Jenn Dowd - Associate Professor of Global Health, Kings College

Of Men and Microbes: Social Determinants of the Microbiome

    Date:  09/28/2017 (Thu)

    Time:  3:30pm- 5:00pm

    Location:  Seminar will be held on-site: Gross Hall 270

    Organizer:  Laura Satterfield


Meeting Schedule: Login or email the organizer to schedule a meeting.

    All meetings will be held in the same location as the seminar unless otherwise noted.

   10:00am - Duncan Thomas

   10:30am - OPEN

   11:00am - Amy Thierry

   11:30am - Angie O'Rand

   12:00pm - Lunch- Trish Homan; Anika Schenk-Fontaine

    1:30pm - Jessie West

    2:00pm - Grace Noppert

    2:30pm - Giovanna Merli

    3:00pm - Seminar Prep

    3:30pm - Seminar Presentation (3:30pm to 5:00pm)


    Additional Comments:  Abstract: There is growing evidence that the trillions of microbes that inhabit the human body have profound implications for human health. Indeed, the microbiome is now considered our ‘second genome’ with potentially parallel importance to the genome in shaping human health for conditions as diverse as diabetes to depression. What makes the microbiome distinct from the human genome—and potentially of significant interest to social scientists—is its plasticity and specifically its responsiveness to the environment. The very nature of the microbiome, its malleability and sensitivity to human environments, individuals’ choices and preferences, behaviors and social interactions, confers an unparalleled opportunity for fertile collaboration between social and biological scientists. I will discuss recent work that aims to begin this characterization of how the social environment impacts the microbiome using data from the NYC-HANES as well as the TwinsUK study, as well as future opportunities in cohorts such as AddHealth and the WLS.