Important toxin helps the cholera bacterium to survive
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Picture: Sun Nyunt Wai (leading PI), Aftab Nadeem (first author) and Karina Persson (leading PI). Credit: Mattias Petterson.
Infection researchers at Umeå University have discovered that the cholera bacterium can produce a toxin that is considered particularly important for the bacterium in its natural environments and for survival in competition with other organisms. Knowledge about this toxin means that there is another tool that can be used in the fight against cholera and similar diseases. The study is published in PNAS.
We cordially invite you to join us for the UCMR Day 2022, which will be held on campus at Aula Nordica!
Scientists and staff members within UCMR (Umeå Centre for Microbial Research) research groups, collaboration partners and researchers with an interest in microbial research and/or infection biology are invited to a day of inspiring research presentations and an excellent opportunity for networking and initiation of multidisciplinary collaborations.
This one-day conference includes two international keynotes, scientific presentations by UCMR affiliated researchers, selected abstract talks and poster elevator pitches as well as physical poster presentations. We are all longing to meet in person again, so the program includes several possibilities for UCMR scientists to interact and network with each other.
The day will be held at Aula Nordica, but there will be the possibility to follow the programme online.
More information and registration on the conference webpage www.ucmrday2022.se. Deadline for submission of abstracts is Dec 12th!
Keynote speakers:
Kayla King, Department of Zoology, Oxford University Päivi Ojala, Department of Pathology, University of Helsinki
Workshop in Translational Science
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The Workshop in Translational Science aims at creating awareness among the participants about what are the necessary steps for translating their research findings, with the end goal of stimulating collaborations between industry and preclinical research. This workshop combines talks by inspirational speakers with group discussions and a panel discussion. The target audience for this workshop are researchers in the early stages of their careers active in Life Science, but we welcome anyone who has an interest in getting new inspirations.
Invited speakers
Jennie Ekbeck, Umeå Biotech Incubator
Ove Nilsson, UPSC and SweTree Technologies AB
Jörgen Johansson, Dept of Molecular Biology and QureTech Bio AB
Stefan Nilsson, CEO Lipigon Pharmaceuticals AB
Johan Trygg, Dept of Chemistry and Sartorius
Martin Rosvall, Dept of Physics and IceLab
Pernilla Wikström, Dept of Medical Biosciences
Niklas Arnberg, Dept of Clinical Microbiology
Charlotta Sundin, Industrial Doctoral School (IDS)
When: Dec 15, 13:00-16:00
Where: Onsite in Lilla Hörsalen, KBC, and online. The onsite attendancy is limited to 70 persons.
Deadline for registration Dec 8! Please register here: Registration
Upcoming seminars: UCMR Distinguished Guests Seminar Series
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We invite you to join the following seminars in the scope of the UCMR Distinguished Guests Seminars Series!
Please register to get access to all seminars that will be part of the series during this semester: Registration
November 22 2021, 14:00-15:00 Venue: via Zoom
Urs Greber University of Zurich, Switzerland Title of the talk: “Adenovirus cell-to-cell infection variability” Host PI: Niklas Arnberg
Professor Dr. Urs Greber is a cell biologist and virologist. He is a full professor at the Department of Molecular Life Sciences of the University of Zürich. Urs Greber graduated from the ETH Zürich with a PhD degree in Biotechnology and trained in yeast genetics at the Swiss Institute of Experimental Cancer Research in Lausanne. He was a postdoctoral scientist at the Research Institute of Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, CA, and Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, USA. In 2007, he co-founded the start-up company 3V-Biosciences (now Sagimet Biosciences located in San Mateo, CA, USA) developing treatments of unmet diseases. Professor Greber is an expert in virus infection biology with more than 138 publications in journals, and over 13300 citations. He is internationally recognized for his activities as a section editor with PLoS Pathogens, an editor of FEMS reviews and FEBS Letters. He received more than 10 Mio Euro of grant funding over more than 25 years, and holds patents with academia and industry. His recent work employs systems analyses, and investigates innate immunity in human DNA and RNA viruses, leading to new insights into the cell-to-cell variability of virus infections.
November 30 2021, 11:00-12:00 Venue: via Zoom
Feng Shao National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing, China Title of the talk: “Pyroptosis in antibacterial & antitumor immunity” Host PI: Yaowen Wu
Dr. Feng Shao is an investigator and the deputy director for academic affairs at the National Institute of Biological Sciences in Beijing, China, with a research focus on molecular mechanisms of bacterial infection and host innate immunity defense. Feng Shao graduated from Medical School at the University of Michigan with a PhD in Biological chemistry and did his postdoctoral training at University of California, School of Medicine, and Harvard Medical School, with focus on Bacterial pathogenesis and Ubiquitin signaling. Using pathogens such as Shigella, Salmonella, Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), Legionella and Burkholderia as the model, Dr. Feng Shao discovered and revealed some novel and common biochemical mechanisms utilized by bacterial effectors in modulating host signal transduction pathways. These discoveries for the first time identify the inflammasome receptor dedicated for bacteria, establish a biochemical framework of cytosolic antibacterial immunity, and also explain how innate immunity distinguishes pathogens from non-pathogenic microbes. For his most current projects, he received more than 3.7 Mio Euro of grant funding. He is member of Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Call for postdoctoral projects to Principal Investigators
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With the aim to strengthen world-class research activities in Umeå, Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR) and Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC), the two national Centres of Excellence, in collaboration with other research centres will launch a new ‘Excellence by Choice’ Postdoctoral Programme (EC Postdoctoral Programme). The programme is funded by Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, Kempe Foundation and Umeå University with Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier as patron and mentor of the programme.
The programme will fund postdoctoral fellowships and organize activities to strengthen networking and collaborations. The programme aims to recruit 17 postdocs on fellowships through three international calls for 5-6 fellowships each.
