MIC 441 20198 Commented [SKR1]:

Welcome to the MIC 441 “Microbiology and Immunology Colloquium.” The purpose of this course is to
familiarize you with the research area in Microbiology and Immunology and start learning to write scientific
abstracts on different research areas. An organizational meeting will take place on the medical campus in
the RSMB building room 31091 just after the first M&I Monday seminar (Monday, JanuaryFebruary 285). Commented [SKR2]:
Your instructors are:

Dr. Mathias Lichtenheld mlichten@med.miami.edu

Dr. Kurt Schesser kschesser@med.miami.edu
Dr. Rebecca AdkinsDiana Lopez d.lopez1radkins@med.miami.edu
Dr. Mathias LichtenheldWasif Khan wnkhanmlichten@med.miami.edu

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO:

1) Attend a minimum of 8 Microbiology/Immunology seminars, choosing from the list of 10 below.
February 5January 28Dr. Eric GreidengerNatasa Strbo (this seminar is the first and is mandatory) Commented [MaLi3]: I think we should remove the
February 412 Drs. Arba Ager and Kurt SchesserNichole Klatt TBA and start out with Greidinger
February 191 Dr. Noula SchembadeMichaela Gack
February 18 Dr. Midhat Abdulreda This would give us time to update the document with
some sort of title or subject area for some of the talks.
February 2526 Dr. Petoria Gayle, graduate studentWei Li
This may help students to select, but because it is 8/10 it
March 45 Alex Badilla and Vinh DinhDr. Paolo Serafini may not be that important
March 119 Dr. Robert LevyOmayra Mendez
March 18 Sunnie Hsiung
March 25 26 Sunnie Hsiung, graduate studentKatelyn O’Neill
April 12 Dr. Alejandro Moro SoriaZachary Rivas
April 89 Omayra Mendez, graduate studentCassandra Bazile
April 156 Dr. Roland JurecicDaniela Frasca

2) The seminars are on the Medical campus on Mondays in room 3109 RSMB. You need to sign the sign-
in sheet at the front of the room. (Do not sign in for other students as this will result in failing the
course). After each seminar there will be a 10 minute get-together in which we will go over the main
findings and possible future directions. Take advantage of this opportunity as it may simplify your work. If
you decide to write an abstract about the seminar you attended you must send the abstracts no later
than 5:00 p.m. on the Friday in the same week as the seminar. Commented [MaLi4]: I know it is repeated again but I
think it is important to tell them as early as possible
3) Write 4 scientific abstracts (200-400 words) related to 4 of the seminars you attend. 2 abstracts about the time element.
need to be structured as introduction, methods, results and discussion. 2 need to be unstructured.
Examples are given on the following pages.

4) In addition to the abstract, you need to write a small section (bulleted points ok; 40-100 words;
example follows) on future directions/questions inspired by the research.

5) Abstract and paragraph need to be presented in the following format:

i) Title and date of the seminar.
ii) Name of the presenter
iii) Author of the abstract (i.e. your name)
iv) Abstract
v) Section on future directions/questions.

6) GRADING The class is graded exclusively on the cumulative performance of four abstracts. A fifth abstract
may be submitted. In this situation, the top four scores can be used to calculate the total score. Each
abstract is scored on a scale of 100 points. However, if a student attends less than the eight mandated
seminars, 210 points will be subtracted for each missed attendance. Therefore, the maximum total score
is 400 points.
The grades for MIC 441 are calculated according to the pre-established bins below.

GRADE points
A+ ≥ 387
A ≥ 373
A- ≥ 360

B+ ≥ 347
B ≥ 333
B- ≥ 320

C+ ≥ 307
C ≥ 293
C- ≥ 280

D+ ≥ 267
D ≥ 253
D- ≥ 240

F ≤ 239

7) The abstracts must be sent to the faculty leading the discussion after the seminar as an email with the
following subject line: MIC 441: Presenter name. Have the text of your assignment in the body of the
email; DO NOT send your assignment as an attachment. You will receive a reply of ‘Received’ upon receipt
of your assignment; if you do not receive this reply it is your responsibility to find out why your assignment
was not received by the instructor. Send your assignments no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Friday in the
same week as the seminar. Do not wait until the last 4 seminars to write the abstracts (a seminar may be
cancelled for various reasons). Once you submit your report, we will look at it and send it back with
comments. You must then revise it and send it back within one week as final to be graded.

