January 15, 2026

Symposium in engineering and analytics in microbiome research

Group of people standing in a large hall looking up at the camera.
Person pointing at a presentation on a large screen.
Person in a while lab coat looking at a computer screen.
People standing and talking around a collection of scientific posters

The complex microbial communities that inhabit our world and our bodies play an important role in agriculture, environment, and human and animal health. The ability to analyze and control these communities critically depends on the development of new engineering and computational analytics tools. This one-day symposium will bring together microbiome scientists from the University of Maryland and neighboring institutions with the goal of sharing information about recent advances in the development of engineering and computational tools and their applications to addressing current challenges in microbiome sciences. The program will feature oral and poster presentations as well as break-out sessions aimed at addressing current challenges in microbiome sciences. Ample time will be provided throughout the day for social interactions, and the event will end with a reception to allow conversations to continue in an informal setting.

Key details

When: Friday, March 20, 2026. 8am-7pm
Where: The Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Engineering, 8125 Paint Branch Dr., College Park, MD 20742 (directions and parking information)

Registration information

Early registration deadline: February 27, 2026
Early registration fee: $50
Late registration fee: $75
Government rate: $25 (no food provided)

Registration link: coming soon

Limited complementary registrations available – please contact mpop@umd.edu for more details.

Call for papers

We welcome your contributions to our scientific program. When submitting your abstract, please indicate if you would like it considered for a lightning presentation (~10 min), poster session, or both. Abstracts are accepted in plain text and are limited to 2,500 characters in length

Abstract deadline: February 22, 2026
Author notification: February 25, 2026

Submission page: https://forms.gle/iAnmfoy4GefHTUTe8

Keynote speakers

Amy Willis, Associate Professor of Biostatistics, University of Washington

Ophelia Venturelli, Associate Professor of Bioengineering, Duke University

Agenda

TBD

Sponsorship

Sponsorship package

If you wish to sponsor this event, please contact Maria Johnson mjohns40@umd.edu.

December 19, 2024

Innovation and Translation in Microbiome Research

Join us for our annual Mid-Atlantic Microbiome Meet-up. Discover the latest advancements in microbiome research & innovation. Connect with leading experts, share your research, & explore new collaborations.

Key details

WHEN: Friday, March 21, 2025
WHERE: NOTE – LOCATION CHANGE

SMC Campus Center
University of Maryland, Baltimore
621 W Lombard Street
Baltimore, MD 21201

REGISTRATION: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1116821476099
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION CLOSED

Tentative Agenda

8-9 am – Registration
9-10 am – Keynote. Susan Lynch. “Leveraging microbiomes to predict, prevent, and treat disease”
10-10:15 am – Coffee break
10:15-11:15 am – Oral presentations I
11:15-12 pm – Lightning talks
12-1:30 pm – Lunch, poster presentations, sponsor exhibits
1:30-2:30 pm – Oral presentations II
2:30-3 pm – Coffee break, poster presentations, sponsor exhibits
3-4 pm – Oral presentations III
4-5 pm – Keynote. Benjamin Wolfe. “Using ecological design principles to manage microbiomes”
5-6:30 pm – Closing remarks, reception, poster presentations, sponsor exhibits

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: If you wish to co-sponsor this event, please reach out to haungst@som.umaryland.edu

December 9, 2021

Upcoming M3 meeting on on the intersection between academia, government, and industry

When: Thursday-Friday, January 20-21, 2022
Where: The Universities at Shady Grove, 9630 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville, MD 20850
Registration page: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mid-atlantic-microbiome-meet-up-january-20-21-2022-registration-199007616137

The goal of the 2021 winter M3 meeting is to bring together participants from academia, government (local, state, and federal), and industry to build connections and brainstorm ideas for potential regional initiatives in the microbiome space.

The meeting will entail a mixture of invited speakers, contributed “lightning” presentations, and poster sessions. We are pleased to announce our keynote speakers: Dr. Yasmin Belkaid from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Dr. Taylor Cohen from AstraZeneca.

More information is available on our upcoming events page and through the registration link above.

January 30, 2019

Report on the 2019 M3 meeting on Predictions and the Microbiome

In January, we met on the Homewood campus of Johns Hopkins University for a meeting focused on predictions in microbiome science. More details about the event are available here: https://blog.umd.edu/m3/upcoming-events/january-9-10-2019-m3-meeting-on-predictions-and-the-microbiome/ . The meeting brought together over 130 scientists who participated in a day packed with scientific presentations and active discussions about the current state and future of predictive approaches in microbiome studies.  A report summarizing the meeting is available here: M3_brochure_report_2019_final-1zwt9k3 .  We are also preparing a manuscript summarizing the key findings of the discussions that took place in the breakout sessions.

December 9, 2016

M3 inaugural meeting took place November 1-2, 2016

The inaugural M3 workshop and conference took place on November 1-2 in College Park, MD.

The workshop was sold out with over 60 people expressing interest.

The conference featured keynote presentations by Maria Giovanni (NIH/NIAID) and Julie Segré (NIH/NHGRI) and attracted over 80 participants from ~20 different institutions.

A report describing the event is available here: m3_workshop_november_2016