The American Society of Microbiology holds annual meeting April 11-12 in Clinton 

Presbyterian College will host the South Carolina Branch of the American Society for Microbiology (SCBASM) for its annual spring meeting on Friday and Saturday, April 11-12.

The program begins at 8 a.m. in Edmunds Hall with registration and continental breakfast followed by the welcome and opening and the morning plenary session on Metagenomics at 9 a.m.

Featured speakers include PC’s Dr. Stuart Gordon speaking on “Maize Microbiome Insights: Function over Form”; Dr. Barbara Campbell of Clemson University who will speak on “How can we estimate bacterial growth rates and abundance in the environment?”; and Dr. Ludovic Besaury of Clemson University who will discuss “The methanol cycle in the Delaware Bay: testing hypotheses generated by metagenomics/metatranscriptomics.”

The keynote talk on Friday, sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology Distinguished Lecturer Program, will feature Dr. Maria Marco of the University of California Davis. She will present a seminar entitled “Impacts of the indigenous plant microbiota on fresh produce food safety” at 3 p.m. This is a topic of interest for anyone who eats.

The Saturday 9 a.m. session on science education and teaching features an interactive event with former PC professor, Dr. Jane Ellis of the College of Charleston. Ellis, president of the National Association of Biology Teachers, will discuss “Thoughts on Science Education: My Agenda,” followed by Dr. Tarren Shaw of Oklahoma State University who talk on The IBIS Learning System.

After the coffee break Dr. Min-ken Liao and Dr. Tamara McNealy will present information on what the American Society of Microbiology Education Division has to offer along with a few fun tools to use in the classroom.

Interested individuals, especially teachers and students, may attend the meeting by contacting Dr. Inman at jinman@presby.edu or 864-833-8401 for more information. Dr. Inman is coordinating the event with the assistance of colleagues Dr. Gordon and Dr. Suann Yang.

—PC—