Wednesday Nite at the Lab
Feb. 22 update: Due to icy roads, Caitlin Calhoun will give her talk tonight to Wednesday Nite @ The Lab by zoom.
You can zoom at go.wisc.edu/240r59.
You can also watch the livestream at the WN@TL YouTube site at https://www.youtube.com/@
Due to the late hour of this announcement, I’ll (Tom Zinnen) still be at Room 1111 Genetics Biotech Center to welcome folks who do not hear about the change.
media release: WN@TL goes hybrid both with Zoom and with in-person (Room 1111) presentations. The zoom registration link is still go.wisc.edu/240r59. You can also watch a live web stream at on YouTube.
On February 22 we celebrate the start of the 18th year of Wednesday Nite @ The Lab as a weekly series with Caitlin Calhoun of bacteriology speaking on “Ants and ANTibiotics.”
Description: Since 2009, the Leaf Cutter Ant Display has been an iconic attraction for public visitors to The Microbe Place located on the first floor of the Microbial Sciences Building for over a decade. Join us as we learn how the ants got there and where they’re going, and how they are integral in the search for new antibiotics as well as the fight against resistance to old antibiotics.
Bio: Caitlin Calhoun researches the ecology and evolution of insects and their associated microbial symbionts. She received her BS in Biological Sciences and Conservation and Environmental Science at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. During her undergrad she worked as a freshwater microbiologist isolating and culturing actinobacteria, as well as studying point source pollution affecting Lake Michigan.
After college she went to work in private industry as a food microbiologist, where she discovered she missed nature, and fieldwork. She was offered a position with the Department of Natural Resources in Madison, where her knowledge of freshwater ecology allowed her to run the EPA regulated National Lakes Assessment for the State of Wisconsin. For two field seasons she assessed over 250 lake’s shoreline habitat and water quality.
Research Interests: The evolution of antibiotic resistance in pathogens and other emerging infectious diseases represents a major health issue both within the United States and around the world. As a result, the discovery of novel therapeutics to treat infectious diseases has taken on an unprecedented urgency. Our recent work has identified a rich, diverse, and largely untapped source of novel small molecules with therapeutic potential: Actinobacteria associated with terrestrial symbiotic systems. Our goal for this project is to collect a variety of insects from a diversity of locations within the United States and isolate their associated microbes. Once isolated, we can further analyze these strains to look for production of antimicrobial compounds.
Caitlin’s research revolves around the isolated microorganisms. Using bioassay methodology each isolate is tested against a variety of environmental and human associated bacterial and fungal pathogens. From here the isolates are graded on a quantitative scale for pathogenic inhibition. Isolates with greater inhibition bioassay activity are prioritized to move on to further testing.
Caitlin joined the Currie Lab in 2014 after realizing the lab combined two of her favorite things field and lab work. When she isn’t working Caitlin enjoys hiking with her dog Fen, climbing, and nature photography
Explore More: https://science.wisc.edu/2020/
Historical Context: From the National Science Foundation, 2010: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
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