Calendar of MRSEC Events

Since its inception in 2004, the Microbial Science Initiative has sponsored and hosted an annual symposium for those in the Harvard and greater Boston communities. The spring event showcases magnificent research across a breadth of microbe-centric topics spanning environmental and biomedical sciences. The MSI Symposium is free and open to the public. Welcome to the microbial world! Mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks with refreshments will be provided, and there will be a 75 minute break for lunch mid-day.

TBD
12-1pm EST | 24 Oxford Street Room 375, Classroom 375, Cambridge, MA

12-1pm EST | 24 Oxford Street, classroom #375, Cambridge, MA

Is there an item that's been languishing on your to-do list? Do you have an assignment to do and just can't harness the motivation to take the first step? Register and join the Microbial Sciences Initiative for a Micro-Goal Lunch Hour! Open to all Harvard students and postdocs, especially those with an interest in the microbial world.

Brandy Toner
4 - 5pm EST | William James Hall, Room 105, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA

TBD

Alexis Jaramillo Cartagema
12-1pm EST | 24 Oxford Street Room 375, Classroom 375, Cambridge, MA

12-1pm EST | 24 Oxford Street, classroom #375, Cambridge, MA

Is there an item that's been languishing on your to-do list? Do you have an assignment to do and just can't harness the motivation to take the first step? Register and join the Microbial Sciences Initiative for a Micro-Goal Lunch Hour! Open to all Harvard students and postdocs, especially those with an interest in the microbial world.

Andee Wallace
4 - 5pm EST | William James Hall, Room 105, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA

TBD

Beau Schaeffer
12-1pm EST | 24 Oxford Street Room 375, Classroom 375, Cambridge, MA

12-1pm EST | 24 Oxford Street, classroom #375, Cambridge, MA

Is there an item that's been languishing on your to-do list? Do you have an assignment to do and just can't harness the motivation to take the first step? Register and join the Microbial Sciences Initiative for a Micro-Goal Lunch Hour! Open to all Harvard students and postdocs, especially those with an interest in the microbial world.

Amin Doostmohammadi, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen
1:00pm – 2:30pm (EST) | Remote or 20 Garden St, seminar room G-10

Abstract: I will focus on the interaction between different active matter systems. In particular, I will describe recent experimental and modeling results that reveal how interaction forces between adhesive cells generate activity in the cell layer and lead to a potentially new mode of phase segregation. I will then discuss mechanics of how cells use finger-like protrusions, known as filopodia, to interact with their surrounding medium. First, I will present experimental and theoretical results of active mirror-symmetry breaking in subcellular skeleton of filopodia that allows for rotation, helicity, and buckling of these cellular fingers in a wide variety of cells ranging from epithelial, mesenchymal, cancerous and stem cells. I will then describe in-vivo experiments together with theoretical modeling showing how during embryo development specialized active cells probe and modify other cell layers and integrate within an active epithelium.

More about the Active Matter Seminar

Douglas H. Bartlett, PhD, UC San Diego
4 - 5pm EST | William James Hall, Room 105, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA

A major portion of microbial life on Earth is present in low-temperature/deep-sea environments, and yet much remains to be learned of their diversity, adaptations and activities. Studies of these microbes in situ and ex situ is providing fundamental and biotechnological insights, and will be critical to many possible ocean-based decarbonization processes. In this presentation I will first discuss what we have learned about proteomes and cell envelopes of piezophilic (high pressure-adapted) isolates. Then I will transition to investigations of deep-sea microbial activities using pressure-retaining seawater sampling to collect microbes with minimal temperature/pressure alteration, followed by the sorting and identification of cells active under in situ deep-sea conditions. One aspect of this work is the indication that certain microbial groups (e.g., members of the Thaumarchaeota) are highly sensitive to decompression/incubation effects, reducing their perceived significance when collected using standard methods.
Register for MSI Thursday Seminar Series