18th Annual

Microbiology Student Symposium

April 29, 2017 David Brower Center
Berkeley, CA

Symposium Chairs Fundraising Committee

Monika Fischer Victor Reyes-Umaa
Carly Grant Amanda Shelton

Logistics Committee Program Committee

Hayley McCausland Alex Thomas
Kristen LeGault Chris Hann-Soden
Andrs Aranda-Daz Hector Trujillo

Domain Level Sponsors

Phylum Level Sponsors

Class Level Sponsors

Microbiology Student Symposium April 29, 2017 David Brower Center

8:30 AM Check-in & Breakfast

9:00 AM Monika Fischer & Carly Grant, Symposium Chairs

Welcome

9:10 AM Ka Man Carmen Chan, UC Berkeley

Direct coupling of the actin cytoskeleton to a viral fusogen drives cell-cell fusion

9:30 AM Joren Salazar, CSU Bakersfield

Cellobiose transporters are the key initiators for pathogenicity of Streptomyces scabies

9:50 AM Poyin Chen, UC Davis

Molecular effects of prebiotic oligosaccharides on L. monocytogenes infection

10:10 AM Portia Mira, UC Merced

Adaptive landscapes change as antibiotic concentrations change

10:30 AM Break

10:50 AM Jasmine Lau & Zuly Negro, CSU Dominguez Hills

The effects of rich media on Escherichia coli adaptation

11:10 AM Edward DeLong, University of Hawaii

Microbial community daily rhythms: transcription, activity, & interactions, in sync & on cue

12:10 PM Lunch

1:10 PM Poster pitches

1:25 PM Marina De Len, Cal Poly Pomona

Exploration of biological control of chytridiomycosis in Anaxyrus boreas halophilus toads

1:45 PM Anthony Caballero, CSU Dominguez Hills

Characterization of the nectar microbiome of Asclepias species

2:05 PM Amanda Shelton, UC Berkeley

Prediction and verification of corrinoid biosynthesis and auxotrophy

2:25 PM Break

2:40 PM Carly Grant, UC Berkeley

The ferrosome: a novel iron-accumulating microbial organelle

3:00 PM Bonnie Bassler, Princeton University

Bacterial quorum sensing and its control

4:00 PM Reception, poster session, & award ceremony

Event is ADA accessible. For disability accommodation requests and information, please contact Disability Access Services by phone
at 510.643.6456 (voice) or 510.642.6376 (TTY) or by email at accessibility@berkeley.edu.
Microbiology Student Symposium April 29, 2017 David Brower Center

