Lincoln seminar will feature Rob Knight, Ph.D.

Rob Knight, Ph.D., of the University of California at San Diego will speak on “Tracking the Human Microbiome from Birth to Death (and Beyond),” at 4 p.m. Wednesday at E103 Beadle Center, 1901 Vine St., Lincoln.

Dr. Knight is considered a world leader in the study of the microbiome.

The human microbiome plays many important roles in the human body, from digestion to disease. These complex microbial communities, consisting of thousands of species, have been challenging to summarize in a useful way.

Scientists have developed statistical and visualization tools that allow us to
trace the sources of microbes in the developing infant, on the surfaces of the adult body, and even after death (the latter being potentially useful for forensics applications). These temporally- and spatially-resolved visualizations provide substantial new insight into human-associated microbial processes, allow us to relate different kinds of “omics” information, and, as DNA sequencing scales up from taxonomic markers to complete genomes, will ultimately allow us to design microbial communities with a wide range of applications in human, animal and environmental health.

Dr. Knight’s appearance is co-sponsored by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Center for Biotechnology. It will be hosted by Daniel Schnachtman, Ph.D., professor in the UNL Department of Agronomy and Horticulture. A 3:30 p.m. reception will precede the lecture.