EXAMPLES:

STRUCTURED ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Infants are highly susceptible to bacterial intestinal pathogens. The immunological
basis for this susceptibility is not well understood. An infant mouse model of human infant
Enteropathogenic E. coli infection was established using the mouse-specific pathogen Citrobacter
rodentium.
METHODS: The susceptibility of infants to infection was investigated by measuring colonic bacterial
loads and survival. The expression of proinflammatory genes was monitored by qPCR and
inflammation was assessed by histology. The effects of the proresolving mediators RvD1 and RvD5 on
infant survival, bacterial load, inflammation, and antibody production were investigated.
RESULTS: Like human infants and EPEC infection, mouse infants were found to be highly susceptible
to C. rodentium infection. Susceptibility was associated with high early and sustained colonic bacterial
loads, massive innate inflammation of the colon, and systemic bacterial spread. The combination of
RvD1 and RvD5 given 2 days post infection led to increased survival, decreased bacterial loads and
inflammation, and the production of adult-level specific antibodies.
CONCLUSIONS: Our data support the idea that susceptibility of infants to C. rodentium is linked with
pathological inflammation of the colon. RvD1 and RvD5 are protective, even when given after infection,
promoting survival, decreased bacterial loads and inflammation, and enhanced antibody responses.
Thus, RvD1 and RvD5 may be protective in general for intestinal bacterial infection in infants and may
provide a novel adjuvant for enhancing antibody responses to vaccines in infants.
 UNSTRUCTURED ABSTRACT

Infants are generally highly susceptible to oral pathogens. Intestinal infection and the associated
diarrhea are significant global causes of morbidity and mortality in infants. Among the enteric
pathogens, enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) stands out as showing the highest risk for infection-
induced death in infants ≤ 12 months old. We have developed an experimental model of infant
infection with EPEC, using the murine specific pathogen Citrobacter rodentium. Our murine infant
model is similar to EPEC infection in human infants since infant mice are much more susceptible to C.
rodentium infection than adult mice; infants infected with fifty fold fewer bacteria than the standard adult
dose uniformly succumbed to the infection. Infant infection is characterized by high early and
sustained bacterial titers and profound intestinal inflammation associated with extensive necrosis and
systemic dissemination of the bacteria. Therefore, it seems likely that infant deaths result from sepsis
secondary to intestinal damage. Recently, specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPM) have been found
to exert profound beneficial effects in adult models of infection. Thus, we investigated the actions of
two pro-resolving lipid mediators, RvD1 and RvD5, on the course of infection in infants. Strikingly, post-
infection treatment with RvD1 and RvD5 reduced bacterial loads, mitigated inflammation, and rescued
the infants from death. Furthermore, post-infection treatment with RvD1 and RvD5 led to protection
from re-infection associated with C. rodentium-specific IgG responses comparable to those in adults.
These results indicate that SPM may provide novel therapeutic tools for the treatment of pathological
intestinal infections in infants.

FUTURE QUESTIONS TO BE EXPLORED:

 Are RvD1 and RvD5 protective in infants against other intestinal bacterial pathogens? Against
systemic bacterial infection?
 Can RvD1 and RvD5 enhance infant responses to vaccines?
 Do RvD1 and RvD5 work well individually? How do other mediators of resolution affect infant
infections and/or vaccine responses?

5) DOs and DON’Ts Commented [SKR5]:

1) Use correct terminology especially if your major is microbiology or immunology. I assume that you
know what a lymphocyte, a macrophage, or a DC (and know how to spell each name).
2) In the abstracts, you may assume you are the person(s) that performed the study. (i.e. use “we” not
Dr X).
3) Remember these are scientific abstracts which are intended to succinctly describe the design and
findings of the study.
4) Try to make the draft as polished as you can.
5) Do not plagiarize the work of others. All essays will be checked with ad hoc software and if
plagiarism is found, you will fail the course.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

If I receive a poor grade for an abstract, can I write an extra one to recover?
Yes; see above.