Event Organisation on Dönertas Group

Aging and Microbiome Conference 2025 (AMC2025)

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

On 28–29 October 2025 we hosted the third Aging and Microbiome Conference (AMC2025) at FLI — co-organised by Clara Correia-Melo, Dario Valenzano, Melike Dönertaş, and Katarzyna Winek.

Melike Dönertaş opening AMC25

Katarzyna Winek opening AMC25

Two days, two themes, four keynotes, a packed programme of submitted talks, poster sessions, a panel debate with live audience polling, and (because gamification really does work) sponsor bingo running through it all.

Aging and Microbiome Conference 2024 (AMC2024)

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

On 22–23 October 2024 we hosted the Aging and Microbiome Conference 2024 (AMC2024) at FLI — the second instalment in our Aging and Microbiome series, building on JMM23.

Chaired by Clara Correia-Melo and Dario Valenzano, co-organised by Melike Dönertaş and Katarzyna Winek. Around 90 national and international participants joined for 1.5 days of interdisciplinary exchange — from model organisms to mechanism to clinical applications.

Dario Valenzano and Clara Correia-Melo opening AMC2024

AMC2024 organisers — Katarzyna Winek, Dario Valenzano, Clara Correia-Melo, Melike Dönertaş

The programme featured invited talks from Meng Wang, Filipe Cabreiro, Kai Blin, Maria Ermolaeva, and Maria Vehreschild — alongside 12 oral presentations selected from submitted abstracts. A poster session and a conference dinner kept the conversations going past the talks.

Jena Microbiome Meeting 2023 (JMM23)

Mon, 08 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

On 8 May 2023 we hosted the first Jena Microbiome Meeting (JMM23) at FLI — a one-day symposium co-organised by Clara Correia-Melo, Melike Dönertaş, and Katarzyna Winek. The aim: weave an aging perspective into the already vibrant microbiome research community in Jena, and start a network around it.

Around 90 participants joined for a packed programme of invited talks, a panel, posters, and a networking evening.

Melike Dönertaş opening the JMM

Poster session outside the auditorium

Eight invited speakers spanned the breadth of the field — Amelia Barber, Dario Riccardo Valenzano, Ilse Jacobsen, Kirsten Küsel, Kirstin Scherlach, Markus Lakemeyer, Michael Bauer, and Rosalind Allen. The day closed with a panel — Opportunities and Challenges in Microbiome Research — moderated by Dario Valenzano with Bas Dutilh, Christina Warinner (joining from the US via Zoom), Gianni Panagiotou, and Maria Ermolaeva. The conversation ranged from environmental microbiomes to clinical applications, from chemistry to bioinformatics.