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Helen Davies Memorial Lecture
Our Department
The inhabitants of Earth are mostly microbes, and their activities are central to human welfare. Microbes can cause disease, but a properly functioning microbiome is essential for health. Microbes spoil food, but drive many forms of food production. Microbes mediate organismic decay, but catalyze numerous geochemical processes essential for life on Earth.
Research in the Penn Microbiology Department focuses on infectious agents that threaten global health, with an emphasis on understanding molecular mechanisms and developing key new methods. Areas of focus include SARS-CoV-2, HIV, pathogenic bacteria of the airway and gut, cancer causing viruses, emerging infectious diseases, and the human microbiome. On the host side, faculty study many areas of immunology related to infection, including innate and adaptive immunity, tumor immunology and vaccine development.
Penn Micro on Bluesky
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Friday, May 15, 2026
First Annual Helen Davies Memorial Lecture Featured Speaker: Susan Weiss, PhD "Coronavirus activation of interferon signaling pathways is critical for control of infection in the nasal epithelium" Date: Tues 5/19 Time: 12–1PM Location: JM Reunion Aud RSVP: micro.med.upenn.edu
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Wednesday, May 6, 2026
First Annual Helen Davies Memorial Lecture Featured Speaker: Susan Weiss, PhD "Coronavirus activation of interferon signaling pathways is critical for control of infection in the nasal epithelium" Date: Tues 5/19 Time: 12–1PM Location: JM Reunion Aud RSVP: micro.med.upenn.edu
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Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Microbiology Seminar 🔬 Wednesday 5/6/26 12-1PM CRB Austrian Auditorium Last Micro Seminar of Spring Semester! Amelia Escolano, PhD, The Wistar Institute “Rapid elicitation of a new class of neutralizing antibodies against the V3-glycan epitope of HIV-1" https://www.wistar.org/our-scientists/amelia-escolano/
Departmental Events
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Prokaryotic Seminar
Seminars will resume in Fall 2026
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Virology Seminar
Tuesday, May 26th: 12pm in 209 Johnson Pavilion
Julia Malnak, Bushman Lab :: Sonja Zolnoski, Bushman Lab
“Uncovering viral protein acquisition events and human-specific folds with pairwise comparisons of predicted protein structures"
“Insertional mutagenesis and potential formation of a neomorphic allele in humans”
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Microbiology Seminar
Seminars will resume in Fall 2026