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Microbial microproteins as mediators of microbe-microbe and microbe-host communication and warfare Dr Ami Bhatt (Stanford University) showcases her work on understanding the impact (positive and negative) of the microbiome on immunocompromised patient outcomes. Hosted by Professor Adele Fielding.
Event details
Abstract
This presentation will focus on recent developments in the study of microbial microproteins. After the discovery thousands of new families of these microproteins (<=50aa) we developed a method to annotate these microproteins in metagenomes and metatranscriptomes. To better understand the functions of these microproteins, we have been working on methods to investigate their roles in microbe-microbe warfare, quorum sensing, and microbe-host crosstalk. In this talk, I will present progress made in all three of these areas. Firstly, I will present our findings on the discovery of new, highly potent antimicrobial peptides derived from microproteins. Secondly, I will discuss a novel quorum sensing system that we identified in Enterococcus faecalis. Finally, I will introduce a platform that we have developed for screening microbial agonists and antagonists of human signaling receptors, which could provide new insights into microbe-host interactions. Overall, this presentation will highlight the importance of studying microbial microproteins and their functions, and provide unpublished insights into their potential roles in various microbial processes and host-microbe interactions.
About the speaker
Dr Ami Bhatt
Ami S. Bhatt is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Genetics at Stanford University. She received her MD and PhD from the University of California, San Francisco, followed by residency, chief residency and fellowship at Harvard Medical School and the Broad Institute.
Prof. Bhatt has received multiple awards including the Chen Award of Excellence from the Human Genome Organisation (HUGO), the Distinguished Investigator Award from the Paul Allen Foundation, and the Sloan Foundation Fellowship; she is also an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation. Her laboratory develops and applies novel molecular and computational tools to study strain level dynamics of the microbiome, to understand how microbial genomes change over time and predict the functional output of microbiomes. She is keenly interested to understand how microbes “talk” to one another and to host cells, and to leverage this understanding to improve health and treat diseases. She has also worked collaboratively to mine microbial enzymes from mobile genetic elements and develop these as genome editing/engineering tools.
Dr. Bhatt is also strongly committed to leading efforts to give back and ensure equity and access in research and medicine. She carries out research with the H3Africa Genomics Consortium, volunteer work with the non-profit she co-founded, Global Oncology, and helped co-found the Cold Spring Harbor Microbiome Symposium.
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