Keynote
“Adapting an Evolutionary Model Organism for Host-Microbe Interaction Studies: Diversity Matters”
by
Dr. Kathryn Milligan-McClellan
University of Connecticut
MEETING SCHEDULE
June 24, 2022
5:00 pm: Meeting Start
6:00 pm: Dinner
7:30 pm: General Meeting/Awards
8:00-9:30 pm: Poster Session A*
Followed by Social
June 25, 2022
8:00-9:00 am: Breakfast
9:00 am: Herbert W. Conn: Pioneer of Biology Education
Michael Hanophy – Saint Joseph’s College
9:25 am: Growth and Death Dynamics of Bacterial Communities During Litter Decomposition are Predictable and Indicate Shifts in Life History Strategy
Cassandra Wattenburger and Daniel Buckley – Cornell University
9:55 am: Interval
10:10 am: Characterizing the Microbial Community in Bog Iron Deposits in the New Jersey Pine Barrens
Lauren Seyler – Stockton University
10:45 am: Recognizing Evolutionary Mile Markers at the Crossroads of Symbiosis in Bark Beetle-Dispersed Fungi
Chase Mayers – Cornell University
11:20 am: "What's SUPP?" Investigating a Potential In Vitro Model for Complex Oral Biofilms
Alex Labossiere and Matthew Ramsey – University of Rhode Island
11:45: Group Photo
12:00-1:00 pm: Lunch
1:15-2:30 pm: Microbe Walk (Optional)
A nature-walk focusing on microbial habitats and field marks
3:00-5:00 pm: Microscopy Workshop (Optional) — Lance Richardson, USMA West Point
6:00 pm: Dinner
7:30 pm: Door-Prize Drawing
8:00-9:30 pm: Poster Session B**
Social Following
June 26, 2022
8:00-9:00 am: Breakfast
9:00 am: Culturing from the Deep Hot Subsurface: Challenges and Successes
Stephanie Carr – Hartwick College
9:35 am: Defining Predicted Metabolic Features of the Thalassospira genus
Caleb Mallery, Michael Rappe, Olivia Nigro, and Stephanie Carr – Hartwick College
9:50 am: Interval
10:05 am: Distribution of Inteins in Cyanobacteria
Daniel Phillips – University of Connecticut
10:40 am: Examining Changes in Antibiotic Susceptibility of Pseudomonas putida Grown in Mueller-Hinton vs. Soil Extract Medium
Nazrawit Zeleke, Michael Reilly, Naomie Bourdeau, Teylah Ford, Adrianna Salavatore, Brittany Spinazzola, Jillian Higgins, and Emily M. Nowicki, PhD – Curry College
11:15 am: The RNA chaperone protein ProQ is a pleiotropic regulator in enteropathogenic E. coli
Shaan Bhatt – Saint Joseph’s University
11:45 am: NEMPET business meeting
12:00- 1:00 pm: Lunch and Departure
POSTER SESSION A*
The Phosphotransferase System and the Sma0113/Sma0114 Two Component System in Sinorhizobium meliloti: Partners in Regulation?
Catalina Arango Pinedo, and Preston P. Garcia – St. Joseph’s University and Castleton University
The Effects of Microplastic Ingestion on the Gut Microbiome of Millipedes
Noah Bright, K. Mackey, F. Jessup, P. McManamon, P. Xu, K. Clukey, C. Morgan, B. Rhymes, S. Davidson, P. Dihle and M. Labare – United States Military Academy
Investigation of the Effect of Bacterial Interspecies Interactions on Surface Motility
Mary R. Brockett and Jun Zhu – Perelman School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania
The Bioremediation of Environmental Microplastics Using the Gut Microbiome of Threespine Stickleback
Kelly Crandall, Sarah Pasqualetti, Gustavo Freitas, Kat Milligan-McClellan – University of Connecticut
Stressors and Library Screening: The Search for a Phenotype in Sinorhizobium meliloti Two-Component Signal Transduction Mutants
Jacob Henderson, Julia Carpenter, and Preston Garcia – Castleton University
Overexpression of the Neurospora crassa Transcription Factor fsd-1 Inhibits Mating and Upregulates Melanin Biosynthesis
Elizabeth Hutchison – SUNY Geneseo
Searching for a Response Regulator Protein Partner in Sinorhizobium meliloti
Tim Kittler, Jillian Laughlin, Alexander Williams, and Preston Garcia – Castleton College
Into the Unknown: BACTH Assays and Sinorhizobium meliloti Mutant Production to Determine the Role of a Two-Component Signal Transduction System
Ryanne Mix, Allison Andrade, and Preston Garcia – Castleton University
Characterization of Microplastic-Degrading Microbial Interactions within the Stickleback Microbiome
Sarah Pasqualetti, Kelly Crandall, Kat Milligan-McClellan, Gustavo Freitas, and Edward Russell
POSTER SESSION B**
Evolutionary Escapades of Mobile Genetic Elements in Green Algal Plastid Genomes
Danielle Arsenault, and J. Peter Gogarten – University of Connecticut
Screening a Transposon Library for Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Pseudomonas putida
Maegan Avery and Emily Nowicki – Curry College
Evidence of horizontal gene transfer between Wolbachia and Aedes aegypti
Darian Labrosciano, Vinayak Mathur – Cabrini University
Investigating the Role of Phage-Mediated HGT in Increasing Bacterial Virulence
Kayla Mancini and Vinayak Mathur – Montclair State University
Investigation of the Role of RNA Chaperone Protein ProQ in the Virulence of Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli
Mary Marino and Shantanu Bhatt – St. Joseph’s University
Redox Inverted Cold Seeps: Chemotropic Sulfur-Oxidizing Microbial Mats Growing on Oxidant Seeps in the Euxinic Basin of a Meromictic Lake
Mike McCormick, Ben Tully, Kari Koga, Dan O'Shea, Kera Lynn, Dan Lictenauer, Ken Bart, Jason Koval, and Dion Antonopolous – Hamilton College
Investigating the Role of Sigma Factor RpoN in the Virulence of Escherichia albertii
Alexa Mihaita and Shantanu Bhatt – St. Joseph’s University
Effects of Plastic on Naproxen Degradation via a Freshwater Consortium
Zanub Rahman, Abigail Porter, and Lily Y. Young – Rutgers University
Perchlorate Exposure Effect on Microbiome Diversity in Three Spine Stickleback Fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus)
Liz M. Tirado, Emily A. Lescak, and Kathryn C.A. Milligan-McClellan