz (Ferraro Lab), Chetna Sharma (X. Wang Lab), and Katy Weber (Maupin Lab)
9:30am – The Stellaris has landed: a survey of confocal use cases in the MCS department
- Dr. Tyler Square
9:50am – Analysis of the Biogenesis of Small Extracellular Vesicles on Intracellular Infections
- Javier Rosero – Kima Lab
10:05am – At the Interface of Antimicrobial Resistance and Gut-Brain Axis
- Dr. Daniel Czyz
10:25am – Break
Moderated by: Dr. Luiz Passalacqua
10:35am – A game of telephone - "messages" from small extracellular vesicles to antigen presenting cells mount mucosal immunity against Salmonella
- Sam Enslow – Ferraro Lab
10:50am – Insights into Lysine Acetylation in Haloferax volcanii
- Sebastian Guerra – Maupin Lab
11:05am – A computational investigation into the role of tRNAs encoded by Shigella phage Sf14
- Nykki Ross – Doore Lab
11:20am – Scaling Protein Functional Annotation Using Multimodal Embeddings
- Nick Sexson – Dias Lab
11:35am – The Microbial Response to Mangrove Range Expansion
- Dr. Jose Rolando
11:55am – Lunch
Moderated by: Dr. Willm Martens-Habbena
1:20pm – Determination of Genetic and Epigenetic Regulation of Meiotic Recombination under Domestication in Maize
- Akwasi Yeboah – Zhao Lab
1:35pm – Structure-function of nucleic acids
- Dr. Luiz Passalacqua
1:55pm – The Games of the Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle
- Nowshin Islam – X. Wang Lab
2:10pm – Engineering Citrus Tolerance/Resistance against HLB, a Pathogen Triggered Immune Disease, Via CRISPR
- Dr. Nian Wang
2:30pm – Modeled Microgravity Disrupts the Normal Host Innate Immune Cell Response to Symbiotic Colonization
- Joey Emhof – Foster Lab
2:50pm – Poster Presentation Session 1
3:35pm – Break
Moderated by: Dr. Nian Wang
3:45pm – Deciphering the role of R-bodies: a killer microbial mechanism
- Lorena Ona-Yanez – Gonzalez Lab
4:00pm – The Effects of Simulated Microgravity on Biofilm Formation and Gene Regulation in Staphylococcus aureus
- Rachel White – Rice Lab
4:15pm – Investigating the Role of bEVs and their Sphingolipids in MNV infection
- Joe Sullivan - Jones
4:30pm – End of Day 1
Day 2 - August 19 Schedule: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (Touchdown Terrace)
8:00am – Breakfast
Moderated by: Dr. Xin Wang
8:30am – Phosphorus and Nitrogen Limit Arctic Stream Microbial Metabolism: Composition, Chlorophyll-a, and Respiration Across Seasons and In-Stream Additions
- Justin Ellena – Christner Lab
8:45am – Mucus Barrier Dysfunction and Solutions for Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Astronaut Health
- Jessica Xhumari – Roesch Lab
9:00am – Accurate prediction of protein function: from comparative genomics to machine learning
- Dr. Valérie de Crécy-Lagard
9:20am – Use of Intron-Spliced Hairpin RNA Interference to Enhance Defense Gene Expression in Citrus
- Ben Merritt – Mou Lab
9:35am – Microbial Cell Factories for Space and Earth
- Dr. Nils Averesch
9:55am – Break
10:00am – Poster Presentation Session 2
10:45am – Break
Moderated by: Dr. Jamie Foster
3-Minute Thesis Presentations
10:55am – Investigating the Role of Cofactor F420-Mediated Electron Transfer in the Redox Stress Adaptation of Haloferax volcanii
- Macie Binda – Maupin Lab
11:00am – Engineering Citrus Tolerance to HLB Through a Multifaceted Genetic Approach
- Andrea Gatmaitan – N. Wang Lab
11:05am – Engineering Bacterial Membrane Vesicles for On-Demand Biomanufacturing in Spaceflight
- Rachel Ivester – Foster Lab
11:10am – Biopolymers as Microbiome Regulators in the Lower Reproductive Tract
- Amanda Ojeda – Roesch Lab
11:15am – Nitric Oxide Synthase and Redox Potential; How Adaptive Metabolism Influences Virulence in Staphylococcus aureus
- Connor Meenan – Rice Lab
11:20am – Phages against the brain’s hidden enemies
- Anan Hafez – Czyz Lab
11:25am – Unseen diversities: The microbial treasure trove hidden in the Upper Floridan aquifer
- KO Irving – Christner Lab
11:30am – Interpretable AI for Early Detection of Celiac Disease
- Brandon Pate – Dias Lab
11:35am – Interference of host cell processes via Salmonella induces changes in sEV antigen trafficking and cargo loading
- Alex Schultz – Ferraro Lab
11:40am – Closing Remarks: Dr. Eric Triplett
Poster Session 1
Poster Presentation Session 1: August 18 at 2:50pm
When more is less: Post-translational truncation of overexpressed glutathione peroxidase 8 disrupts redox balance in citrus
- Shannon Barry – N. Wang Lab
Microbial Deconstruction and Upcycling of Polylactic Acid into Polyhydroxyalkanoates Containing Lactic Acid
