2026
Pittsburgh Rust Belt
Microbiome Conference
CONFERENCE PROGRAM
Thursday, November 5 |
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| 7:30am – 8:20am | Registration and Breakfast | |
| 8:20am – 8:25am | Opening Remarks Drew Bridges, PhD Carnegie Mellon University Luisa Hiller, PhD Carnegie Mellon University Barbara Methe, MD University of Pittsburgh |
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| 8:25am – 9:15am | Keynote: | |
| Dr. Graham Hatfull, HHMI Professor, University of Pittsburgh | ||
| 9:20am – 9:40am | TBA | |
| 9:40am – 10:00am | Break | |
| 10:00am – 11:45am |
Moderators: Dr. Timothy Hand PhD, University of Pittsburgh Anthony St. Leger PhD, University of Pittsburgh Speakers: 10:00am - 10:30am Anthony St. Leger PhD, University of Pittsburgh 10:30am - 10:50am Phillip Ahern PhD, Cleveland Clinic 10:50am - 11:10am Rachel Gottschalk PhD, University of Pittsburgh 11:10am - 11:30am Natalie Silver PhD, Cleveland Clinic 11:30-11:40 Selected from Abstracts |
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| 11:45am – 1:00pm | Lunch | |
| 1:00pm – 1:50pm | Keynote: | |
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Dr. Andrew Patterson, Penn State University |
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| 1:50pm – 2:20pm | Break and Poster Viewing and Coffee | |
| 2:20pm – 3:50pm | Moderated Poster Discussion with Interactive Groups | |
| 3:50pm – 5:30pm |
Moderator: Dr. Vincent Young MD, PhD, University of Michigan Speakers: 3:50pm - 4:20pm Vincent Young MD PhD, University of Michigan 4:20pm - 4:50pm Ryan Hunter PhD, University of Buffalo 4:50pm - 5:10pm Christina Farr PhD, Case Western University 5:10pm - 5:30pm Sam Light PhD, University of Chicago |
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| 5:30pm – 6:00pm | Walk to Reception | |
| 6:00pm – 8:00pm | Evening Reception, Phipps Botanical Gardens | |
Friday, November 6 |
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| 7:30am – 8:15am | Registration and Breakfast | |
| 8:15am – 8:35am | TBA | |
| 8:40am – 9:30am | Keynote: | |
| Dr. Jennie Kwon, Northwestern University | ||
| 9:30am – 10:30am |
Moderator: Dr. Jan Claesen PhD, Cleveland Clinic Speakers: 9:30am - 9:50am Illana Brito PhD, Cornell University 9:50am - 10:10am Marcy Balunas PhD, University of Michigan 10:10am - 10:30am Mark Mimee PhD, The University of Chicago |
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| 10:30am – 10:50am | Break | |
| 10:50am – 12:20pm |
Moderators: Dr. Laty Cahoon PhD, University of Pittsburgh Dr. Luisa Hiller PhD, Carnegie Mellon University Speakers: 10:50am - 11:20am Francis Alonzo PhD, University of Illinois in Chicago 11:20am - 11:40am Sampriti Mukherjee PhD, University of Chicago 11:40am - 12:00pm Julia van Kessel PhD, Indiana University Bloomington 12:00pm - 12:20pm Kelly Doran PhD, University of Colorado |
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| 12:20pm – 12:50pm | Collect Lunch | |
| 12:50pm – 1:30pm | Lunch and Keynote: | |
| Dr. Vaughn Cooper, University of Pittsburgh | ||
| 1:30pm – 1:40pm | Short Break | |
| 1:40pm – 3:20pm |
Moderators: Dr. Catherine Armbruster PhD, Carnegie Mellon University Dr. Daria van Tyne PhD, University of Pittsburgh Speakers: 1:40pm - 2:00pm Rebecca A. Keogh PhD, University of Pittsburgh 2:00pm - 2:20pm Skye Fishbein PhD, Ohio State University 2:20pm - 2:40pm John F. Brooks PhD, Princeton University 2:40pm - 3:00pm Michael Abt PhD, University of Pennsylvania 3:00pm - 3:20pm Judith Behnsen PhD, University of Illinois Chicago |
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| 3:20pm – 3:40pm | Abstract Awards and Closing Remarks Drew Bridges, PhD Carnegie Mellon University Luisa Hiller, PhD Carnegie Mellon University Barbara Methe, MD University of Pittsburgh |
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