2021 Midwest Microbial Pathogenesis Conference

Friday, September 17, 2021 

12  p.m.*

Registration is open from 12  - 7 p.m.

Biomedical and Physical Science (BPS) West Lawn

4 p.m.

Welcome Reception with Strolling Dinner and Yard Games

• Bring your posters for set up

BPS West Lawn

6:45 p.m.

Session 1 - Opening Session

• Welcome
• Neal Hammer and Chris Waters, Michigan State University
• Intravital microscopy reveals the importance of spirochetal motility and mechanisms of immune evasion in the development of Lyme disease
• Mark Wooten, University of Toledo
• Pushing the Envelope: Virulence Functions of Francisella tularensis Hypothetical Proteins
• Jason Huntley, University of Toledo

Primary Speaker Space

CEM - 138 

Additional Presentation Viewing

BPS - 1410 

BPS - 1415 

8  p.m.

Session 2 - Current Perspectives On Fungal Pathogens

• The mechanism and dynamics of acquired of antifungal drug resistance in Candida species
  • Anna Selmecki, University of Minnesota

• Genetic Approaches for Understanding Fungal Pathogenesis: Harnessing the Awesome Power of Yeast Genetic
  • Teresa O’Meara, University of Michigan

• Fungal-Bacterial Interactions in Non-healing Wounds
  • Lindsay Kalan, University of Wisconsin –Madison
    
    
• A New Genetic Toolset Reveals Regulators of Candida auris Morphogenesis
  • Darian Santana, University of Michigan

Primary Speaker Space

CEM - 138 

Additional Presentation Viewing

BPS - 1410 

BPS - 1415 

9:15 p.m.

Concluding Remarks

• Neal Hammer and Chris Waters, Michigan State University

Primary Speaker Space

CEM - 138 

Additional Presentation Viewing

BPS - 1410 

BPS - 1415 

Saturday, September 18, 2021  

7 a.m.

Registration (open from 7 a.m. - 6 p.m.)

BPS Atrium

7  a.m.

Breakfast

Sparty’s Store in BPS Atrium

BPS West Lawn Outside Seating 

8:30 a.m.

Session 3 - Host-Pathogen Host-Microbiome Interactions

• A multipurpose ribosome hibernation factor in Staphylococcus aureus
  • Mee-Ngan F Yap, Northwestern University
• Pseudomonas aeruginosa CdiA contributes to interbacterial antagonism and virulence
  • Jonathan Allen, Loyola University Chicago
• The role of ISGylation in pathogen spread
  • Lilli Radoshevich, University of Iowa
• Helicobacter pylori activates STING signaling via cag type IV secretion  system activity
  • Cecily Wood, University of Kentucky

Primary Speaker Space

CEM - 138 

Additional Presentation Viewing

BPS - 1410 

BPS - 1415 

9:45 a.m.

Coffee Break

Sparty’s Store in BPS Atrium

BPS West Lawn Outside Seating 

10  a.m.

Session 4 - Gene Regulation and New Models of Pathogenesis

• Where am I and what should I do? Insights on how the Lyme disease spirochete regulates production of virulence proteins
  • Brian Stevenson, University of Kentucky
• Modulating flagella-mediated motility in Salmonella
  • Johanna Elfenbein, University of Wisconsin—Madison
• Mechanisms of Mycobacterium tuberculosis pathogenesis
  • Christina Stallings, Washington University in St. Louis
• Temperature influences the composition and cytotoxicity of extracellular vesicles in Staphylococcus aureus
  • Paul Briaud, Ohio University

Primary Speaker Space

CEM - 138 

Additional Presentation Viewing

BPS - 1410 

BPS - 1415 

11:15  a.m.

Lunch

BPS West Lawn

12:30 p.m.

COVID Panel

• Viral Genome Evolution
  • Vaughn Cooper, University of Pittsburgh
• ACE2 Receptor
  • Bruce Uhal, Michigan State University
• Epidemiology
  • Sandip Shah, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

Primary Speaker Space

CEM - 138 

Additional Presentation Viewing

BPS - 1410 

BPS - 1415 

1:30 p.m.

Session 5 - Controlling Bacterial Infections

• Birds of a feather enteritis together: A tale of lorikeets, Clostridium and the gut microbiome
  • Vanessa Hale, Ohio State University
• Impact of psychosocial stress on host-microbe interactions at the mucosal surface
  • Michael Bailey, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
• Rewiring the host Hippo signaling pathway during Legionella pneumophila infection
  • Pei-Chung Lee, Wayne State University
• Listeria monocytogenes GlmR is an accessory uridyltransferase  essential for cytosolic survival and virulence.
  • Kimberly Gutierrez, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Primary Speaker Space

CEM - 138 

Additional Presentation Viewing

BPS - 1410 

BPS - 1415 

2:45 p.m.

Poster Session and Afternoon Networking Reception

• See Swoogo for abstracts

BPS Atrium’s and First Floor Hallways

4:45 p.m.

Session 6 - Molecular Mechanisms of Pathogenesis

• Engineered decoy receptors as potent neutralizers of SARS-CoV-2 variants and therapeutic candidates for the treatment of COVID
  • Erik Procko, University of Illinois
• Stress response systems in Brucella
  • Sean Crosson, Michigan State University
• Targeting disulfide bond formation in bacteria
  • Cristina Landeta, Indiana University Bloomington
• Nitric oxide stimulates type IV MSHA pilus retraction in Vibrio cholerae via activation of the phosphodiesterase CdpA
  • Hannah Hughes, Indiana University Bloomington

Primary Speaker Space

CEM - 138 

Additional Presentation Viewing

BPS - 1410 

BPS - 1415 

6 p.m.

7 p.m.

Keynote Address:
Quorum Sensing Across Domains: From Viruses To Bacteria To Eukaryotes

• Bonnie Bassler, Princeton University

 Concluding Remarks

• Neal Hammer, Michigan State University
• Chris Waters, Michigan State University

Primary Speaker Space

CEM - 138 

Additional Presentation Viewing

BPS - 1410 

BPS - 1415 

7:15 p.m.

Dinner on Your Own and Planning Committee Meeting