The first edition of the JMM gathered about 90 participants from research institutes, Friedrich Schiller University Jena and Jena University Hospital, and various companies. The program of this full-day meeting included short presentations by the host junior research group leaders, invited talks by 8 speakers, a panel discussion, poster session, and a networking event.
Scientific talks at the JMM covered a range of topics, including research on the environmental microbiome but also clinical investigations, matters relevant in chemistry and biology, but also bioinformatics. The list of speakers featured: Prof. Rosalind Allen, Dr. Amelia Barber, Prof. Michael Bauer, Prof. Ilse Jacobsen, Prof. Kirsten Küsel, Dr. Markus Lakemayer, Dr. Kirsten Scherlach and Prof. Dario R. Valenzano.
During the panel discussion, moderated by Prof. Dario R. Valenzano, Prof. Bas Dutilh, Prof. Christina Warinner (joining the meeting virtually), Prof. Gianni Panagiotou, and Dr. Maria Ermolaeva, shared their opinions on the very current and relevant topic of the "Opportunities and Challenges in Microbiome Research".
Participants praised the JMM 2023 for its interdisciplinary nature and with this overwhelmingly positive feedback, the organizers plan to hold similar events in the future. Importantly, with this event the FLI has joined the vibrant community of microbiome researchers in Jena and aims to contribute to an environment of interdisciplinary collaboration in the field.
The JMM 2023 meeting was sponsored by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, Carl Roth and QIAGEN.
