The IGB DEI task force meets on Zoom regularly to discuss various DEI-relevant topics to make IGB a safer and more open place for everyone. Our discussion topics range from planning future events, brainstorming ideas for new projects, getting updates from the DEI Advisory Group and more. If you are a member of the IGB, you are welcome to attend one of our meetings where you can learn about what we do. Feel free to ask us any questions you have!
past meeting notes
Visit our Box folder for meeting notes.
Accommodations
For all IGB events, gender neutral bathrooms are available on floors 1 and 2 of the IGB gatehouse, open during the hours of 8am to12pm and 1pm to 5pm. A private lactation room for IGB-affiliated members is available by request, see the IGB reception desk for access. Baby changing stations are available in the restrooms on the concourse level. For specific needs, please contact facilities@igb.illinois.edu
Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
607 IGB
Larry Smarr, PhD
Honorary doctorate, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of California, San Diego
"Discovering Human Gut Microbiome Dynamics"
Accommodations
For all IGB events, gender neutral bathrooms are available on floors 1 and 2 of the IGB gatehouse, open during the hours of 8am to12pm and 1pm to 5pm. A private lactation room for IGB-affiliated members is available by request, see the IGB reception desk for access. Baby changing stations are available in the restrooms on the concourse level. For specific needs, please contact facilities@igb.illinois.edu
Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
612 Conference Center
The IGB is excited to host a series of retreats to discuss our institute, explore new ideas, and plan for our future.
Please RSVP to confirm your attendance.
Accommodations
For all IGB events, gender neutral bathrooms are available on floors 1 and 2 of the IGB gatehouse, open during the hours of 8am to12pm and 1pm to 5pm. A private lactation room for IGB-affiliated members is available by request, see the IGB reception desk for access. Baby changing stations are available in the restrooms on the concourse level. For specific needs, please contact facilities@igb.illinois.edu
Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
612 Conference Center
The IGB is excited to host a series of retreats to discuss our institute, explore new ideas, and plan for our future.
Please RSVP to confirm your attendance.
Conference Center and I-Hotel Center
1900 S. First Street, Champaign, Illinois 61820
The IGB is excited to host a series of retreats to discuss our institute, explore new ideas, and plan for our future.
Please RSVP to confirm your attendance.
Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
612 Conference Center
Join us for donuts, stay for the blood donation.
To schedule your donation appointment contact smithj4@illinois.edu or visit Impact Life online.
NAS Building, Great Hall and West Gallery
2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.
Julia Pollack, Creative Program Manager
Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
The IGB’s Art of Science program highlights the aesthetics of science imagery and the labor of research. The exhibition features pieces on honeybee colonies and microbial communities and is on view through June 7, 2024.
Julia Pollack is curator and creator at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign where she creates artwork based upon her conversations and collaborations with scientists there. This exhibition features two bodies of work focused on honeybee colonies and microbial communities. The pieces represent visual explorations that highlight the power and aesthetics of science imagery.
Das leben der anderen (The Lives of Others)
Honeybees are the most important pollinator on the planet, but bee health is seriously threatened by many factors. Current research seeks to clarify how honeybees’ social interactions enable their colonies to respond to disease, which may lead to better colony management practices and increased food security.
To create this series, Julia Pollack collaborated with German scientist Tim Gernat who studies complex systems and swarm intelligence in bees. Barcode-based honeybee tracking makes it possible to automatically distinguish hundreds of individuals in digital videos, and to continuously monitor and record them over long periods of time to increase our knowledge of bee social networks.
As Pollack and Gernat were talking, she thought it would be useful to document honeybee’s interactions in photographs. She writes: “Many people have aversion to bees and any swarming insect, but when you observe closely, you can see them feed each other and work together. The fear melts away when you can see how bees care for each other and the health of the hive.” She hopes the images will bring us closer to bees to recognize our own hive tendencies and unexpected similarities.
In Fragments No Longer
We are surrounded by microbes. When we brush past strangers, share a hug with a friend, or give our loved ones a kiss, we share millions of our microbial friends with each other. This series of diptychs was created through Pollack’s collaborations with four others at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology’s Art of Science program.
To create each diptych, Pollack and a different collaborator imprinted their microbial communities on Lysogeny broth (LB) plates which contain a nutritious jelly that is designed to help bacteria grow. The works pose the question: are we really a hyper individualistic society that takes advantage of the world around us, or are we mere passengers making our way through a microbial world that binds us all together with a multitude of invisible connections?
Zoom: https://illinois.zoom.us/j/84334404059?pwd=S01VNkxGdzNDRGdNTmE2ZHc4aVdQ…
The IGB DEI task force meets on zoom regularly to discuss various DEI-relevant topics to make IGB a safer and more open place for everyone. Our discussion topics range from planning future events, brainstorming ideas for new projects, getting updates from the DEI Advisory Group and more. If you are a member of the IGB, you are welcome to attend one of our meetings where you can learn about what we do. Feel free to ask us any questions you have!
past meeting notes
Visit our Box folder for meeting notes.
Accommodations
For all IGB events, gender neutral bathrooms are available on floors 1 and 2 of the IGB gatehouse, open during the hours of 8am to12pm and 1pm to 5pm. A private lactation room for IGB-affiliated members is available by request, see the IGB reception desk for access. Baby changing stations are available in the restrooms on the concourse level. For specific needs, please contact facilities@igb.illinois.edu
