Center for Biofilm Engineering
News Update:
December, 2000
Volume 3, Issue 11-12
Winter 2001 TAC Meeting
The Winter 2001 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting will be held February 1-2, 2001 on the Montana State University Campus in Bozeman. The meeting will feature sessions or presentations on:
Biofilm Signalling
Innovative Biofilm Measurement Tools
Physical/Structural Attributes of Biofilms
Biofilm Genomics and Proteomics
Biofilm Control
Biomineralization, and
Biofilms in Bioremediation
A full agenda of the TAC meeting will be available on the CBE website in early December.
Welcome Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive has joined the CBE Industrial Associate program. The designated representative will be Ammanuel Mehreteab, Associate Director, Measurement Sciences & Innovation/Innovation & Strategy, Piscataway, New Jersey.
Research Highlights
New Research Area: Standardized Biofilm Methods Research Area
Dr. Marty Hamilton and Darla Goeres officially introduced the newest CBE Research Area at the Center's Seminar Series with their talk titled "The Standardized Biofilm Methods Research Area & the CBE." The mission of the new Research Area is to create and evaluate standardized analytical methods for studying or monitoring biofilm systems.
The Research Area, in collaboration with BioSurface Technology Corporation, is continuing to seek support through a proposal recently submitted to the Montana Board of Research & Commercialization Technology for the development of the suspended coupon reactor (SCR) for use in growing a repeatable biofilm. In addition, the team will pursue standardization of the method associated with the SCR through participation with the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM).
Sulfate Reducing Bacteria Project
Dr. Andy Neal, CBE post-doc, spent five days in November at the Advanced Light Source at Argonne National Laboratory focusing synchrotron radiation on his biofilm of sulfate reducing bacteria growing on a mineral surface in the presence of soluble uranium. His preliminary evidence suggests that his strain of SRB prefers U(VI) over sulfate as an electron acceptor when growing on lactate. The cells shut down sulfate reduction and reduce U(VI) to U(IV) while growing on a hematite mineral surface. This work is being conducted in collaboration with former CBE graduate Brent Peyton at Washington State University and Jim Amonette of PNNL as part of a DOE-funded study on the use of SRBs for radionuclide immobilization at contaminated subsurface sites.
Education
Research Opportunity for Industrial Associates!
The CBE would like to extend an invitation for our Industrial Associates to sponsor a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) student. The REU program sponsors talented math, science and engineering students from universities across the U.S. in 10 intensive weeks of biofilm training and research. Students are paired with CBE graduate students, research staff and/or faculty. Together, they research biofilms in one of the many relevant areas of interest to our associates. Interested associates are asked to submit a proposal to Darla Goeres no later than January 18, 2001. For information on the specifics of the program, please visit our web site at: http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/education/REU/industry.htm
“I think this program was a tremendous success. This was one more way we have of increasing our contact with the fine folks at CBE, and it had the very good effect of getting us more involved.” Jon Geiger
“I was very pleased with my interaction with Kevin, Linda and Paul during this REU project this summer. Here at Kodak, I received some pretty strange looks when I told various managers that this work was for free (or cost nothing above our membership cost with the Center). There's no arguing business cases like that. The project was a way to focus Kodak's interactions with MSU to the benefit of both sides. It was a win/win situation.” Mark Fornalik
The Albemarle Gang really enjoyed having Lynelle visit last week. She did a very nice job on her pesentation (and, of course, on her work from the Summer Project). She certainly “held her end up.“ The Montana State University “Mentors” should be justifiably proud of Lynelle and her work.” Joe Sauer
NIDCR Annual Award
Dr. Bill Costerton, Director of the Center for Biofilm Engineering at Montana State University-Bozeman, was honorary lecturer for the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research's annual Seymour J. Kreshover Lecture on October 23 in Bethesda, Maryland. The Kreshover Lecture Series was established in 1983 to recognize outstanding accomplishments in basic and clinical research and to honor distinguished scientists who have made important contributions in areas of research directly related to the interests of the NIDCR.
The lecture, titled "Bacterial Biofilms: Controlled, Dynamic, Multispecies Communities in the Oral Environment," was presented at the National Institutes of Health campus in Bethesda, to a gathering of 350 NIH scientists and clinicians, including U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher, and was simultaneously broadcast to the whole NIH campus.
The selection of Dr. Costerton as Honorary Lecturer is a reflection of the Surgeon General's increased awareness of the strong link between oral health and general good health. In May, 2000, the first-ever Surgeon General's report on oral health was released, identifying a "silent epidemic" of dental and oral diseases that burdens some population groups and calls for a national effort to improve oral health among all Americans. The report, commissioned by Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala, characterizes the mouth as a "mirror for general health and well-being; and the association between oral heath problems and other health problems."