Poster Presentations:
Tyler Barnum**, I Figueroa, C Carlstrm, L Lucas, A Engelbrektson, J Coates. UC Berkeley. Genome-resolved
metagenomics identifies genetic mobility, interactions, & unexpected diversity in perchlorate-reducing communities
Robert Castro*, A Anglemyer, H Horvath, G Rutherford. CSU Monterey Bay. The effect of low-dose (400 mg)
vs standard dose Efavirenz (600 mg) among HIV-infected adults & adolescents: a systematic review & meta-analysis
Ajaypal Dhillon*, Burton Martinez*, A Lauer. CSU Bakersfield. Dectection of Coccidioides immitis on CSU
Bakersfield campus & surrounding areas
Craig Ennis** & C Nobile. UC Merced. Biofilm drug resistance in Candida albicans
Monika Fischer** & NL Glass. UC Berkeley. Cell-to-cell communication in Neurospora crassa: Transcriptional
regulation & the interplay between self & non-self recognition
Brendan Floyd*, Z Taylor, M Yeung. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Comparative analysis on the susceptibility of
foodborne pathogens to thermal and non-thermal technologies
Darleen Franklin***, K Tsui, B Govindan, L Chen. SFSU. Investigating bacterial passengers riding on San Francisco
Bay Area public transportation systems
Sebastian Gude***, K Taute, T Shimizu, S tans. UC Berkeley. Bacterial population dynamics in nutrient patches
Monica Hernandez** & S Lindow. UC Berkeley. Syringafactin production by Pseudomonas syringae, is contact-
dependent & affects the local environment via its hygroscopicity
Benjamin Juarez*, M Banuelos, S Sindi. UC Merced. An analysis of the global population genetics of malaria
resistance
Brandon Justice*, A Kongsomboonvech, M Reese, K Jensen. UC Merced. Large scale deletion of host resistance
factors to Toxoplasma gondii
Kris Kennedy**, F Widner, O Sokolovskaya, K Mok, M Taga. UC Berkeley. Decoding the molecular basis of
corrinoid-riboswitch specificity
Clare Yue Lou*, S Gude, M Taga. UC Berkeley. Establishing neutral markers to measure microbial fitness
Amanda McRae**, J Jaenisch, MY Lee, C Hirai, L Silva, T Northern, MC Wildermuth. UC Berkeley. Powdery
mildew conidiophore initiation but not spore fitness is correlated with host plant lipid precursor availability
Anchal Mehra*, MG Mehta-Kolte, M Stoeva, J Coates. UC Berkeley. Adaptive evolution of Desulfovibrio
alaskensis G20 to sulfidogenesis inhibitors
Dianna Mojica*, D Vereecke, IM Francis. CSU Bakersfield. Purfication of the Att molecule, the trigger to the
pathogenicity of the plant pathogenic bacterium Rhodococcus fascians
Ivan Moreno* & K Kram. CSU Dominguez Hills. Elucidating the role of CytR evolution of Escherichia coli
Chatrathip Nasongkla**, Liana Ab Samad**, M Guzman, WJ Lin. Cal Poly Pomona. Study of interactions
among hemagglutinins of the botulinum neurotoxin complex
Ryan Nguyen*, A Crits-Cristph, A Jaffe, M Traxler. UC Berkeley. A computational pipeline for quantitatively
analyzing differences in metabolomics data
Gordon Pherribo** & Michi Taga. UC Berkeley. Cell lysis mediated nutrient cross-feeding
Zachary Rabow*, K Marcello, T Schobel, D Galle, J Gray, H Wilson. Sierra College. Investigation of bacteria
from Point Reyes National Seashore
Natalia Rangel*, A Colson, A Lauer. CSU Bakersfield. Detection of Coccidioides immitis in soil samples using a
DNA & RNA-based approach
Anna Rasmussen**, J Damashek, J Lee, C Francis. Stanford. Spatiotemporal characterization of microbial
communities controlling estuarine nitrogen cycling in the San Francisco Bay Delta
Katherine Scheibel** & SC Somerville. UC Berkeley. Characterization of Golovinomyces cichoracearum
effectors
Olga M Sokolovskaya**, K Mok, K Quanstrom, JD Park, ME Taga. UC Berkeley. Systematic investigation of
cofactor specificity in a model corrinoid-dependent enzyme
Tanya V Tafolla* & F Blanchette. UC Merced. Continuous model of penguin huddle dynamics
Event is ADA accessible. For disability accommodation requests and information, please contact Disability Access Services by phone
at 510.643.6456 (voice) or 510.642.6376 (TTY) or by email at accessibility@berkeley.edu.
Microbiology Student Symposium April 29, 2017 David Brower Center

Alex Valenzuela* & A Lauer. CSU Bakersfield. Detection of Coccoidiodes immitis in soil & dust samples from
the Southern San Joaquin Valley, Kern County, CA
Richard Villagrana*, J Salazar, S Jourdan, S Rigali, R Loria, IM Francis. CSU Bakersfield. Cellobiose transporters
are the key components for Thaxtomin A production & the onset of plant virulence in Streptomyces scabies

