Microorganisms are Earth’s oldest life forms and have come to inhabit virtually every location on the planet. Recent advances in technology have enabled researchers to dissect how microorganisms interact with their surroundings. These investigations reveal that microorganisms exist in complex communities commonly referred to as “the microbiome.”

These microbial communities have been found to be integral to many processes, including human and animal health, and environmental nutrient cycling. In light of our growing appreciation of the importance of the microbiome, ACS Publications is hosting a three-part webinar series focusing on it with sessions on:

• The Microbiome and the Environment
• Microbiome Technologies
• The Microbiome in Health and Disease

This third webinar in the series, The Microbiome in Health and Disease, will address the microbiome’s critical role in maintaining health and preventing disease. The gut’s microbiome plays an integral role not only in maintaining metabolism but also in providing a barrier against infectious disease. This webinar will offer an overview of the microbiome’s function in these aspects of human health and discuss in detail challenges to investigating the microbiome and various approaches to overcoming them. Attendees will learn about opportunities for chemists and chemical biologists in this research area.

Key Learning Objectives:

• Describe the importance of the microbiome as it pertains to infectious disease.
• Identify challenges associated with studying the microbiome.
• Discuss the effect of the colon’s microbiome on metabolism.
• Outline cloud-based XCMS global metabolomics for microbiome analyses.