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SUMMARY:Deciphering the molecular secrets of the causative agent of the  o
 ngoing 7th cholera pandemic
DTSTART:20200930T121500
DTEND:20200930T131500
DTSTAMP:20260511T162550Z
UID:611c8a2f7f186ad0b041f480e9ff2dab509ee673de83ce9090b95062
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Melanie Blokesch\nAbstract:\nCholera is a devastating di
 arrheal disease that sickens millions of people each year. Despite incredi
 ble progress over the past hundred years in our understanding of the patho
 gen’s virulence mechanisms\, we still lack crucial information related t
 o its transmission. While we know that the route of transmission occurs mo
 stly via contaminated water\, it is still not entirely clear why cholera o
 utbreaks in endemic regions often follow seasonal patterns. Indeed\, the e
 nvironmental aspects of the causative agent of the disease\, the bacterium
  Vibrio cholerae\, have so far been insufficiently studied at the molecula
 r level. In my talk\, I will address this knowledge gap and present insigh
 ts into the pathogen’s environmental lifestyle including its potential t
 o form bacterial communities on biotic surfaces and its evolvability. I wi
 ll also show how the bacterium actively seeks genetic material from neighb
 ors while defending itself against mobile genetic mobile elements\, bacter
 ial competitors\, and eukaryotic grazers. I will end my talk with speculat
 ions on how these environmental features might prime the pathogen for inte
 rbacterial competition and intestinal colonization.\nShort Bio:\nMelanie B
 lokesch obtained her doctoral degree in Biology from the Ludwig-Maximilian
 s-University in Munich\, where her research focused on metalloenzyme matur
 ation and hydrogen production in bacteria. During a four years postdoctora
 l stay within the Department of Microbiology & Immunology of Stanford Univ
 ersity\, USA she switched her research topic towards the study of infectio
 us agents. She joined the faculty of the School of Life Sciences of EPFL i
 n 2009\, first as Assistant Professor and later as Associate Professor. Wh
 ile at EPFL\, she obtained two consecutive ERC grants\, became a Howard Hu
 ghes Medical Institute International Research Scholar\, and was elected as
  a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). As servic
 e to the community\, she also accepted her election to the National Resear
 ch Council of the Swiss National Science Foundation in 2018.\n 
LOCATION:SV 1717 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==SV%201717
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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