The CAIRIBU Urobiome Research Interest Group (U-RIG) hosted a two day in-person meeting at the University of Wisconsin–Madison with support from the CAIRIBU Interactions Core. This meeting brought together investigators and trainees from within the CAIRIBU U-RIG community to share research, nurture collaboration, and innovate solutions to the major challenges faced within the field. The meeting also featured abstracts, lightning talks, and a poster session platforming the research of trainees and early-stage investigators. See below for the individuals that were recognized for their exceptional scientific communication.  

1. Stella Davis and Monique Bittencourt Dias (Lewis & Clark University), Characterizing putative glycosyl hydrolases from two urinary bacteria.
2. Dhriti Tattari (Cleveland Clinic), Biofilm formation, but not antibiotic resistance, defines stone bacteria.
3. Juliette Kudrick (Oregon Health & Sciences University), Investigating the use of human read removal tools on long read microbial sequencing data.

Graduate Students:

1. Rena Yang (UC Los Angeles), DNA from bacterial biofilms and kidney stone formations
2. Ujjaini Basu (UT Dallas), Urinary microbiome differences in postmenopausal women with type II diabetes and urinary tract infections.

Postdoctoral Researchers:

1. Audra Crouch, PhD (The Ohio State University), Complementary in vivo and in vitro approaches to investigate urobiome metabolism of environmental chemicals and subsequent effects on bladder health.
2. Sonia Whang, PhD (Washington University in St. Louis), The vaginal microbiome in women recently experiencing urinary tract infection and bacterial vaginosis.

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Best Lightning Talk Award:

Dasvit Shetty, PhD (Boston Children’s Hospital), Understanding the role of sex and age as risk factors in urinary tract infection susceptibility using a human bladder chip model.

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Best Poster Awards:

Undergraduate and Postbaccalaureate:

Megan Cline (Washington University in St. Louis), Strain-level phenotypic and transcriptomic diversity in clinically isolated proteus mirabilis.

Graduate Student:

Lila Nelson (Loyola University Chicago), The stability of the healthy female lower urinary tract virome.

Postdoctoral Researchers:

Dasvit Shetty, PhD (Boston Children’s Hospital) Understanding the role of sex and age as risk factors in urinary tract infection susceptibility using a human bladder chip model.

Congratulations, awardees!