UW-Madison launches Microbiome Initiative

We are not alone. Each of us carries a wide array of microbial species that outnumber our cells by ten-fold. Recent studies have shown that the complement of microorganisms, the microbiome, is an important determinant of human health and disease. The microbiomes of other animals, plants, soil, bodies of water, and the atmosphere play similarly important roles.

Our understanding of the diversity and roles of these microbiomes is limited, a fact that led the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to launch the National Microbiome Initiative (NMI) last year. Stakeholders, including UW-Madison, have responded with new commitments to develop a comprehensive understanding of microbiomes across all ecosystems.

UW-Madison’s Microbiome Initiative comes with $1 million in grant funding administered by the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education to support interdisciplinary research, infrastructure, and research community enhancements related to the microbiome.

To read the full press release go here.

New nanoparticles aid sepsis treatment in mice

In new research published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology this month, the lab of Shaoqin “Sarah” Gong, a professor with the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, reported a new nanoparticle-based treatment that delivers anti-inflammatory molecules and antibiotics.

Faculty receive WARF Named Professorships, Kellett Fellowships, and Romnes Awards

Thirty-two members of the University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty have been awarded fellowships from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education for 2022-23. The awardees span the four divisions on campus: arts and humanities, physical sciences, social sciences and biological sciences. “These awards provide an opportunity for campus to recognize our outstanding faculty,” says Steve Ackerman, vice chancellor for research and graduate education. “They highlight faculty efforts to support the research, teaching, outreach and public service missions of the university.”

The search for life on Venus

“We are trying to make the case for exploring Venus and to inspire and inform future missions to collect in situ data with satellites,” says Sanjay Limaye, UW–Madison Space Science and Engineering Center scientist and co-author of a recent collection of papers on Venus that he hopes will do just that.