Microbiome Center Focuses on Broader World of Microbes | UChicago Medicine

UChicago students collecting field samples in Little Sippewissett Marsh, Falmouth, Mass.,聽for the聽乐播传媒 September course聽"Microbiomes Across Environments" in 2017. Credit David Mark Welch

Earlier this year, 乐播传媒 Director of Research David Mark Welch was named co-director of the  an interdisciplinary initiative spanning microbial studies in all environments. The center is holding a research symposium on Tuesday, April 16 at the University of Chicago.

Nearly three years after its launch, the Microbiome Center doesn鈥檛 have a dedicated office or central lab facility. It doesn鈥檛 have a huge budget or grant-official academic titles, but it is staying true to its roots as a hub for like-minded scientists interested in exploring the world of microbes.

When asked if that made it something like a club or a fraternity, , professor of ecology and evolution at the University of Chicago and co-director of the Center, opted for a more academic term.

鈥淟et鈥檚 call it a consortium of people who have similar goals,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t really grew out of a faculty initiative across the biological sciences, physical sciences, Argonne National Laboratory and the Marine Biological Laboratory. We had this unifying theme of trying to figure out what microbes are doing in our various study systems, and that remains a key focus.鈥 .

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