UNC Microbiome Core

Join us for our First Friday Microbiome Seminar! 🦠 📅 Sept. 4 | 12 PM 📍 Marsico Hall 2004 + Zoom Hear from Andrea Azcarate-Peril on engineering microbial ecosystems and Aaron Koh on how S. pneumoniae may restrict influenza A infection. 🍕 Pizza provided!

Huge congratulations to Nehal and Amy on successfully defending their honors theses!🎉 Both of you did an amazing job presenting your work. It’s exciting to see such thoughtful research on microbial co-culture dynamics and nutrient-driven interactions. Wishing you both all the best for what’s next🚀

📣 April First Friday Microbiome Seminar! Two great talks on host–microbiome interactions & drug response: 🔬 HNF4α & antiviral immunity by @crivetnoor.bksy.social 💊 Phase IV metabolism & drug absorption by Rachel DuMez-Kornegay 🗓 Apr 10 | 12 PM 📍 MEJ 3112 🍕 Pizza provided! #Microbiome #UNC

Nivi is at the @abrf.bsky.social ABRF 2026 Annual Meeting presenting a poster on miniaturization of 16S sequencing at the UNC Microbiome Core. If you’re here, come find us—would love to connect! #ABRF2026 #Microbiome

🦠 First Friday Microbiome Seminar 坲March is coming！ 📅 March 6 | 12 PM 📍 Marsico Hall 2004 (+ Zoom) zoom.us/j/92459436676 Dr. José M. Bruno-Bárcena (NC State) will discuss how packed-bed reactors help us study microbial communities under flow and stress. #Microbiome #Biofilms #FFMS

🚀 Launching a new seminar series on the statistical & bioinformatics analysis of microbiome data! Feb 20 | 2 PM at Bioinformatics Bldg, Rm 1131 Opening talk: “Background on 16S rRNA Amplicon Sequencing Data Sets and Data Analysis” #Microbiome #Bioinformatics

🎉 Our first FFMS of the Spring semester is coming! 🗓 Fri, Feb 6 | 🕛 12 PM 📍 Marsico Hall 7004 + Zoom 🎤 Orlando Arguello-Miranda (NC State): Generative AI & Microbiome Imaging 🌱 Trainee talks + 🍕 pizza! 🔗 Zoom: zoom.us/j/99259726129

Had the best time at our UNC Microbiome Core year-end gathering tonight! 💙✨ We had an amazing potluck feast and a chaotic, hilarious white elephant exchange. Wishing you all a cozy winter break, and excited for another year of discoveries, collaboration, and good vibes ahead.

Our last FFMS seminar of the semester is this Friday at 12 pm! 🎉 Join us for talks by Bai Li, PhD and Olivia Maurer, PhD candidate, covering urban wastewater microbiomes and infant gut HMO processing. 📍 Marsico Hall 2004 + Zoom 🍕 Pizza provided! #FFMS #microbiome

Thrilled to share that Yunan Hu just passed her PhD Qualifying Exam! 🎉

🌟 Welcome our new BBSP rotation student, Inhwan Choi! Originally from Suwon, South Korea, Inhwan is a first-year grad student at UNC studying gut microbiota and intestinal immunity. He’s developing a mucus model to explore prebiotic effects on the gut barrier. 🧫🧠

We were thrilled to attend ASM-NC 2025 in Greensboro, where we presented our latest work on co-cultures of Lactobacillus responding to different carbohydrates. 🎉 A huge congratulations to Nehal for winning the Best Poster Award! 🙌 Thanks everyone (Yunan, Abe, Amy) who contribute to this project!

Join us for the First Friday Microbiome Seminar #FFMS 📅 Nov 7, 12 PM | Marsico Hall 2004 + Zoom: zoom.us/j/95873962698 Talks by Dr. Folami Ideraabdullah (UNC) on diet × microbiome × sex effects & Özge Kuddar (NCSU) on bias in microbiome analysis. 🍕 Pizza served!

📢 First Friday Microbiome Seminar (Oct 3, 12pm, Marsico 2004 + Zoom)! Talks by: 🔹 Amanda Nelson, PhD – microbiome & osteoarthritis in humans + dogs 🔹 Ourania Raftopoulou – CRISPR in Bifidobacterium lactis 🍕 Pizza will be served. Hope to see you all! #FFMS

Nivi represented UNC Microbiome Core at the 2025 MAD SSCi Annual Conference, hosted by VCU Massey Cancer Center. We shared our services, learned from fellow core directors, and explored new ways to collaborate & promote science in our community. #Microbiome #Cores

If anyone happens to be around UNC Chapel Hill this week, I'll be speaking on Tuesday: www.med.unc.edu/cgibd/event/... @microbiomeunc.bsky.social #microbiome

