Photo & Collage: Juliane Seeber
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Summer Highlights, New Insights, and Upcoming Opportunities
This edition of our Microverse newsletter captures the spirit of a vibrant summer season — one marked by community, collaboration, and curiosity.
We look back on a joyful Microverse Get-Together at the Paradiescafé, where members gathered to celebrate our renewal success and shared vision for the future. Alongside that spirit of reflection, we’re also looking ahead: from our hands-on Imaris workshop in September to exciting seminars and outreach events like Science Meets Society – Summer Film Night, there’s plenty to discover and get involved in.
We’re also introducing a new section, Microverse Diversity and Culture to the newsletter, spotlighting topics, events, and initiatives that matter to our growing community. Plus, don’t miss the current call for the Junge Akademie | Mainz and updates on national funding opportunities and tools to support responsible research.
As always, we welcome your feedback and hope to see you at one of our upcoming events!
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"Join the Microverse Wave!" - Clip by Stefan Riedel | Image Editing: Juliane Seeber
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Looking Back: Microverse Get-Together on July 10
Thank you to everyone who joined us at the Paradiescafé in Jena for our Microverse Get-Together! With perfect weather and a relaxed atmosphere in the park, the event brought together members of the Cluster to celebrate the successful renewal proposal and to look ahead to the next funding period.
Kirsten Küsel and Markus Lakemeyer opened the afternoon with inspiring words of appreciation and optimism—reflecting on our collective achievements and setting the tone for the years to come. It was a wonderful opportunity to connect, recharge, and enjoy a well-deserved moment of celebration.
We’re grateful for everyone’s continued dedication and look forward to building the future of Microverse research—together.
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Imaris Workshop in Jena
September 23 to 25, 2025 | Leibniz HKI, Building A8, Seminar Room Pasteur , Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena
The Microverse Imaging Center and the Applied Systems Biology group are teaming up to offer you an Imaris workshop in Jena on September 23-25.
What is Imaris?
Imaris is a very powerful and established software for analysis of microscopy images. It is especially useful for rendering 3D/4D datasets and performing analysis and quantification. Both the MIC and the ASB possess Imaris licenses and offer an image processing service with Imaris. The organized workshop aims to inform you of the incredible possibilities of Imaris and, thanks to many hands-ons, support you with getting started with it.
Preliminary program
Part 1 (for all registered participants) – Tu., September 23, 2025, 9 am to 5 pm and Wed., September 24, 2025, 9 am to 12 pm
- Imaris presentation from the Imaris team
- Remote demo and interactive exercises
- Bring your own laptop and follow the installation instructions that will be distributed before the workshop!
Part 2 (limited number of seats) – Wed., September 24, 2025, 1 pm till Thu., September 25, 2025
- Opportunity to try Imaris on your own datasets!
- One-to-one guidance by an Imaris expert!
- Access to one of the powerful processing workstations (possible also at the workstation of the MIC)
- Time slots will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis
Registration
If you would like to attend the Imaris workshop, please register until September 1st by writing an e-mail to Zoltan Cseresnyes Zoltan.Cseresnyes@leibniz-hki.de (feel welcome to CC the Imaging Center microscopy@microverse-cluster.de as well). By default, you will be registered to part 1 only.
If you would like to attend part 2 as well, specify it in your email. Give a short description of the dataset you would like to try Imaris on and the task that shall be performed.
Should you have any questions, please contact Zoltan and/or the MIC team.
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Microverse Seminar: Dr. Michael Habig
August 14, 2025 | 12:15 pm | Leibniz HKI, Building A7, Seminar Room Hodgkin, Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena
We are very happy to announce our Microverse Seminar speaker for August:
No registration required.
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Picture: Makasihmas Sidney - AI-generated
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Science Meets Society (SMS) – Summer Film Night: A Beautiful Mind
August 20, 2025 | 7:30 pm | Leibniz HKI, Building A1, Lecture Hall, Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena
While our book club is on summer break, we’re taking the opportunity to spotlight neurodiversity in science with a special film screening. Join us for “A Beautiful Mind”, the inspiring true story of mathematician John Nash, whose groundbreaking contributions to game theory were shaped by his experience with schizophrenia.
To help us plan for pizza, please register by August 13, even if you’ve joined SMS events before.
Everyone is welcome — no university affiliation needed. Come watch, reflect, and discuss with us!
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Microverse Diversity and Culture
We’re excited to introduce a new section in our newsletter: Microverse Diversity and Culture to the newsletter. Stay tuned for updates, event announcements, and inspiring insights.
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Diversity Committee Meeting
August 12, 2025 | 12 pm | Leibniz HKI, Nucleus Cafeteria, Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena
You're warmly invited to join our next Diversity Committee meeting on Tuesday, August 12 at 12 pm, in the Nucleus Cafeteria. We’ll chat about Microverse diversity topics in a relaxed setting — feel free to join just once or regularly!
