Precision Microbiome Engineering Research

PreMiEr Spring 2025 Seminar Series Dr. Whitney Austin Gray, IWBI
2025-02-13 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York)
The NSF Engineering Research Center for Precision Microbiome Engineering (PreMiEr) invites you to another installment of the PreMiEr Spring 2025 Seminar Series on February 13th from Noon to 1pm on Zoom:
Dr. Whitney Austin Gray from the International WELL Building Institute: Translating Research to Practice: The WELL Building Standard
This series is open to the public, but non-PreMiEr members must register to receive the Zoom link. You need register only once for the entire series.
https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eYbQe8UIyZcOXHg

Student Leadership Council Journal Club
2025-02-06 12:00 - 13:00
Please see individual SLC Member invites from Dr. Megan Lott regarding topics for discussion at each meeting. SLC Journal Club meetings are for SLC Members and conducted by SLC Members.

PreMiEr Spring 2025 Seminar Series- Dr. Ameet Pinto, Georgia Institute of Technology
2025-01-28 12:00 - 13:00
The NSF Engineering Research Center for Precision Microbiome Engineering (PreMiEr) invites you to the second installment of the PreMiEr Spring 2025 Seminar Series on January 28th from Noon to 1pm on Zoom (note this is a Tuesday seminar, not our normal Thursday slot):
Dr. Ameet Pinto
Carlton S. Wilder Associate Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology
From Pathogen-centric to Microbiome-Inclusive Approaches to Enhance Water Safety
This series is open to the public, but non-PreMiEr members must register to receive the Zoom link. You need register only once for the entire series.
https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eYbQe8UIyZcOXHg

Student Leadership Council Journal Club
2025-01-23 12:00 - 13:00
Please see individual SLC Member invites from Dr. Megan Lott regarding topics for discussion at each meeting

PreMiEr Spring 2025 Seminar Series- Dr. Amy Mathers, University of Virginia
2025-01-16 12:00 - 13:00
The NSF Engineering Research Center for Precision Microbiome Engineering (PreMiEr) invites you to the first installment of the PreMiEr Spring 2025 Seminar Series on January 16th from Noon to 1pm on Zoom:
Dr. Amy J. Mathers from the Medicine Division (Infectious Diseases) at the University of Virginia will be presenting a seminar entitled “Down the Drain: Uncovering Antimicrobial Resistance in Healthcare Plumbing”.
This series is open to the public, but non-PreMiEr members must register to receive the Zoom link. You need register only once for the entire series.
https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eYbQe8UIyZcOXHg

Fall 2024 DCI Book Club
2024-12-03 12:00 - 13:00, 2024-11-19 12:00 - 13:00, 2024-11-05 12:00 - 13:00, 2024-10-22 12:00 - 13:00, 2024-10-08 12:00 - 13:00, 2024-09-24 12:00 - 13:00, 2024-09-10 12:00 - 13:00
The PreMiEr Diversity and Inclusion leadership presents the Fall 2024 Book Club selection: We’re All Neurodiverse by Sonny Jane Wise.
Meeting biweekly during the semester, each meeting will discuss 1-2 chapters of the book.

September 10: Chapters 1 & 2
September 24: Chapters 3 & 4
October 8: Chapter 5
October 22: Chapter 6
November 5: Chapter 7
November 19: Chapter 8
December 3: Chapter 9
Additional dates TBD

Those who registered should have a Zoom link on their calendars.
Sign Up Link: https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eD60jWqOsEQRczA

PreMiEr SLC Journal Club
2024-11-21 12:00 - 13:00, 2024-10-24 12:00 - 13:00, 2024-10-03 12:00 - 13:00, 2024-09-19 12:00 - 13:00, 2024-09-05 12:00 - 13:00
The PreMiEr Scholar’s Leadership Council invites all scholars in the ERC (undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, and research staff) to join in a spirited discussion and analysis of a published manuscript of relevance to the center’s vision and mission. Please check your emails or contact Megan Lott (melott@unc.edu) with any questions or for the Zoom link.