Art Presentations:
Heidi Arjes**, Stanford
Carly Grant**, UC Berkeley
Pranami Goswami**, UC Berkeley
Japna Kalra*, UC Berkeley
Henning Kirst***, UC Berkeley
Katherine Scheibel**, UC Berkeley
Samantha Wong*, UC Berkeley

*undergraduate student **graduate student ***other

Lunch Discussion Session:

To facilitate conversation, collaboration, and networking, during the lunch session, students will
break into small groups focusing on the following topics led by the experts:
Careers in Microbiology
Lily Chen, Professor, SFSU (10)
Jennifer Kyle, Research Scientist, Microbial Diseases Laboratory (18)
Tracy Ruscetti, Lecturer, Santa Clara University (17)
Harriet Wilson, Professor, Sierra College (6)
Careers in Academia
Kim Seed, Assistant Professor, UC Berkeley (9)
Michi Taga, Associate Professor, UC Berkeley (11)
Funding Science 101
Edward DeLong, Professor, University of Hawaii (5)
Is Graduate School for me?
Monika Fischer, Graduate Student, UC Berkeley (15)
Brit Glaunsinger, Associate Professor, UC Berkeley (2)
Kathleen Ryan, Associate Professor, UC Berkeley (8)
Pathways from Academy into Industry
Cat Haglund, Senior Research Associate II, Achaogen Inc (3)
Mike Lee, Scientist, Bolt Threads (12)
Michael Lopez, Chemical Biology Scientist, Achaogen Inc (13)
Suriving (graduate) School
Eric Samuels, Postdoctoral Psychology Fellow, UC Berkeley (7)
Teaching & Giving Talks
Bonnie Bassler, Professor, Princeton University (1)
Ming Hammond, Assistant Professor, UC Berkeley (14)
Sheila McCormick, Professor, UC Berkeley (16)
Transitioning from a Community College to a University
Christopher Hann-Soden, Graduate Student, UC Berkeley (4)

Event is ADA accessible. For disability accommodation requests and information, please contact Disability Access Services by phone
at 510.643.6456 (voice) or 510.642.6376 (TTY) or by email at accessibility@berkeley.edu.
Microbiology Student Symposium April 29, 2017 David Brower Center

Getting Here:
The David Brower Center is located at 2150 Allston Way, Berkeley CA, 94704

Public Transportation:
The David Brower Center is two blocks from the Downtown Berkeley BART station and
multiple bus lines.
BART: www.bart.gov
From SF, you will take the Pittsburgh-Bay Point train, transfer at 19th street station in Oakland to the
Richmond train (this should be waiting for you immediately across the platform), and then get off at
Downtown Berkeley Station.
From the East Bay, you will take the Richmond train if you are south of Berkeley, or the Fremont train if you
are north of Berkeley, and get off at Downtown Berkeley Station.
From the Peninsula (e.g. Stanford), your best bet would be to drive or take CalTrain to Millbrae station
(parking is $2), and then follow the SF directions above.
Bus: www.actransit.org

Parking:
Garage parking is available on an hourly and daily basis at:
Oxford Garage 2161 Kittredge St. (one block south of the Brower Center)
Allston Way Garage 2061 Allston Way (two blocks west of the Brower Center)
For more information, please visit the City of Berkeleys off-street parking information
http://www.cityofberkeley.info/Public_Works/Transportation/Off_Street_Parking_(Garages_an
d_Lots).aspx
Street Parking: street parking is available on all streets surrounding the Brower Center. Streets
are metered until 6 p.m. daily.

Event is ADA accessible. For disability accommodation requests and information, please contact Disability Access Services by phone
at 510.643.6456 (voice) or 510.642.6376 (TTY) or by email at accessibility@berkeley.edu.
Microbiology Student Symposium April 29, 2017 David Brower Center

Event is ADA accessible. For disability accommodation requests and information, please contact Disability Access Services by phone
at 510.643.6456 (voice) or 510.642.6376 (TTY) or by email at accessibility@berkeley.edu.