Please note: food and drinks aren’t provided, so you're welcome to buy something at the café.
Hope to see you there!
Your Diversity Committe
Rosalind Allen, Silvia Kolossa & Johannes Zimmermann
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Spring Survey Summary Now Available
We’ve published the summary and action plan from our Spring Survey — you can download it here.
One key takeaway from the survey was the need to focus more on neurodivergence, including access to information and support groups. In response, we’ve added a link to the IKOS Jena – Counseling Center for Self-Help on the Microverse website.
You can now also leave us anonymous feedback through the site — we welcome your thoughts and ideas!
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Jena Alliance Guest Lecture with Prof. Matthew A. Mulvey
July 22, 2025 | 2 pm | Leibniz HKI, Building A7, Seminar Room Hodgkin, Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena
The Jena Alliance, a network of graduate schools in Jena, would like to invite you to our next Guest Lecture which will be given by Prof. Matthew A. Mulvey (University of Utah, USA) on his outstanding work on Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC).
- Topic: "Survival Strategies of a versatile bacterial Pathogen within diverse Host Environments"
We look forward to seeing you there!
The Jena Alliance Guest Lectures are funded by the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung.
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Collage: Dr. Dania Rose-Sperling
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Call for Applications: Junge Akademie | Mainz
Deadline: August 31, 2025
The Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz is seeking new members for its Junge Akademie starting in April 2026. The program supports early-career researchers from all disciplines as well as young professionals in literature and music. Membership lasts four years and recognizes outstanding achievements while encouraging active participation in the Academy’s interdisciplinary activities.
Ideal candidates have completed an excellent PhD (or equivalent artistic achievement) and are committed to engaging in dialogue across disciplines and generations. Members are supported in building networks, initiating collaborative research projects, and organizing events.
Applications must be submitted in German by August 31, 2025, including a letter of motivation, CV, list of publications, and a letter of recommendation.
More information (in German) and the application form: Junge Akademie | Mainz Website
An online info session will take place on July 24 at 5 pm (registration via email: junge.akademie@adwmainz.de).
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Upcoming Events
- Summer School “Economic Principles in Cell Biology”
July 23 to 26, 2025 | Online via Zoom
Program & Registration
- SAVE THE DATE: Jena Excellence in Microbiology Series (JEMS) with Michael Zimmermann
September 9, 2025 | 12:15 pm | Leibniz HKI, Building A8, Seminar Room Pasteur, Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena
- ad hoc arena Jena
September 11, 2025 | 1 to 6 pm | Roland-Ducke-Weg 1, 07745 Jena
Further information
- 4th MINT-Festival Jena 2025
September 16 to 18, 2025 | Lecture hall building & Campus Ernst-Abbe-Platz, Carl-Zeiß-Str. 3, 07743 Jena
Further information
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8th International Symposium on Systems Biology of Microbial Infections
September 18 to 19, 2025 | Leibniz HKI, Beutenbergstraße 11a, 07745 Jena
Further information
- NFDI4Microbiota Annual Conference 2025—“From Lab to Publication: Bridging the Gap with Best Practices"
September 30 to October 2nd, 2025 | ZB MED – Information Centre for Life Sciences, Gleueler Str. 60, 50931 Cologne
Registration Period: June 30 to August 31, 2025 (CEST)
Infos, Program and Registration
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Aging and Microbiome Conference 2025
October 28 to 29, 2025 | Rosensäle, Fürstengraben 27, 07743 Jena
Further information
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More dates from the Microverse
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Selected Publications
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Samimi A, Hengoju S, Martin K, Rosenbaum MA. Advancing droplet-based microbiological assays: optofluidic detection meets multiplexed droplet generation. Analyst. 2025.
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Soares MP. Evolutionary medicine in action: Sickle hemoglobin fuels tumor progression. Immunity. 2025;58(6):1366-8.
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Unger K, Agler MT. Beyond defense: microbial modifications of plant specialized metabolites alter and expand their ecological functions. New Phytol. 2025;247(2):518-26.
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Hoffmann T, Behrendt F, Klein M, Lange L, Engel N, Pretzel D, Czich S, Liefeith K, Gottschaldt M, Schubert US. Adjustment of physical properties and pH-responsive behavior of cryogels based on two- and three-armed poly(2-oxazoline) cross-linkers with functional side chains. European Polymer Journal. 2025;235.
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Peets P, Litos A, Duhrkop K, Garza DR, van der Hooft JJJ, Bocker S, Dutilh BE. Chemical characteristics vectors map the chemical space of natural biomes from untargeted mass spectrometry data. J Cheminform. 2025;17(1):82.
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Giebeler L, Ehrhardt C, Hader A, Lauf T, Deinhardt-Emmer S, Löffler B. Colonizing Bacteria Aggravate Inflammation, Cytotoxicity and Immune Defense During Influenza A Virus Infection. Int J Mol Sci. 2025;26(11).
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All publications
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