PreMiEr Fall 2024 Seminar Series | David Frenze, PS&S
2024-11-14 12:00 - 13:00
The NSF Engineering Research Center for Precision Microbiome Engineering (PreMiEr) invites you to the next installment of the PreMiEr Fall 2024 Seminar Series on November 14th from Noon to 1pm on Zoom:
David Frenze
PE, LEED AP
Senior Director, PS&S

Indoor air quality (IAQ) threats and commercially available and emerging technologies employed to mitigate IAQ threats

Indoor air quality(IAQ) is a hot topic affecting building design and construction practices, current and emerging building codes, reference standards, and federally regulated environmental standards globally. We will summarize known biological, chemical, and ultra-fine airborne particulate (PM2.5) IAQ threats that impact the built indoor environment and the human microbiome. Next, we will provide an overview of currently available and emerging mitigation technologies together with how each technology is applied, tested, monitored, and ultimately qualified and verified as accepted practice in the current building design world.
This series is open to the public, but non-PreMiEr members must register to receive the Zoom link. You need register only once for the entire series.
Register at https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0Pzn6Zv6XjNwKlE

Girl Scouts Technoquest
2024-11-09
Raleigh, NC
5-10 PreMiEr participants needed to help kids with hands-on STEM activities.
Contact Holly Leddy if interested in volunteering.

Microbiome of the Built Environment (MoBE) Industry Summit - Day 2
2024-11-07 08:30 - 11:30
PreMiEr is pleased to invite you to this inaugural symposium in Fall 2024. This event that we are calling an “Industry Summit” is focused on bringing together stakeholders from Industry, non-profits, the public, and regulatory agencies working in the field of the Microbiome of Built-Environment (MoBE). The focus of this inaugural symposium will be to discuss a Roadmap to standard-setting in MoBE.
Why attend this PreMiEr Industry Summit?
* Participants engage in networking with PreMiEr faculty, students, and each other
* Understand current PreMiEr research efforts and potentially help shape future work
* Workshop participation: A white paper compiling the discussion on microbiome sampling and characterization techniques for low-biomass built-environments
See this page for more information: https://premier-microbiome.org/2024-premier-industry-summit/

Microbiome of the Built Environment (MoBE) Industry Summit
2024-11-06

PreMiEr Fall 2024 Seminar Series | Speaker Dr. Paul Turner
2024-10-31 12:00 - 13:00
The NSF Engineering Research Center for Precision Microbiome Engineering (PreMiEr) invites you to the next installment of the PreMiEr Fall 2024 Seminar Series on October 31st from Noon to 1pm on Zoom:
Speaker: Dr. Paul Turner

Leveraging evolutionary trade-offs in the development of phage therapy

The rise of antibiotic resistance warrants exploration of novel approaches to target and kill bacterial pathogens. Phage therapy offers a possible alternative, but a downside is the ability for target bacteria to evolve phage resistance. I develop phages that steer evolutionary ‘trade-offs’: these viruses bind to virulence factors of target bacteria to select for phage-resistance that compromises the function of structures responsible for bacterial pathogenicity. This approach is demonstrated in personalized medicine, where phage ‘steering’ in patients provides clinical benefits, such as changing the infecting bacteria to become re-sensitized to chemical antibiotics and decreasing their ability to cause tissue inflammation.
This series is open to the public, but non-PreMiEr members must register to receive the Zoom link. You need register only once for the entire series.
Register at https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0Pzn6Zv6XjNwKlE

PreMiEr Fall 2024 Seminar Series | Dr. Caitlin Proctor
2024-10-10 12:00 - 13:00
The NSF Engineering Research Center for Precision Microbiome Engineering (PreMiEr) invites you to the next installment of the PreMiEr Fall 2024 Seminar Series on October 10th from Noon to 1pm on Zoom:
Dr. Caitlin Proctor

Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering & Environmental and Ecological Engineering
Purdue University
Holistic Considerations for Stagnation in Plumbing

