Keynote
“The Importance of Environmental Microbes in Insect Ecology”
by
Dr. Tory Hendry
Cornell University
MEETING SCHEDULE
June 27, 2025
5:00 pm: Keynote Talk
6:00 pm: Dinner
7:30 pm: General Meeting/Awards
8:00-9:30 pm: Poster Session A*
Followed by Social
June 28, 2025
7:30 – 8:30 a.m. BREAKFAST
8:30 a.m. Developing New Methods to Investigate Environmental Antibiotic Resistance
Emily Nowicki, Emmy Bedard, and Nazrawit Zeleke – Curry College
9:05 Contrasting Effects of Glutamate and (Iso)Leucine Metabolism on Acid Tolerance in a Castellaniella Isolate from Acidic Groundwater
Jennifer Goff – SUNY ESF
9:30 Fluoride Riboswitches in Archaeal Genomes
Stephanie Carr, Jadon Demeritte, and Jack Preston – Hartwick College
9:55 Interval
10:10 Tryptophan Metabolism in the Gut Microbiome of People with Post-Viral Chronic Disease
David Esteban – Vassar College
10:45 Resistance and Resilience of Viral Populations to Antibiotic Disruption in the Mouse Gut
Sarah K. Lucas, William Close, and Pat Schloss – Syracuse University
11:20 Uncovering the Synergistic Toxicity of Nickel and Copper: A Multi-Omics Study in E. coli
Linda Darwiche – SUNY ESF
11:55 Group Photo
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. LUNCH
1:15 – 3:00 Microbe Walk (Optional)
- A nature-walk focusing on microbial habitats and field marks.
6:00 p.m. DINNER
7:30 Door-Prize Drawing
8:00 – 9:30 POSTER SESSION B** SOCIAL: Following
June 29, 2025
7:30 – 8:30 a.m. BREAKFAST
8:30 a.m. Life in the Upside Down: Oxidant Seeps in the Euxinic Basin of a Meromictic Lake Host Chemoautotrophic Sulfur-Oxidizing Biofilms
D. O. Lichtenauer, K. A. Koga, K. M. Lynn, D. A. O’Shea, J. A. Chalk, J. C. Koval, D. A. Antonopoulos, B. J. Tully, T. L. Hamilton, J. R. Havig, J. Damashek, and Mike McCormick
8:55 Microbial Metagenomic and Soil Analysis of Fire Burned Soil Communities from the Albany Pine Brush Reserve
Alaina O. Benot, G. Waldschmidt, I. Okyere, C. Tiyapun, and Jennifer Goff – SUNY ESF
9:20 Going with Their Guts: The Gut and Fecal Microbiomes of the Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica)
Alexandra Carabetta, Jacob Millspaugh, Tyler W. Griffin, J. Evan Ward, and Lisa M. Nigro – University of Connecticut and Central Connecticut State University
9:45 Interval
10:00 The Art of Moonlighting: The Versatile role of the RNA chaperone Hfq in the pathogen Citrobacter rodentium
Shantanu Bhatt – St. Joseph’s University, PA
10:25 Impact of CSOs on Antibiotic Resistance Gene Abundance in the Merrimack River
Charlotte Berkes – Merrimack College
10:50 STEM Learning: Better Together
Mary Allen and Samantha Lara – Hartwick College
11:15 NEMPET business meeting
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. LUNCH; DEPARTURE
POSTER SESSION A*
Legionella micdadei are Capable of Growth in Biofilms which Contain Amyloid-Like EPS Proteins
Christa Chatfield, Ph.D. – SUNY Cortland
Interactions Between Pseudomonas spp. and Pea Aphids on Plants
Zahavah Rojer and Tory Hendry – Cornell University
The Deep Subsurface Biology of CUBO
Dahlia Landry and Stephanie Carr – Hartwick College
Undergraduate Education Officers for Research Programs
Andrew Daisernia and Stephanie Carr - Hartwick College
Defining pH and Temperature Limits of Novel Lineages of Polyextremophilic Amoebae
Melanie Paige Perez and Angela Oliverio – Syracuse University
Uncovering the Ecology, Biogeography, and Genomic Diversity of Fumarolamoeba to Shed Light on Eukaryotic Ecology and Adaptation
Hannah Murphy, R. Shepherd, and Angela M. Oliverio – Syracuse University
Quantifying Predation in Soil Protists: Insights, Gaps, and Future Directions
Rachel M. Shepherd, C. S. Murray, H. N. Murphy, R. L. Skidmore, and Angela M. Oliverio – Syracuse University
Using metagenomic Data to Disentangle Microbial Versus Abiotic Nitrogen Cycling in Meromictic Green Lake (Fayetteville, NY)
Julian Damashek, N. X. Miller, M. L. McCormick, K. W. Langford, M. Islam, I. Liachko, C. R. Mahoney, R. W. Fulweiler – Hamilton College
EllAntr is a Global Regulator of Cell Processes in Sinorhizobium meliloti
Catalina Arango Pinedo, P. P. Garcia, C. Ouyed Hernandez, P. Sarosiek, I. Llorente Fernandez, J. Kleinot, and R. Alam – St. Joseph’s University, PA and Castleton University, VT
Investigating the Role of Common Dietary Compounds on Activation of Prophages from Anaerobic Bacteria from the Oral Cavity
Brad Kalbach and Sarah Lucas – Syracuse University
Investigating the Role of the RNA Chaperone Protein Hfq in Citrobacter rodentium
Lianna Long, A. Robinson, M. Egan, E. Costello, Dr. Shantanu Bhatt – St. Joseph’s University, PA
Effect of Manganese on Growth of Marine Methane-Producing Archaeon
Steven Kilmetz, and Michel Geovanni Santiago-Martinez – University of Connecticut
Duplication and Divergence of a Promiscuous Phosphatase Enables Reacquisition of Gluconeogenesis in a Genomically-Reduced Budding Yeast Lineage
Fisher, Kaitlin J., D. Minns, R. Brasse, R. Wrobel, and C. T. Hittinger – SUNY Oswego
POSTER SESSION B**
Microplastics as Vectors of Antimicrobial Resistance in Aquatic Ecosystems: Insights from Metagenomic Analysis
Isaac Okyere – SUNY ESF
Microbial-Driven Mechanisms of Small-Intestine Extracellular Matrix Remodeling and Repair
Anton Jayakodiarachchige and Sarah Lucas – Syracuse University
Multi-Omics Investigation of the Resistance and Resilience of the Human Gut Virome to Perturbation in a Bioreactor Model
Zaye Buanno and Sarah Lucas – Syracuse University
The Synergistic Toxicity of Copper and Nickel in E. coli
Carlos A. Rodriguez-Bornot, L. Darwiche, R. Ingrassia, and Jennifer Goff – SUNY ESF
Uncovering the Role of Methanogens in CaCO3 Precipitation in Microbial Mats
Paxton Tomko and Pieter Visscher – University of Connecticut
Investigating Streptomyces Density Dependent Priority Effects
Evangeline Wang, and Daniel H. Buckley – Cornell University
Auxin Response in Freshwater and Soil Protists
Cole Wilson, R. Patel, B. Steven, and Lindsay Triplett – Quinnipiac University
Expression and Purification of a Panel of Campylobacter jejuni L-aspartate Ammonia-lyase Enzymes
Christian Nelson, A. Alicea-Morales, Z. Kushner, and K. Hicks – SUNY Cortland
Antibiotic Presence and Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in the Merrimack River
Isabella Beaton, Erin Lincoln, K. Harrigan, M. Borgesi, D. Mohsin, S. Theberge, and Charlotte Berkes – Merrimack College
Exploring the Diversity of Colony Morphology in Sourdough Microbes
Ryan Skidmore, C. S. Murray, and Angela Oliverio – Syracuse University
Genetic and Phenotypic Diversity of Competitive Yeast Pichia from Sourdough Starter Microbiomes
Cameron Murray and Angela Oliverio – Syracuse University
The Role of Acetyl-CoA synthetase in Acetate metabolism in the human-gut symbiote Methanobrevibacter smithii
Alex Poulter, and Michel Geovanni Santiago-Martinez – University of Connecticut
Bacteria are Picky Eaters, too: Exploring if Sinorhizobium meliloti’s Phosphotransferase System Controls More Than Just Carbon Catabolite Repression
Patrick Sarosiek, I. Llorente Fernandez, C. Ouyed Hernandez, P. P.Garcia, Catalina Arango Pinedo –
St. Joseph’s University, PA and Vermont State University, Castleton
Cultivation of Arsenic-Respiring Anaerobic Bacteria from the Rivers of Vietnam
Angel G. Robinson, Nicole Almosd, and Max Haggblom – Rutgers University