We are excited to announce the 5th annual Front Range Microbiome Symposium this spring on April 24th-25th, 2025!

The Front Range of the Rocky Mountains is a hotbed of scientific research and innovation in microbiome science. From Colorado to Wyoming, scientists are leading ground-breaking microbial ecology research across humans, animals, the environment, and agriculture. Can we amplify this world-class science with better cross-pollination across labs and institutions?

With the goal of cultivating new symbiosis between Front Range researchers, the CSU Microbiome Initiative and Group of Researchers Across Microbiomes (GRAM) is hosting the 5th annual Front Range Microbiome Symposium. Please join us to kick off the event on Thursday, April 24th with a professional development session in Denver at the CSU Spur campus, followed by an evening mixer on the rooftop of the VIB hotel in Denver’s RiNo District. Stay with us through Friday, April 25th for excellent keynotes, invited speakers, as well as presentations and posters from faculty and early career scientists representing universities, organizations, and industries across the region.

We’re thrilled to announce that this year’s Front Range Microbiome Symposium will feature three keynote speakers we can’t wait to share with you!

 

Dr. Claudia Gunsch a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Duke University and Director of the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center for Precision Microbiome Engineering.

 

Dr. Thea Whitman – an Associate Professor of Soil Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, specializing in the interactions between soil ecology and carbon biogeochemistry.

 

 

Dr. Gautam Dantas, from Washington University in St. Louis, investigates how microbes and their antibiotic resistance genes evolve and spread across diverse environments. 

 

 

The symposium has been so successful over the past four years that we’ve outgrown our previous space and will be relocating to a larger venue in Denver at the CSU Spur Campus, Hydro Confluence Theater, on National Western Drive. This generous venue and our more flexible schedule allow for abundant opportunities to meet and network with Front Range microbiome neighbors. We look forward to seeing you there!

Learn more about the CSU Microbiome Initiative and CSU Microbiome Network at https://www.research.colostate.edu/microbiome/.

Learn more about GRAM on Twitter: @GRAM_CSU


Organizing Committee

Tiffany Weir, Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director, Food Science and Human Nutrition, Colorado State University

Dr. Weir is an Associate Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition. She studies the impact of diet on the human gut microbiota and the interaction between these microbes and the downstream development of cardiometabolic diseases. She also teaches Fermentation Microbiology and courses for the Nutrition and Food Science graduate program. Dr. Weir studied Microbiology at Penn State University before completing the Cell and Molecular Biology PhD program at Colorado State University. Prior to becoming a professor at CSU, she spent time study microbial ecology in the Peruvian rainforest as a visiting scientist at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.

 

RéJean Allen, Research Program Coordinator, Colorado State University Microbiome Network

RéJean is the Research Program Coordinator for the Colorado State University Microbiome Network. He is responsible for organizing events such as the Front Range Microbiome Symposium, collaborating with various departments to bring together professionals in the microbiome field. Additionally, he coordinates outreach efforts and manages the Graduate Microbiome Certificate program at Colorado State University.

RéJean holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies and Leadership Managment from Texas State University, bringing his expertise in communication and program coordination to the Microbiome Network at Colorado State University.