Stagnation in plumbing has been linked to a myriad of physicochemical and microbial water quality issues. While many studies on plumbing stagnation were conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic to assess real-time risk associated with building closures, these lacked control, knowledge of plumbing materials, and appropriate controls. This talk will highlight a study that used a fully controlled plumbing testing facility with four identical systems operated with daily, weekly, biweekly, and monthly flushing to assess the role of building operation in water quality changes holistically. Stagnation played a major role in scale formation, chemical leaching, and microbial community changes, with clear implications for sulfate metabolisms. By understanding these reactions mechanistically at-scale, we create a better context for controlling this sensitive ecosystem.
This series is open to the public, but non-PreMiEr members must register to receive the Zoom link. You need register only once for the entire series.
Register at https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0Pzn6Zv6XjNwKlE

Fall Workshop Series - Overview of microbiome informatics
2024-10-07 14:30 - 17:00
For PreMiEr members and affiliates – check your emails and newsletter for instructions to register.

Virtual (Zoom) | 2:30 – 5 pm.
Taught by Dr. Anthony Fodor of UNC Charlotte, this workshop is intended to give an overview of topics related to analyzing bioinformatic data sets related to microbiomes of the built environment.
Registration closes: September 30th

Hoke County Schools Indian Education STEM Day
2024-10-05
PreMiEr Community Outreach Event

CANCELED - PreMiEr Fall 2024 Seminar Series
2024-09-26 12:00 - 13:00
THE SEMINAR FOR SEPTEMBER 26TH HAS BEEN CANCELLED

Duke University Graduate Boot Camp (in person)
2024-09-18 - 2024-09-20
Presented by PreMiEr, ATHENA, and the Pratt School of Engineering:
For students interested in pursuing a Master’s or PhD in Engineering and/or Computer Science.
In-person Session
September 18-20, 2024
Insights: Get information to help you decide if graduate school is right for you
Funding: Learn about graduate admissions, funding opportunities, and how to develop a strong application
Connections: Meet faculty and graduate students in your areas of research interest.
Save the date!

PreMiEr Fall 2024 Seminar Series | Dr. Rob Dunn
2024-09-12 12:00 - 13:00
The NSF Engineering Research Center for Precision Microbiome Engineering (PreMiEr) invites you to the next installment of the PreMiEr Fall 2024 Seminar Series on September 12th from Noon to 1pm on Zoom:
Dr. Rob Dunn

Senior Vice Provost for University Interdisciplinary Programs
William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor in the Department of Applied Ecology
North Carolina State University
The future of human mutualisms, including those in our homes

For ecologists and evolutionary biologists, mutualisms are mutually beneficial relationships between or among species. For most of prehistory and parts of history, these mutualisms have been measured, tacitly, in terms of the fitness benefits to each partner. That is, does each partner have more children that survive to reproduce than in what when going it alone. Obviously, in our modern contexts, this is no longer the metric we seek to use. But what then? How do we judge our relationships? Dunn asks this question while also highlighting the extent to which non-human species have often been as much in control of human mutualisms as have humans. This is true for human-honeyguide as well as human-dolphin and human-whale mutualisms. It is arguably the case for history human-yeast-grain mutualisms. Dunn concludes the talk by turning back to daily, indoor lives in which mutualisms still abound but, intriguingly, are controlled as much by tacit aspects of traditional knowledge (this is how one makes sourdough bread) and subconscious decisions as they are by conscious decisions. What does and should this mean with regard to how we engineer new mutualisms in our homes? Dunn does not answer this question. In fact, he answers none of the questions he poses but instead opens them up for discussion, after the talk, but, also, over the next decade or so.
This series is open to the public, but non-PreMiEr members must register to receive the Zoom link. You need register only once for the entire series.
Register at https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0Pzn6Zv6XjNwKlE

Fall Workshop Series - Overview of microbiome lab techniques
2024-09-09 13:00 - 16:00
For PreMiEr members and affiliates – check your emails and newsletter for instructions to register.

Virtual (Zoom) | 1 – 4 pm.
Taught by Dr. Cynthia Gibas and Dr. Jessica Schlueter of UNC Charlotte, this workshop is intended to give an overview of lab techniques relevant to sampling and analyzing microbiomes of the built environment.
Registration closes: September 2nd

Waccamaw Siouan STEM Day
2024-09-07
Lake Waccamaw, NC
5 PreMiEr participants needed to help kids with hands-on STEM activities.
Contact Holly Leddy if interested in volunteering.
