Laura Hug, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair in Environmental Microbiology in the Department of Biology at the University of Waterloo will be the next guest speaker in SiREM's webinar series to discuss "Assessing Microbial Diversity and Function from Contaminated Environments" at 1:00 p.m. eastern on January 17, 2018.

Dr. Hug will discuss how total community approaches (omics) provide a blueprint of the microbial functions and community diversity within an environment. With genome-resolved metagenomics, this view can be refined, identifying an organism's specific contributions to pathways and processes as well as their interactions with other community members. This approach has led to a recent explosion of genome sequences for uncultured and uncharacterized microbial lineages, many with previously-unknown roles in biogeochemical cycles. Dr. Hug's work explores the environmental importance of these novel organisms and the emerging view of the Tree of Life that stems from our new understanding of microbial diversity.

Phil Dennis (Guelph) will also present case studies of how next generation sequencing technologies (Gene-Trac® NGS) have been used to better understand microbial processes at bioremediation sites.

Dr. Hug is an Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair in Environmental Microbiology in the Department of Biology at the University of Waterloo. Her research examines the diversity and function of microbial communities in contaminated sites using a combination of (omics) approaches and enrichment culturing. Current research in her group is being performed to characterize the microbial communities colonizing municipal landfills, with foci on methane cycling, bioplastics degradation and cellulolytic processes. Dr. Hug obtained her B.Sc. from the University of Guelph, her M.Sc. from Dalhousie University, under the supervision of Dr. Andrew Roger, and her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto working with Dr. Elizabeth Edwards. Dr. Hug conducted a post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Jill Banfield at the University of California Berkeley. She is the author/co-author of 35 articles and book chapters, which have been cited over 2,000 times. Dr. Hug's work has been featured in the New York Times, the Atlantic, Discover Magazine, and on Public Radio International's "The World".

Phil Dennis has over 25 years of applied and research experience in the fields of molecular biology, microbiology and their applications to environmental remediation. Phil holds a M.A.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the University of Toronto (2000) and a B.Sc. in Molecular Biology and Genetics from the University of Guelph (1992). As a Senior Manager at SiREM, Phil manages the molecular genetic testing services department.

Abstract:

Total community approaches (omics) provide a blueprint of the microbial functions and community diversity within an environment. With genome-resolved metagenomics, this view can be refined, identifying an organism's specific contributions to pathways and processes as well as their interactions with other community members. This approach has led to a recent explosion of genome sequences for uncultured and uncharacterized microbial lineages, many with previously-unknown roles in biogeochemical cycles. Dr. Hug's work explores the environmental importance of these novel organisms and the emerging view of the Tree of Life that stems from our new understanding of microbial diversity. Beyond microbial diversity, current work in the Hug lab is examining microbial function in municipal landfills: highly heterogeneous contaminated sites with potential for discovering new microbial bioremediation systems.

More Information

Learn more and register at: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/4785253111921441027
See previously recorded webinars at: http://www.siremlab.com/previously-recorded-webinars/
For consultation regarding Gene-Trac® NGS, contact Phil Dennis at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..