- Jackson Bland, Allie Gao, Camila Hernandez Pedraza – Averesch Lab
Effect of SOCS1-KIR Mimetic Peptides on Ocular Cell Viability and MCP-1 Production
- Julia Carey – Larkin Lab
Deciphering Epigenetic and Genetic Alterations in mop1 Mutant through Successive Generations of Self-fertilization in Maize
- Xi Cheng – Zhao Lab
Gene editing of sweet orange immune related genes to explore their roles in Huanglongbing disease development
- Javier Dalmendray – N. Wang Lab
A structure-based inquiry of tRNAs encoded by Shigella flexneri and its phage Sf14
- Dr. Sarah Doore
Developing HLB-Tolerant Citrus Plants through Overexpression of Flavodoxin (Fld) to Mitigate Reactive Oxygen Species
- Yu Feng – N.Wang Lab
Oligotrophy in Soil Ammonia-oxidizing Archaea
- Brigitte Gaudreault – Martens-Habbena Lab
Transgene-free genome editing of the uORFs of antioxident enzyme genes in citrus to improve HLB resistance
- Zhuyuan Hu – N.Wang Lab
Tooth and Taste Bud Epithelium Arise from Shared Precursor Cells
- Peter Huynh – Square Lab
Investigating Tritrophic Interactions between Rice, the Rice Microbiome, and Magnaporthe oryzae
- Tim Johnson – Fernandez Lab
B-SURE: Impact of spaceflight and partial gravity on physiology of engineered Vibrio fischeri and the implications for space biomanufacturing
- Adrien Kellens – Foster Lab
Identification of Citrus Protein Interactors of the CLas Secretory Prophage Protein AGH17470 by Yeast Two-Hybrid Library Screening​
- Florencia Ortiz Roca – N. Wang Lab
Naïve macrophages treated with sEVs from Salmonella-infected macrophages demonstrate functional changes in an SseL-dependent manner
- Neha Sahu – Ferraro Lab
Poster Session 2
Poster Presentation Session 2: August 19 at 10:00am
Archaeal Protein Assembly Chaperones (PACs) in Assembly of the 20S Core Particle (CP)
- Philip Babbi – Maupin Lab
sEVs from Salmonella-infected macrophages confer antigen-specific adaptive immunity in vivo
- Saloni Bhimani – Ferraro Lab
The E. coli radical SAM enzyme YhcC is an MnmL ortholog required for 5-methylaminomethyl-2-thiouridine synthesis in anaerobic conditions
- Kaleb Boswinkle – de Crécy-Lagard Lab
Mining 7-Deazapurine Gene Clusters for Novel Secondary Metabolites
- José Cediel-Becerra – Dias Lab
Isolation and Characterization of Bacteriophages from Local Wastewater: A Novel Approach to Combat Enteric Pathogens
- Keith Gill – Czyz Lab
Multi-Omics Evidence for Microbial Drivers Behind SOC Degradation in Everglades Agricultural Area Peat Soils
- Nina Infantado – Martens-Habbena Lab
Bacterial Extracellular Vesicle Induced Differential Expression of miRNA Potentially Modulates Norovirus Infection
- Casey Jacobi – Jones Lab
Enhancing photosynthesis under salt stress via directed evolution in cyanobacteria
- Shaun Jiang – X. Wang Lab
A Work of ART: Characterizing secreted protein ART12 as a putative effector in rice blast pathogenesis
- Rachel Kalicharan – Fernandez Lab
Evaluation of soil bacterial isolates for the biocontrol against Magnaporthe oryzae, the causal agent of rice blast disease
- Lainey Kemmerer – Fernandez Lab
The structure of Shigella phage Sf14: two decoration proteins and two long tail fibers
- Hailey Kerns – Doore Lab
Salts alter radiation effects on microbial biosignatures in Ocean World ices
- Katelyn Palmer – Christner Lab
Assessing the Contribution of Bacterial Nitric Oxide Synthase to Intracellular Survival of Staphylococcus aureus
- Alex Pinkham – Rice Lab
Engineering Outer Membrane Vesicles: a Novel Vaccination Strategy against Norovirus
- Brooke Ritchie – Jones Lab
Lactobacillus johnsonii extracellular vesicles as therapeutic effectors: Manipulation of the SH3b effector molecules as antivirals
- Asra Sharjeel – Lorca Lab
pH-Dependent Diffusion of Glucose and Maltose Through SHINE-VH Hydrogels
- Marissa Veeravagu – Roesch Lab
Location Details for Touchdown Terrace at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
Address:
121 GALE LEMERAND DR
GAINESVILLE, FL 32611
Bldg #: 0159
196,184 GSF
Located in the North Endzone of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (the Endzone closest to University Ave)
Campus Map:
https://campusmap.ufl.edu/#/index/0159
Transportation:
Campus Connector Live Track Map
RTS Bus system- RST Trip Planner
Parking:
Symposium attendees/participants can park at the O’Connell Center lot in the northeast corner. There are 100 spots available.
Parking Map:
UF TAPS Parking Map: https://taps.ufl.edu/parking-info/parking-map/