The microbiome seems to be the concept of the moment, cropping up everywhere from the outpourings of TikTok influencers to your local pharmacy.
But with popularity comes a lack of precision - and the latest FREE webinar from the fascinating Microbes and Social Equity 2026 Speaker Series explores the notion of what we mean when we talk about protecting microbiomes.
Dr Robert Beiko PhD will take a step back to examine a fundamental question at the heart of microbiome stewardship: what exactly are we trying to protect, and why? Drawing on his work in microbial ecology, evolution, and bioinformatics, he will explore how we define microbial communities, how we measure change, and what counts as meaningful loss or disruption.
A Professor in the Faculty of Computer Science at Dalhousie University, Dr. Beiko specializes in the analysis of DNA and protein sequences to better understand biodiversity, evolution, and ecology.
He is also Director of Data at Dartmouth Ocean Technologies, Inc. His lab is currently developing software tools and algorithms to better understand the evolution and transmission of antimicrobial-resistance genes, and new computational methods to identify species and infer their ecological roles using environmental DNA.
His talk will consider the challenges of translating complex, dynamic microbial systems into targets for conservation or intervention. By unpacking the assumptions behind stewardship, he invites a more critical and practical conversation about what it means to protect microbial diversity in real-world contexts.
After the talk, we continue the conversation with an informal social hour. Join us as we chat with the speaker, MSE members, and attendees about research, teaching, our pets, and more!
Programme (Timings are ET)
11:00 Welcome and introduction - Professor Sue Ishaq, Founder and Lead, MSE
11:05 Guest speaker - Dr Robert Beiko PhD
11:45 Audience question and answer session
12:00 Informal coffee and chat
13:00 Close
’The Nuts and Bolts of Microbiome Stewardship: What Are We Trying to Protect?’ runs from 1am to 1pm EDT on 30 September. To book for free, click HERE.
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