by Kelly Rogge, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College is holding a joint meeting of the Missouri and Missouri Valley Branches of the American Society of Microbiology this month.
The event is March 9 and 10 in the Lower Jewell on the KCKCC Main Campus, 7250 State Ave. The conference is being coordinated locally by Dr. Curtis V. Smith, professor of biology and interim dean of math-science at KCKCC. He has been teaching microbiology at the college for 26 years.
“This conference is beneficial for KCKCC because students and faculty will gain exposure to the top microbiology students, faculty and researchers in the field of microbiology in the United States,” Smith said.
Around 150 microbiologists are expected to attend the meeting, including eight biology faculty at KCKCC – Dr. Todd Gordon, Elisabeth Kasckow, Alphonse Mendy, Angela Consani, Dr. Michael Ballentine, Dr. Lori Blankinship, Dr. Melissa Callahan and Mahmoud Bishr. There also will be scholarship prizes awarded to graduate and undergraduate students competing in microbiology-related research who make 12 to 15 minute oral or poster presentations.
Friday night speakers and topics include:
• Dr. Heather Seitz, Johnson County Community College – “Evaluating National Data on Student Misconceptions in Microbiology”
• Dr. Mark Hoffman, Children’s Mercy Hospital – “Medical Data Warehouses to Inform Quality Improvements”
• Dr. Melanie Mormille – “Archae Bacteria”
Saturday speakers and topics include:
• Dr. Karl Klose, University of Texas-San Antonio – “Killer Bunnies and Bioweapons: Tularemia and Biodefense”
• Erika Lutter, Oklahoma State University – “Chlamydia”
• Anna Selmecki, Creighton University Medical Center – “Yeast Evolution”
For more information, visit the event’s website at https://mvasm.unl.edu/annual-meeting or contact Smith at [email protected].