Programme

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– The call for applications to the Summer School for Postdocs 2024 is now closed – 

Content

The content of the FEMS Summer School for Postdocs 2024 will be focused on the following theme:

Climate Change: Challenges and Influence on Microbial Safety of Water and Food

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our time affecting all aspects of life on Earth. The directors are preparing an excellent 8-day scientific programme with distinguished speakers-mentors.

Directors 

Prof. Lisa Y. Stein, Professor, Climate Change Microbiology, Faculty of Science – Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Canada

Professor Lisa Stein is a distinguished figure at the University of Alberta, Canada, where she holds the position of Professor in Climate Change Microbiology within the Faculty of Science – Biological Sciences. Her educational journey began with a B.A. Magna cum laude in Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado, followed by a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Oregon State University. She further honed her expertise as a Postdoctoral Scholar at the California Institute of Technology and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Prof. Stein’s career at the University of Alberta has seen her evolve from an Assistant Professor to her current role, with significant recognition as the Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Climate Change Microbiology. Her research is ground-breaking, focusing on microbial conversion of greenhouse gases into valuable products, understanding the evolutionary and physiological commonalities between methane- and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, and investigating the role of reactive nitrogen intermediates in controlling nitrous oxide emissions. Her international collaborations have accelerated genome sequencing of methanotrophic and nitrifying microorganisms, crucial for climate change mitigation strategies. Additionally, Prof. Stein has delved into the microbiomes of wildlife and industrial systems, uncovering the impact of diet on urban coyote behaviour and health, among other significant findings. Her work not only advances our understanding of microbial processes affecting climate change but also bridges basic and industrial microbiology, highlighting her as a key player in environmental science and mentorship.

Prof. Andreja Rajkovic, Professor in Microbial Food Safety at Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

Andreja Rajkovic Ph.D is a Principle Investigator of the research group on foodborne toxins, pathogens and in-vitro host models within BW23. His basic training was a food technology engineer, followed by Master after Master in Food Science and Technology and PhD in Applied Biological sciences. Until 6 years ago his research was predominantly related to foodborne pathogens and microbial toxins and their relation to food processing, food composition and health. In the later years, his research expanded to risk assessment of chemical mixtures in food, contaminants at the food, environment, and health interface, mitochondrial toxicity and cellular bioenergetics as markers of adverse and positive health outcomes, and toxicological and microbial impacts of microplastics and nanoplastics in contemporary food supply. In all research projects, the central target is related to studies of effects of foodborne and environmental hazards (microbial and chemical) on human health using battery of molecular and other analytical tools. Prof. Rajkovic is a president of International Committee of Food Microbiology and Hygiene, member of scientific committee of Belgian Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain, board member of Belgian Society of Food Microbiology, expert of Belgian Superior Health Council, founding editor in chief of Food Safety & Risk, and Editorial Board member of several Q1 scientific journals, such as International Journal of Food Microbiology.

Mentors and Speakers

Lisa Stein, Summer School Co-director, Professor, Climate Change Microbiology; Faculty of Science Assoc. Dean, Mentorship & Awards, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

Andreja Rajkovic, Summer School Co-director, Professor, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Ghent University, Belgium

Ana Allende, Senior Researcher, Spanish National Research Council | CSIC · Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura, Madrid, Spain

Christina Hazard, Research Leader, Bioengineering Department, Laboratoire Ampère, Université de Lyon, France

Peter Raspor, Emeritus Professor of Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Ljubljana. Slovenia, https://peter-raspor.eu/

Kostas Koutsomanis, Head of Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Hygiene, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Environment, Thessaloniki, Greece

Evelyne Selberherr, Assistant Professor, Institute of Food Safety, Food Technology and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria

Dimitrios Karpoyzas, Professor in Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology, Director of the Laboratory of Plant and Environmental Biotechnology and a Deputy Head of Department, Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly

Antonio Ventosa, Professor of Microbiology, the Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sevilla (Spain), FEMS President

Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Group Leader, Physical & Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, California, USA

Mirjana Andjelkovic, Senior Research Scientist at Sciensano, Ghent, Flemish Region, Belgium

Timetable

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