Environmental microbiomes are often described as ‘resilient’ - but what does that even mean? A free upcoming webinar and coffee hour aims to find out.
The ‘Mechanisms of Environmental Microbiome Resilience’ webinar on February 25 asks what it really means for a microbiome to be “resilient”, and who or what benefits when it is. It is delivered by Dr Ashley Shade, PhD, as part of the Microbes and Social Equity 2026 Speaker Series.
Dr Shade is a Director of Research with the French National Center for Scientific Research at the University of Lyon, France, andstudies microbial community ecology, biodiversity, and microbial responses to disturbances such as climate change.
In 2024, she received the U.S. Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from President Biden for her work on microbial community resilience. As of 2025, she is the Editor in Chief of the scientific journal mSystems.
The resilience question
Environmental microbiomes are often described as resilient, but resilience is not a single property, nor is it always beneficial, Dr Shade points out.
In this talk, she will explore the ecological mechanisms that shape how microbial communities respond to environmental disturbance, including stressors such as heat and drought.
Drawing on long-term field studies and experimental work in soils and plant-associated systems, she will examine how factors like community assembly, functional redundancy, and environmental history influence whether microbiomes resist change, recover, or reorganize.
Trade-offs and limits
The talk will highlight trade-offs inherent in resilience, questioning when stability supports ecosystem function and when it may limit adaptive responses under rapid environmental change.
By unpacking resilience as a dynamic and context-dependent process, this session invites reflection on how microbial resilience is defined, measured, and managed in a changing world.
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After the talk, the conversation continues with an informal social hour - attendees will chat with the speaker and MSE members about research, teaching, pets, and more!
Programme (Timings are EST)
11:00 Welcome and introduction - Professor Sue Ishaq, Founder and Lead, MSE
11:05 Guest speaker - Dr Ashley Shade PhD
11:45 Audience question and answer session
12:00 Informal coffee and chat
13:00 Close
‘Mechanisms of Environmental Microbiome Resilience’ runs from 11am to 1pm EST on Febuary 25 2026. To book for free, click HERE.
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