Events
CEMINAR
The most important community-oriented activity we sponsor is CEMINAR, formerly MicroMorning, a monthly seminar series where students and postdocs in the CEMI program present their work. Usually 2 individuals present 20-25 min talks (+ 5 min questions) to fill the hour, but on rare occasions we invite an outside speaker. CEMINAR is primarily designed to provide CEMI students and postdocs with an opportunity to practice giving a formal talk to a friendly Caltech audience. Numerous collaborations have been sparked between labs at Caltech thanks to creative connections made during these seminars. View past CEMINARS
CEMINAR
CEMINAR is on the second Wednesday of every month.
UPCOMING
Friday, July 9, 2025, 4:00 pm
4:00-5:00pm Chen 130
5:00-5:30pm Socializing (snacks and drinks will be provided)
"Drought drives elevated antibiotic resistance on a global scale"
Xiaoyu ShanNewman Lab
Many antibiotics derive from soil bacteria competing with one another, motivating consideration of whether environmental changes to soil ecosystems might also drive resistance. Comparative metagenomic analysis of data from geographically distant regions and diverse soil types reveals significant enrichment of antibiotic biosynthesis and resistance genes under drought. Experimentally, drying-induced lowering of water content concentrates natural antibiotics, thereby intensifying selection against sensitive strains and favoring antibiotic-resistant microbes. Our finding of a strong positive correlation between the average frequency of hospital antibiotic resistance and the local aridity index suggests that elevated resistance in drought-stressed soils have far-reaching implications for global public health.
"Developing a biosiotopic model for quantitative interpretation of bacterial central carbon metabolism with amino acid δ13C values"
Yeonsoo ParkSessions Lab
The isotopic compositions of amino acids (reported by their δ13C-AA values) have become a powerful tool in ecology and biogeosciences for understanding carbon flow, food web structures, and microbial metabolism across modern and ancient environments. Despite their increasing use, there is limited mechanistic understanding of the underlying metabolism, and thus no method to interpret the delta values quantitatively in terms of metabolic fluxes. Nonetheless, δ13C-AA values are known to reflect their biosynthetic pathways. Here, I will share the initial development and testing of a bioisotopic model for central carbon metabolism and amino acid biosynthesis in E. coli and the model’s applicability to other heterotrophic bacteria.
Social Events
In addition to CEMINAR, CEMI sponsors social events during the academic year:
Fall Poster Sessions: All CEMI labs present one or more posters on their lab’s research. This helps incoming/current students and postdocs remain up-to-date on that latest research projects going on across the campus. One attractive feature of Caltech is that students admitted in any graduate program are welcome to rotate in any lab (as long as the lab is taking students), so this poster session can open up new interests and areas for exploration. It also can spawn new collaborations between labs.
Spring Lectures and Evening Gala: To celebrate the start of the calendar year, we invite a keynote speaker from outside Caltech to give a seminar, plus a few shorter talks by assistant professors or postdocs at Caltech and other local universities. These “Spring Lectures” are open to anyone interested. As a companion event, we hold a formal gathering for a limited number of CEMI sponsors, faculty, and students and postdocs currently being supported by CEMI grants. The evening’s entertainment is organized by a different CEMI lab each year, and the evening culminates with a presentation of the “CEMI Oscars” (we are close to Hollywood, after all…), roasting CEMI members for notable achievements in the past year, all in good fun. View past lectures
Spring Happy Hour: In recognition of the fact that sometimes the most inspired ideas come when we least expect them, we promote casual conversation between all members of the CEMI community supplemented with drinks and food at the start of the spring term (no posters required!).
CEMI Spring Celebration of Science: This hour-long science program featured short lightning talks from CEMI graduate students and postdocs followed by time to talk with the speakers and socialize with our CEMI colleagues. The inaugural event was held on May 12, 2021.
Workshops
CEMI occasionally supports training courses at Caltech that provide members of the CEMI community with an opportunity for intensive training in a particular area. Any member of the CEMI community is welcome to suggest a topic for a workshop. Please contact the CEMI administrator if you have an idea. View past workshops
