Nearly three years after its launch, the Microbiome Center doesn’t have a dedicated office or central lab facility. It doesn’t have a huge budget or grant-official academic titles, but it is staying true to its roots as a hub for like-minded scientists interested in exploring the world of microbes.

When asked if that made it something like a club or a fraternity, Cathy Pfister, PhD, professor of ecology and evolution at the University of Chicago and co-director of the Center, opted for a more academic term.

“Let’s call it a consortium of people who have similar goals,” she said. “It really grew out of a faculty initiative across the biological sciences, physical sciences, Argonne National Laboratory and the Marine Biological Laboratory. We had this unifying theme of trying to figure out what microbes are doing in our various study systems, and that remains a key focus.” Read more …