The Microbial Population Biology GRS provides a unique forum for young doctoral and post-doctoral researchers to present their work, discuss new methods, cutting edge ideas, and pre-published data, as well as to build collaborative relationships with their peers. Experienced mentors and trainee moderators will facilitate active participation in scientific discussion to allow all attendees to be engaged participants rather than spectators.
Understanding the evolutionary and ecological dynamics that continue to shape the diversity of life is a fundamental motivation of microbial population biology. The body of work that has emerged to tackle this question frequently falls along a spectrum of complexity with two identifiable sides:
On one end, experimentalists use genetically tractable model organisms in controlled systems to engineer and evolve microbes in real time. This “bottom-up” approach can track evolutionary dynamics from the molecular to the community level, and allows an in-depth view into the core processes governing evolution.
On the other end, microbial ecologists go out to the field to sample, sequence, and collect metadata from microbial communities in their native habitats, ranging from human guts to deep sea hydrothermal vents. This “top-down” approach uses a variety of survey-based and computational tools to infer molecular dynamics, community networks, and ecological interactions shaping the evolution of microbes in the wild.
Both approaches complement one another and are crucial to understanding the rules governing evolutionary dynamics at play in microbial ecosystems. This seminar will bring together scientists from across this complexity spectrum to share tools and ideas. By approaching microbial evolution and ecology from an integrative perspective and strategically designing diverse and avant-garde sessions, we aim to stimulate new conversations on core topics in the field, including the structure and function of microbial communities, population genomics, and co-evolutionary dynamics.
The seminar will be held prior to the GRC on Microbial Population Biology. It will include a presentation and Q&A with invited speakers who will share their experience incorporating experimental and field-based approaches in their work.
Note: Please apply early. We expect the conference & seminar to be over-subscribed. Although the official application deadline is not until June 11, we will begin reviewing applications as early as January and hope to have made most decisions by April.
Application Instructions
The seminar will feature approximately 10 talks and 2 poster sessions. All attendees are expected to actively participate in the GRS, either by giving an oral presentation or presenting a poster. Therefore, all applications must include an abstract.
The seminar chair will select speakers from abstracts submitted by April 2, 2023. Those applicants who are not chosen for talks and those who apply after the deadline to be considered for an oral presentation will be expected to present a poster. In order to participate, you must submit an application by the date indicated in the Application Information section above.
Program Format
Gordon Research Seminars are 2-day meetings which take place on the Saturday and Sunday just prior to the start of the associated GRC. The GRS opens with a 1-hour introductory session on Saturday afternoon, followed by a poster session, dinner and a 2-hour session in the evening. Sunday morning begins with breakfast and is followed by another 2-hour session, a second poster session, and lunch. A final 1-hour session takes place just after lunch, and the associated GRC begins later that evening.
