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.
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.
Event was funded by Fritz Thyssen Stiftung, Carl Roth, and QIAGEN.
JMM23 was the start, not the end — we’re planning a continuing series on Aging and Microbiome in the years ahead.