Professors Jennifer Martiny and Katrine Whiteson are co-directors of the new Center for Microbiome Science ORU.
 Establishment of UCI’s Center for Microbiome Science as a provisional Organized Research Unit Dear Colleagues, I am pleased to announce the establishment of UCI’s Center for Microbiome Science as a provisional Organized Research Unit (proORU). Microbiomes — communities of bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi, and other microeukaryotes — are at the nexus of many solutions for our changing world. UCI Microbiome is dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary research on the microbiome and its impact on human health, the environment, and beyond. Since its establishment as an Academic Initiative seven years ago, UCI Microbiome has led an effort to breakdown disciplinary siloes that limit crosstalk between researchers that specialize on different microbiome systems. Their collaborative faculty are renowned for their work that cuts across different hosts and ecosystems to discover general principles for microbiome science. With participation from 22 core faculty members across campus, UCI Microbiome will continue to foster innovation in microbiome science and expand its research capacity and translational impact. The provisional designation is for a period of three years, during which the Center will work towards key milestones to support an application for full Organized Research Unit (ORU) status. They look forward to engaging with the broader scientific community and welcome collaborations that will enhance microbiome research at UCI and beyond. For more information or to get involved, please visit https://microbiome.uci.edu/ Congratulations to co-Directors Jennifer Martiny and Katrine Whiteson, and the entire UCI Microbiome team! Sincerely, Pramod Khargonekar, Ph.D. Vice Chancellor for Research Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science |