An appreciation of the size and scope of microbiomes creates new curiosities: How do these cells interact in generating complex functions that affect their host organisms?

Understanding the rules that govern how microbial communities are constructed and how they interact is the key to unlocking the potential of the microbiome, from clinical diagnostics to bioengineering.

In this talk, C. Brandon Ogbunu will explore the possible existence of fundamental rules governing how the microbes that construct larger communities interact. To accomplish this, he will discuss research across several fields — including molecular microbiology, population genetics, ecology and applied mathematics — all toward understanding the mystery and caprice of the microbiome, one of the most complex biological systems in the known universe.

Ogbunu is an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University, an external professor at the Santa Fe Institute and currently the MLK Jr. Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a computational biologist whose research investigates complex problems in epidemiology, biomedicine, genetics and evolution.

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SCHEDULE

Doors open: 5:30 p.m. (No entrance before 5:30 p.m.)

Lecture: 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (Admittance closes at 6:20 p.m.)

The Gerald D. Fischbach Auditorium complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and offers accessible seating to visitors with special access needs.

The theme of the 2023 Simons Foundation Presidential Lecture series in biology is Microbiomes. Microscopic lifeforms live just about everywhere on Earth — in the deep ocean, suspended in the atmosphere and even in our planet’s interior. Microbial communities can even thrive within plants and animals, affecting the biology and biochemistry inside their hosts. On the environmental scale, microbial communities profoundly impact food chains, biogeochemical cycling and climate. This series of talks will explore microbiomes and their roles in specific hosts and environments.

THE SEARCH FOR FUNDAMENTAL RULES UNDERLYING HOW MICROBIOMES ARE CONSTRUCTED