Fall 2024 FDSN Seminar Series: Sam Light

The Department of Food Science and Nutrition presents its fall 2024 seminar series featuring Sam Light, assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology and Duchossois Family Institute at the University of Chicago, who will present “Distinct Metabolic Strategies Modulate Bioactive Metabolite Production by the Gut Microbiome.” This seminar will take place on Thursday, October 3, 2024, from 12:45–1:45 p.m. in room 111 (auditorium) of the Pritzker Science Center.

Abstract

The gut microbiome impacts numerous facets of human health, often via the production of “drug-like” bioactive metabolites. This seminar will present studies that address principles underlying metabolite production by gut bacteria. It will show that many metabolites are generated via redox reactions connected to bacterial bioenergetics. It will further present evidence that modulating growth substrate availability can predictably impact metabolite production, providing a strategy that might be employed to rationally control bioactive metabolite levels in the gut. 

Bio

Sam Light is an assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology and Duchossois Family Institute at the University of Chicago. Light’s trained in structural biology and bacterial pathogenesis. His current research focus is on molecular mechanisms of bacterial metabolism across diverse ecosystems, including the human gut.