BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Memento EPFL//
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Inaugural Lecture - Prof. Ianina Altshuler
DTSTART:20230531T173000
DTEND:20230531T193000
DTSTAMP:20260510T202424Z
UID:fb87bf1ac193dd141a47d41fc403503282956bd73ef0f2b9f9931e0b
CATEGORIES:Inaugural lectures - Honorary Lecture
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Ianina Altshuler\nDate: 31 May 2023\nTime: 17:30 - 19:30
 \nIntroductions by the Dean\, lectures by Prof. Meret Aeppli\, Prof. Ianin
 a Altshuler and Prof. Sara Bonetti. Followed by an Apero.\nPlace: CO 1\nZo
 om link\n\nTitle:\nCryosphere microbiomes in a warming world\n\nAbstract\n
 Cryospheric environments\, such as permafrost\, sea ice\, snow\, polar\, a
 nd high-altitude systems\, present hostile conditions for life\, including
  sub-zero temperatures\, nutrient scarcity\, and low water availability. Y
 et\, these environments are crucially shaped by active and diverse extremo
 philic microorganisms which contribute to biogeochemical cycling of nutrie
 nts. Environmental adaptation of microbial communities on both population 
 and individual fundamental molecular scales\, such as alternative metaboli
 sms and production of cold-specific enzymes\, allows organisms to thrive i
 n cryospheric environments. However\, these ecosystems are particularly se
 nsitive to climate change and anthropogenic stressors as polar and high-al
 titude regions are experiencing warming at faster rates compared to the gl
 obal average. This fragility is further unbalanced as cryosphere degradati
 on is predicted to release stored organic carbon (in permafrost) which cou
 ld fuel microbial respiration and greenhouse gas emissions in a positive f
 eedback loop of climate warming. Understanding environment adaptation of m
 icrobial communities on population and molecular scales in response to war
 ming is key in predicting and mitigating further disruptions to cryospheri
 c ecosystems. My research integrates field in situ metabolic detection and
  sequencing technologies with controlled laboratory experiments. Here\, I 
 will present several case studies focused on cryosphere microbiomes in bot
 h polar and high-altitude regions\, were we uncovered adaptation strategie
 s to environmental stressors and identified microbial populations responsi
 ble for greenhouse gas fluxes. Building on this research in the future\, w
 e aim to determine the resilience of alpine and polar microbiomes to warmi
 ng and associated ecosystem transformations (e.g. reduced snow cover)\, id
 entify keystone species that influence robustness of cryosphere microbiome
 s\, and identify microbial interactions with eukaryotic organisms for over
 all ecosystem function.\n\n\nAbout the speaker\nProf. Ianina Altshuler joi
 ned EPFL in August 2022 as tenure track assistant professor. She is an Arc
 tic and Alpine field and experimental microbial ecologist. Ianina Altshule
 r holds an Honours BSc in Biological Sciences from York University and an 
 MSc in Environmental Sciences from Windsor University\, Canada. She comple
 ted her PhD in Environmental Microbiology at McGill University (Québec\, 
 Canada) working on microbial responses to climate warming in Arctic permaf
 rost soils and microbial contributions to biogeochemical. She also complet
 ed a Postdoctoral fellowship at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences 
 working on greenhouse gas mitigating strategies in agriculture\, through e
 ngineering of specialized microbial communities. Currently\, she heads the
  MACE laboratory (Microbiome Adaptation to the Changing Environment) at th
 e Alpine and Polar Environmental Research Centre (ALPOLE).\n 
LOCATION:CO1 https://plan.epfl.ch//?room==CO%201 https://epfl.zoom.us/j/68
 864051571
STATUS:CONFIRMED
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR