ABASM Newsletter
Allegheny Branch of the American Society for Microbiology
JANUARY 2013
2012 Annual Meeting at Penn State-University Park
The ABASM Annual Meeting was held on
November 9-10 at the Days Inn in
downtown State College with approximately
100 members in attendance. ABASM
received both national and regional ASM
funds to increase the number of attendees
from
West
Virginia
and
eastern
Pennsylvania and to host a microbial
biofilms
workshop,
“Biofilms
in
Microbiology Education and the Teaching
Laboratory.” The meeting was co-sponsored
by the Eastern PA Branch of ASM, which
also assisted with web-based publicity.
VWR International representative Tom
Rodgers provided a sustaining membership
contribution.
ASM Branch Lecturer, Dr. Ferran GarciaPichel (Arizona State University) presented
two lectures that complemented the
workshop, “Dealing with the Sun’s Worst
Side: Biochemistry, Genetics and Ecology
of Microbial Sunscreens,” and “Microbial
Adaptations in Biological Soil Crusts,
Earth’s Most Extensive Biofilms.” Dr.
Garcia-Pichel also met with grad students.
Invited faculty speakers included:
Dr. Jeffrey Newman (Lycoming College),
“Bioinformatics in Microbiology Education”
Dr. Guixin (Susan) He (University of
Massachusetts at Lowell) “Multidrug
Resistance Mechanisms in Enterobacter
cloacae”
Dr. Douglas Reed (University of Pittsburgh)
“Combating Tularemia: Evaluation of Live
Attenuated
Vaccine
Candidates
for
Francisella tularensis in a Rabbit Model”
Dr. Gregory Broussard (University of
Pittsburgh)
“Integration-Dependent
Bacteriophage Immunity: Evolution of
Genetic Switches”
Dr. Corien Bakermans (Penn State-Altoona)
“Molecular Diversity, Cold Adaptation and
Metabolic Activity of Antarctic Bacteria”
Dr. Steve Knabel (Penn State-University
Park) “Evolution of Bacterial Epidemic
Clones”
Mark your calendars for next Annual Meeting: Nov. 1-2, 2013
Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, PA
Contact Dr. Jennifer Koehl
2012 Microbial Biofilms Workshop a Success!
Thanks to a grant from national ASM, the
2012 Annual Meeting at Penn StateUniversity Park included two hands-on
teaching workshops on microbial biofilms.
The active-learning workshops were
conducted by Dr. John Lennox, PSUAltoona Professor Emeritus of Microbiology
and
coeditor
of
Biofilms:
The
Hypertextbook. Lennox was assisted by Dr.
Kim Finer, Kent State-Stark Professor of
Biological Sciences, and Colin Lennox, of
EcoIslands, LLC. Forty microbiology
faculty, postdocs, staff, and graduate
students participated and received materials
to make batch and flow-through reactors for
use in their own teaching and research labs.
Cultures of Chromobacterium violaceum,
kindly provided by Dr. Bob McLean, Texas
State University-San Marcos, were also
given to attendees for demonstrating
quorum-sensing compounds in biofilms.
Special thanks go to Dr. McLean and the
Penn State Department of Food Science for
hosting the lecture and workshop.
Bill Costerton Remembered
at Biofilms Workshop
During his opening lecture, John Lennox
honored the memory of his mentor and
collaborator, Dr. John William Costerton,
the “Father of Biofilm Science,” who passed
away on May 12, 2012. Dr. Bill Costerton
studied biofilms for more than 40 years,
serving as Director of the NSF-sponsored
Center for Biofilm Engineering at Montana
State University from 1992-2004. More
recently, Dr. Costerton had moved to
Pittsburgh in 2008 where he became
Director of Biofilm Research at the Center
for Genomic Sciences of the West Penn
Allegheny Health System. Dr. Costerton’s
research led to many breakthroughs in our
understanding of the roles of biofilms in
human
disease
and
environmental
remediation. He and his work will be
remembered for years and years to come.
John Lennox next to his
homemade multi-well pate
platform shaker during
set-up of the Microbal
Biofilms Workshop in the
Food
Microbiology
Teaching Laboratory. The
gentle swirling action of
the platform shaker helps
distribute
cell-binding
dyes
for
quantifying
biofilms growing in plate
wells.
Student Award Winners at ABASM 2012 Meeting
Congratulations go to the graduate and undergraduate students who gave 17 oral presentations
and exhibited 24 posters at the Annual Meeting. All presenters will receive a one-year student
membership to ASM. The following is a list of the students who won cash awards for placing in
their respective categories:
Graduate Oral Presentation Awards
1st place – KellyAnn Miller (West Virginia University)
The Flagellar Hook Proteins of Borrelia burgdorferi Form a High Molecular Weight Complex.
Advisors: Drs. Michael Miller, Milinda James, and Nyles Charon, Health Sciences Center.
2nd place—Becky McCauley (Penn State-University Park)
Looking for Life in All the Wrong Places: Microbial Communities in Anoxic, Energy-Poor
Environments. Advisor: Dr. Jenn Macalady, Dept of Geosciences
Graduate Poster Exhibition Awards
1st place-Michael Gresock (Penn State-University Park)
Death of the TonB Shuttle Hypothesis, Advisor: Dr. Kathleen Postle, Dept of Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology
2nd place—Katherine Baldwin (Shippensburg University)
Incidence of Bacterial Pathogens in Common Tick Populations (Ixodes and Dermacemtor),
Advisors: Drs. Marcie Lehman and Richard Stewart, Dept of Biology
Undergraduate Oral Presentation Awards
1st place – Emily Hyde and Holly Pier (Penn State Erie-The Behrend College)
A Comparison of the Microfloras Found on House Wren and American Kestrel Eggs. Advisors:
Drs. Beth Potter and Margaret Voss, School of Science.
2nd place – Emilee Shine, University of Pittsburgh
Characterization of a Non-Canonical Tyrosine Integrase. Advisors and Mentors: Drs. Gregory
Broussard, Graham Hatfull, and Bryce Lunt, Department of Biological Sciences
3rd place – Jordan Krebs (Lycoming College)
Purification and Molecular Structure Determination of Flexirubin Pigments from
Chryseobacterium. Advisor: Dr. Jeff Newman, Dept of Biology.
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Undergraduate Poster Exhibition Awards
Environmental
1st place –Steven Strutt (Juniata College)
Metatranscriptomics of Beach Microbial Community Response to the Deepwater Horizon Spill,
Advisor: Dr. Regina Lamendella, Dept of Biology
2nd place—Shailand Abbott and Samantha Gorman (Penn State-Altoona)
Cold Adaptations of Bacteria Found in Pennsylvania Cold Traps, Advisor: Dr. Corien
Bakermans, Division of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Medical Microbiology
1st place – Andrew Maul and Keiko Sing (Juniata College)
Impact of Resistant Starch Diets on Gut Microbial Community Dynamics, Advisor: Dr. Regina
Lamendella, Dept of Biology
2nd place – Mitchell Dunklebarger and Erin McClure (Juniata College)
Shifts in the Gut Microbiota of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients in a Longitudinal Study,
Advisor: Dr. Regina Lamendella, Dept of Biology
Molecular Microbiology
1st place – Zachary Weisner (University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg)
Utilizing E. coli to Express dsRNA to Inhibit Molecular Pathways in C. elegans, Advisor: Dr.
Olivia Long, Dept of Biology
2nd place—Enoch Tse (University of Pittsburgh)
Investigating Start and Extended Start-Associated Sequences in Mycobacteriophage Adephagia,
Advisors: Drs. Gregory Broussard and Graham Hatful, Dept of Biological Sciences
ABASM recognizes and thanks all its officers and
the following volunteer judges
Merrilee Anderson, Mt. Aloysius College
Tracey Baumgarten, Penn State-University Park
Alyssa Bumbaugh, Penn State-University Park
Mike Engle, Mt. Aloysius College
Yury Ivanov, Penn State-University Park
Xiufen Li, Penn State-University Park
Ann Marie Furdock, PA College of Technology
Guixin (Susan) He-Univ of Massachusetts-Lowell
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Paul Babitzke, Penn State-University Park
David Boehm, California University of PA
Gail Rowe, LaRoche College
Jennifer Koehl, Saint Vincent College
Beth Potter, Penn State-Erie
Emily Stowe, Bucknell University
Tom Danford, West Virginia Northern
Community College
2012 International Attendees
“Molecular Characterization of HIV-1 and
Determination of Antiretroviral Drug
Resistance Mutations Among Treatmentnaïve Patients in Jos, North Central Nigeria”
In 2011 an ASM International Professorship
was awarded to Mary Ann Bruns to teach a
10-week short course in soil and
environmental microbiology at Ahmadu
Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria. Bruns
was able to return some of the hospitality
shown to her in Nigeria by inviting Dr.
Steve Olonitola, Chair of ABU’s
Microbiology Department, to the ABASM
meeting on learning that he was visiting the
U.S. on a Fulbright at Virginia Tech.
Interestingly, a conversation during the
meeting between Dr. Olonitola and Dr.
Doug Reed, University of Pittsburgh, may
lead to an international collaboration on
multi-drug-resistant M. tuberculosis.
Other international attendees of the biofilm
workshop were Dr. Mohamed Morsey, a
Borlaug Fellow from Egypt visiting Dr.
Catherine Cutter in Food Science; and Dr.
Xiufen Li, Jiangnan University, China,
visiting the Dept of Civil and Environmental
Engineering at PSU.
Dr. Olonitola’s two posters at ABASM:
“Multiple Antibiotic Resistance and
Extended Spectrum β-lactamase Production
of Escherichia coli Isolated from Processed
Meat - ‘Suya,’ in Zaria, Nigeria,” and
Dr. Steve Olonitola,
visiting Fulbright
Fellow from
Ahmadu Bello
University in Zaria,
Nigeria, observes
Colin Lennox adjust
microscope. Colin
is viewing biofilm
development in a
flow-through
reactor during
workshop setup.
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ABASM recognizes and thanks the following
students for their contributions to the 2012 meeting
PSU-ASM Student Chapter members were a tremendous help in making the workshop and
meeting run smoothly—thanks go to Jim Rose, Kevin Thyme, Ryan Fine, Danielle Regplogle,
Briana Grant, Kara Scherer, Henry Lupari, and Bobby Norgard.
The Saturday Student Mentoring Session was graciously offered by Tara Kennedy, Duquesne
University, and Michael Gresock, Penn State-University Park.
Transportation of poster boards and easels was coordinated by Hasan Coban, PSU Department
of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, support by which is gratefully acknowledged.
Thanks also go to Claudia Rojas, PSU Department of Ecosystem Science and Management,
and Xin Peng, PSU Intercollege Program in Ecology.
Penn State-ASM
Student Members
Danielle Replogle
and Briana Grant
helped with set-up
for the Microbial
Biofilms Workshop
in the Food
Microbiology
Teaching Lab.
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ABASM supports 3 ASM Student Organizations
Juniata College
Faculty Advisors, Professors Jill Keeney and Regina Lamendella
[email protected], [email protected]
President Ryan Trexler, [email protected]
Duquesne University
Faculty Advisor Prof. Pete Castric, [email protected]
President Tara Kennedy, [email protected]
Penn State-University Park
Faculty Advisor, Prof. Paul Babitzke, [email protected]
President Jim Rose, [email protected]
Meet the New ABASM Officers
Official elections were held at the Fall ABASM meeting held at Penn State University on Nov. 10, 2012. The
following individuals will assume or retain their positions as of July 1, 2013, and will hold these offices until
the dates indicated in parentheses:
President:
Jennifer Koehl (June 2014)
Dept. of Biology
Saint Vincent College
Latrobe, PA 15650
[email protected]
President-Elect:
Jeffrey Newman (June 2014)
Dept of Biology
Lycoming College
Williamsport, PA 17701
[email protected]
Secretary:
Alyssa Bumbaugh (June 2014)
Forensic Science
Penn State—University Park
University Park, PA 16802
[email protected]
Treasurer:
Nancy Trun (June 2014)
Department of Biological Sciences
Duquesne University
Pittsburgh, PA
[email protected]
Councilor:
Ann Marie Furdock (June 2014)
Natural Science Department
PA College of Technology
Williamsport, PA 17701
[email protected]
Alternate Councilor:
Gail Rowe (June 2014)
Dept of Biology
LaRoche College
Pittsburgh, PA
[email protected]
ABASM’s website
http://archive.asm.org/branch/brAllegheny/home.htm
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Letter from 2012 ABASM President
A great example of an enriching interaction
between our branches was the addition of a Penn
State undergraduate’s oral presentation to the
November ABASM program. Brigit McLaughlin,
an undergraduate Biology major in PSU’s Eberly
College of Science, learned about ABASM from an
EPAASM member whom she’d met during a
summer internship at The Perelman School of
Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Without this connection, Brigit would not have
learned about the opportunity to present at ABASM,
nor would meeting attendees have learned about
Brigit’s internship research on HIV.
Over the last 10 years, the main role of the ABASM
President has been to organize the annual meeting at
his or her home institution. One of my major tasks
last January was to apply for national and regional
funds from ASM to enhance meeting activities. I
am pleased to report that ABASM received a total
of $3800, which enabled us to offer the microbial
biofilms workshop and to expand our membership.
As a result, the 2012 Annual Meeting hosted at least
100 members, compared to attendance of about 6070 in recent years. This year’s attendees included
faculty and students from West Virginia University,
University of Pittsburgh, Penn State-Berks, and
Susquehanna University. ABASM would like to
foster all the new connections made in 2012!
Being a faculty member at Penn State’s “main
campus” of University Park, I would like to see
more microbiologists across the entire Penn State
system participate in ABASM or EPAASM. Nine of
PSU’s 23 branch campuses fall within ASM Region
3, where ABASM includes Pennsylvania zip codes
15000-16999, 17200-17299, and 17700-17799 (in
addition to all of West Virginia). Sixteen PSU
branch campuses (including Hershey Medical
School) fall within Region 2, where EPAASM
covers Pennsylvania zip codes 17000-17199,
17300-17699, and 17800-19699 (in addition to
Delaware and parts of New Jersey.) It is probably
most practical for members to choose a branch
based on mission or meeting proximity than on
geographic boundaries. In any case, increased
participation in both branches will only strengthen
microbiology across the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania.
This year’s meeting also benefited from cosponsorship with the Eastern PA Branch of ASM
(EPAASM) and the extra publicity through
http://www.epaasm.org/). I would like to thank
EPAASM President, Dr. Patrick Piggot of Temple
University, and Dr. Irving Nachamkin, Professor
and Director of the Division of Laboratory
Medicine at The Perelman School, for facilitating
this year’s meeting co-sponsorship.
It is my hope that communications and interactions
will continue between our branches, because I think
each offers a distinct venue for professional
development. For example, ABASM meets just
once a year (in the fall), while EPAASM meets
monthly. ABASM’s mission emphasizes mentoring
of undergraduate and graduate students through
sponsorship and judging of student presentations in
molecular,
medical,
and
environmental
microbiology. ABASM’s annual meeting also
provides an important enrichment and dialogue
event for microbiology educators, many of whom
are the “lone microbiologist” in their respective
departments at widely dispersed institutions. In
contrast, EPAASM has a stronger clinical research
orientation and draws from a more geographically
concentrated pool of clinicians and researchers as
well as educators.
It has been a pleasure serving you as President, and
I wish all the best to incoming President Jennifer
Koehl. I look forward to another great turnout at
Saint Vincent College in Latrobe on Nov 1-2, 2013!
Mary Ann Bruns, Associate Professor, Soil
Microbiology, Dept of Ecosystem Science and
Management, College of Agricultural Sciences,
Penn State-University Park
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