Metagenomic Micro-Webinar: How Standards Help Establish Reliable Workflows for Microbiome Analysis
November 06, 2023, at 09:00 AM ETAbstract
Learn about the importance of standardization in microbiome research and analysis in this 30-minute webinar. Leka Papazisi, DVM, PhD, Principal Scientist at ATCC presents comparison studies showing how to understand (and avoid) biases introduced during the metagenomic workflow. Then Dr. Papazisi and Mengchu Wu, PhD, Co-Founder, CEO, Micronbrane Medical will discuss how to reduce physical and analytical contaminations especially as microbiome-influenced treatments rapidly become part of clinical practice.
Presenters
Leka Papazisi, DVM, PhD
Principal Scientist, Microbiology R&D, Product Life Cycle, ATCC
Dr. Papazisi joined ATCC in 2019. His main responsibility is product development, from asset inception through lifecycle management. While at ATCC, Dr. Papazisi led the Microbiology R&D team in developing several new products, including a proprietary nucleic acid storage buffer formulation and various diagnostics control materials. In addition to technical leadership, his responsibilities include talent management, new product innovation, and management of internal and external cross-functional activities. Before joining ATCC, Dr. Papazisi worked for OpGen (2018-2019), Canon U.S. Life Sciences (2011-2018), and J. Craig Venter Institute (2003-2011). At OpGen, he directed the implementation of an antimicrobial-resistance surveillance system for the state of New York. While at Canon US Life Sciences, his main responsibility was the development of PCR-based assays and assay controls for detecting human inherited diseases and infectious agents—launching with his team ca. 700 products. At the JCVI, Dr. Papazisi led a variety of comparative genomic projects of several biothreat agents. During his academic career at the U. of Connecticut and Vet Med U. of Vienna, Dr. Papazisi studied genomics, virulence factors, and vaccine design for mycoplasmas as well as molecular profiling of Salmonella.
Mengchu Wu, PhD
Cofounder, CEO, Micronbrane Medical
With decades of experience with short and long read NGS platforms, Dr. Mengchu Wu's passion is driving transformative discoveries and positive changes in the world by expanding the applications of sequencing technologies and genomic research. Her commitment to scientific excellence and innovation led to the discovery of novel host depletion methods and advanced metagenomic sequencing assays to enable fast and accurate identification and monitoring of microorganisms. Dr. Wu is a dedicated leader, who fosters partnerships and collaborations across academic institutions, health systems, and clinical laboratories underscoring my commitment to enhancing health and sustainability.