First Friday Seminar is back 🎉 📍 Marsico Hall 2004 + Zoom 🗓️ Fri Sept 5, 12 pm Talks on microbes, fear circuits & gut metabolites! 🍕 Pizza served 🔗 zoom.us/j/97951195489 #Microbiome #UNC

Had a great undergrad lab meeting today 🎉 Our team shared their work on the Lactobacillus–nutrient response project — from growth curves to qPCR, chemical assays, and knockouts. So proud of how much they’ve grown, and it’s amazing to see how collaboration makes the whole project stronger! 💡🧫

We had a fantastic time at the Gordon Research Conference on Lactic Acid Bacteria 2025 last week! It was a great opportunity to connect, share science, and get inspired. Shoutout to Yunan Hu for being elected co-chair of GRS 2027 🎉 Grateful to be part of such an amazing community!

Join us for First Friday Microbiome Seminar in June! 📅June 6 |🕚11am |📍Marsico Hall 2004 We have two speakers: Dr. Benjamin Parker @ben-parker.bsky.social (UNC Biology), and Dr. Abigail Shahar Gancz (postdoc fellow at NCSU) Come and join us in person on June 6! #FMT #HostMicrobe #Lipidomics #FFMS

Today is World Digestive Health Day！ As we continue to uncover the links between the gut microbiota and human health, its clear that supporting a healthy microbiome is key to long-term health. Let’s celebrate our digestive system and the microbial communities that help keep it running. #WDHD2025

We had a great time today at the NC Microbiome Symposium! So many inspiring talks and meaningful conversations. It was wonderful to reconnect with familiar faces and meet new ones who share a passion for microbiome science. Let’s continue working together to advance microbiome research! #Microbiome

We had a sweet celebration during this week’s lab meeting — congratulations to our wonderful graduate student Yunan on her recent marriage! Thank you to everyone who helped make it special, especially for the delicious homemade cake. Wishing Yunan all the best in this exciting new chapter!

#AGS2025 in Chicago! Our MD trainee Madelyn Bullard (Claire) presented her poster at the American Geriatrics Society Annual Meeting, showcasing her research on how GOS supplementation influences gut microbiota composition and function in lactose-intolerant adults over 55. Great job, Claire!

We gathered today to celebrate a major milestone for our clinical trial on how prebiotics influence human gut health! Huge thanks to everyone who contributed their time and effort to make this possible. Grateful for the teamwork-onward to data analysis and bringing this project to the finish line!

Our talented undergrad Weston from the UNC Biology Department just presented his poster on designing qPCR primers to quantify bacterial consortia abundance in C. difficile mice. Fantastic work and well-deserved recognition—great job, Weston!

Just published! Our lab explore the gut microbial side of a well-known human enzyme DPP-4. While hDPP-4 is a major target in diabetes treatment, its microbial counterparts (mDPP-4) remain understudied. We dive into mDPP-4 structure and function. Congrats Mashael! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

The 2024 UNC School of Medicine Annual Report is here! Congratulations to our incredible research community and thank you for your dedication to advancing medical research. Read more in the latest OoR Newsletter: www.med.unc.edu/oor/wp-conte...

Join us in welcoming our new undergrad student, Amy🎉 Amy is a junior majoring in Biology and Nutrition. Her passion for microbiome lead her to explore its role in human health. Outside of the lab, Amy enjoys drawing, taking walks, and experimenting with new Korean recipes.

At UNC Microbiology and Immunology Retreat 2025, our graduate student Yunan is presenting a flash talk about her work on prebiotic GOS combined with rationally designed bacterial consortia on preventing C. difficile infection. Really nice talk and poster presentation!

Join us for the First Friday Microbiome Seminar on March 7 at 11 am in Marsico Hall, Room 6004! Science cannot and will not be stopped. Come enjoy two amazing presentations and, of course, bagels!

Has the two decades of research on the gut microbiome resulted in making healthier choices? Please check out our newly released article about the impacts of well-supported microbiome research on human health

Great talk today by Dr. Andrea! She introduced the change of gut microbiome during aging and highlighted the role of prebiotics and bacterial consortia in against pathogen infections. She also shared insights on how the Microbiome Core collaborates across projects to advance microbiome research

Join us for an insightful seminar by Dr. Andrea Azcarate-Peril, Director of the UNC Microbiome Core, on A Robust and Well-Balanced Gut Microbiome: Strength and Defense Against GI Infections. February 11, 2025 12:00-1:00 PM Mary Ellen Jones 3116 or Zoom #UNCChildren’sResearchInstitute #GutMicrobiome

Great discussion at today’s #FFM! Two speakers from NCSU shared insights on designing genetically engineered probiotics for human health, including a fascinating example of modifying vitamin production in probiotic yeast and examine in vivo colonization of yeast in mice gut. #Microbiome #Probiotics

Come and join us at 11am at Marsico Hall 2004 for the Microbiome seminar!