Joanna-Lynn Borgogna
Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Montana State University
Speaker: Joanna-Lynn Borgogna, doctoral student,
Department of Microbiology & Immunology,
Montana State University
Date: Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Time: 3:00 PM
Place: Byker Auditorium, Chemistry & Biochemistry Building
Title: The Vaginal Microbiome and Metabolome
The lecture will be followed by a reception.
Summary
Joanna-Lynn Borgogna will present her lecture, “The Vaginal Microbiome and Metabolome,” to discuss her research studying the vaginal microbiota inhabiting the human vagina. Bacterial vaginosis, or BV, is the most common vaginal disorder among reproductive-aged women, estimated to affect almost 30 percent of all women in the U.S. BV is associated with an increased risk of adverse health outcomes, including increased acquisition of various bacterial and viral sexually transmitted infections, as well pregnancy complications.
While the cause of BV is unknown, studies have shown that BV is associated with increases in several compounds known as biogenic amines. Biogenic amines appear to be important biomolecules bridging important microbiological and clinical characteristics that connect shifts in the vaginal microbiome to common features of BV. Borgogna’s research, which occurs in the lab of Carl Yeoman, associate professor in the Department of Animal and Range Sciences in the College of Agriculture, examines the role that these compounds have upon the growth of vaginal taxa. She is developing statistical techniques to model the vaginal microbiome, metabolome and associated metadata with the ultimate goal being to improve our understanding of the biochemistry and microbial ecology of the vaginal environment and its relation to infection and disease.
Borgogna is the recipient of a 2018 Kopriva Graduate Fellowship.
Borgogna’s lecture is presented by the Kopriva Science Seminar Series, which is funded through an endowment created by Phil Kopriva, a 1957 microbiology graduate from MSU. Kopriva, who died in 2002, also created an endowment to fund the Kopriva Graduate Fellowship Program, which provides support and opportunities for graduate students in the College of Letters and Science, particularly in the biomedical sciences. The series features seminars by MSU graduate students, faculty members and guest speakers.