WCDG meets monthly September to May and typically on the 3rd Wednesday of the month, unless otherwise noted. Meetings are public and include a light dinner & social hour followed by a speaker.
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October Meeting
Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at USP
6 PM – Dinner and networking
7 PM – Presentation
Speaker: Paulina Piotrowski (NIST)
Title: Characterizing the Gut Microbiome
Abstract: The microbiome constitutes of the microbial communities that live on and within our bodies. These microbes have been implicated in numerous health problems, such as cancer, depression, and autoimmune diseases. As science strives to develop diagnostics and therapeutics based on the microbiome, we at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) aim to introduce harmonization within the microbiome measurement community. As such we have engaged in efforts to develop methodologies to characterize bacterial cultures of microbes commonly found in probiotics for small molecule metabolites through solid phase microextraction (SPME) coupled to comprehensive two dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC-TOFMS). These efforts, in conjunction to metabolite measurements in fecal samples, are preliminary steps in the development of a microbiome reference material.
Bio: Dr. Paulina Piotrowski is a NRC postdoctoral associate at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. At NIST, Paulina develops omics-based measurement techniques for the microbiome, complex microbial systems, and endocrine disruptors. Prior to her postdoctoral studies, Paulina completed her PhD in chemistry and biogeochemistry under Frank Dorman at Penn State University studying fingerprinting mechanisms of hydraulic fracturing operations. Paulina’s research interests focus on applications of two-dimensional chromatography to omics and non-targeted analyses.