Six world-renowned researchers have agreed to be keynote speakers at the inaugural Microbiome Symposium 2019 at Purdue University with the focus of "Predicting and Controlling Microbiomes for Health, Industry, and the Environment."

The three goals of this symposium are to:

1. advance the science and translation of managing of microbial ecosystems for the improvement of human health, industrial processes, and environmental sustainability;
2. generate networking opportunities for scientists interested in harnessing microbiomes to build relationships across the University, the Midwest, and the Nation; and
3. foster Purdue’s emerging, multi-disciplinary applied microbiome research community.

The keynote speakers will be addressing the following six key areas: 

• Plants: Jan E. Leach (Colorado State, started Phytobiomes Initiative)
• Insects: Seth Bordenstein (Vanderbilt, associate director of the Vanderbilt Microbiome Initiative)
• Soil: Mary K. Firestone (UC Berkley, member of the National Academy of Sciences)
• Biotechnology: Michael Fischbach (Stanford University, NIH Director’s Pioneer Award recipient)
• Production Animals: Bryan White (Mayo Clinic and University of Illinois Alliance for Technology Based Healthcare)
• Humans: Liping Zhao (Rutgers University, Eveleigh-Fenton Chair of Applied Microbiology)

The symposium aligns with Purdue’s Giant Leaps celebration, acknowledging the university’s global advancements made in health as part of Purdue’s 150th anniversary. This is one of the four themes of the yearlong celebration’s Ideas Festival, designed to showcase Purdue as an intellectual center solving real-world issues.

For updates on the symposium, and more information about the keynote speakers