Bacterial biofilms are of particular concern in oral health because they can adhere to tooth enamel and develop into complex multi-species communities. The formation of slimy bacterial communities and their inherent resistance to antimicrobial agents are at the root of many persistent and chronic bacterial infections. Recent advances in the understanding of the genetic and molecular basis of bacterial community behavior are leading to ways of manipulating bacteria in virtually any ecosystem, including the mouth.
see full article at http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/director's%20message/default.htm
NSF Fellowship Award
Dr. Ryan Jordan was awarded a National Science Foundation fellowship to attend the Third Workshop on Global Engineering Education: “Educating the Engineer for the 21st Century”, October 18-20, Rheinisch-Westfalische Technische Hochschule (RWTH)-Aachen, Germany. The purpose of the workshop was to provide an interactive environment for educators, industry representatives, university administrators, and politicians to discuss practical issues related to the implementation of an innovative engineering curriculum. Special emphasis was placed on addressing the challenges posed by the need for international and interdisciplinary education. Dr. Jordan’s fellowship also provided for a period that included meetings with collaborators at the University of Lausanne and private industry in Switzerland. Further information on the workshop can be found at its home web site: http://www.gee3.de/.
New MSU President
Press Release
Helena --- Geoffrey Gamble, the provost at the University of Vermont who has roots in California agriculture and educational experience with sister land-grant institutions, has been appointed the 11th president of Montana State University.
Gamble's appointment was announced today by Dr. Richard Crofts, Montana's Commissioner of Higher Education, following Gamble's selection by the Montana Board of Regents. Gamble was chosen from a field of three finalists culled from dozens of applicants to fill MSU's top position, left vacant since the death of Michael P. Malone in December. Gamble will begin his role as President on December 4, 2000.
CBE People in Action
Tim Magnuson gave a talk at the DOE-NABIR Metals/Microbes workshop titled "Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics of Dissimilatory Metal Reduction in Geobacter : Current Knowledge and Future Issues," Warrenton, VA, October 11-13, 2000.
Paul Sturman, presented "Control of Microbial Souring of Oil Using Nitrite" at the Reservoir Microbiology Forum Meeting No. 6 - Control of Bacterial Growth in Reservoirs, Birmingham, UK, November 1, 2000.
Bill Costerton presented “Role of Biofilms in the Etiology and Consequences of Device-related and Other Chronic Infections” as a Foundation for Microbiology lecture at the invitation of the Washington, DC Branch of the American Society of Microbiology (ASM), November 2, 2000.
Bill Costerton presented a Foundation for Microbiology lecture at the invitation of the Theobald Smith Branch of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, November 9, 2000.
Bill Costerton presented a Foundation for Microbiology lecture at the invitation of the Texas Branch of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) in Corpus Christi, Texas, November 10, 2000.
Al Cunningham, was session chair of "Microbial Processes in the Soil Subsurface for Benefit and Remediation" at the 7th Pacific Rim Biotechnology Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, November 15-16, 2000.
Bill Costerton delivered the opening lecture of the EuroConference on Nosocomial Infections. Bill presented “The Role of Biofilms in Chronic Bacterial Infections," November 15-17, 2000.
Warren Jones was invited to present "Recent Advances in Biofilm Science: An Engineer's Perspective," at the International Symposium of IES-IETI Biofilm for Wastewater Treatment, Pusan National University, Korea, November 17, 2000.
Theses
Recent theses are:
Gene Expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms Evidence for Biofilm Specific Regulation and Iron Override Effects on Quorum Sensing, Thesis Defense by Nikki Bollinger, M.S. Microbiology, Department of Microbiology, Montana State University, August 2000.
Role of Starvation in Detachment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms Thesis Defense by Baochuan Huang, Ph.D. Chemical & Materials Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Montana State University, November 2000.
Seasonal Nitrogen Removal and the Co-Presence of Exogenous Carbon in Constructed Wetland Mesocosms Thesis Defense by Kate Riley, M.S. Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Montana State University, November 2000.
See theses abstracts at
http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/pubs/Theses/default.htm
Web Watch
See December issue of BiofilmsOnline.com at http://www.BiofilmsOnline.com
Check our Recent Web Updates page created to make it easy for you to locate new information on the CBE web. See http://www.erc.montana.edu/Recent%20Web%20Updates/default.htm
Upcoming CBE Events & Other Upcoming Workshops and Meetings
http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/whats_new/index.htm
Newsletter Listserve
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An alternative to subscribing to the listserve is to view the CBE News Update on our web page at http://www.erc.montana.edu/Ind-Col99-SW/Current_Newsletter/default.htm. Newsletter archives can be found at http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/newsarchives/index.htm.
Diane Williams editor of the CBE News Update
