You’re invited to the 2024 International Soil Virus Conference!

Issue 265 | May 17, 2024

9 min read

Capsid and Tail — Courtesy of Gary Trubl

What are viruses doing in soil? This week we hear from Dr. Gary Trubl about an upcoming conference he’s co-organizing in Livermore, California dedicated to soil virus biology!

P.S. Where’s Livermore, you ask? You may have heard of Napa valley, California’s wine hub. When we visited Livermore in 2019 we were told, ‘Napa is for auto parts, Livermore is for wine…’ 🍷

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You’re invited to the 2024 International Soil Virus Conference!

Independent ResearcherStaff ScientistProject Manager

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Twitter @gtrubl

Website https://people.llnl.gov/trubl1

Skills

Molecular Biology, Teaching, Undergraduate research, Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, Data Analytics, Microbiology, Genomics, Microscopy, metagenomic mining, sequence analysis, Culturing techniques for bacterial, Stable Isotope Probing, viromics

I am a soil microbial ecologist, with more than a decade of experience characterizing viruses and virus-host interactions in soil ecosystems via meta-omics approaches. Throughout my career, I have been interested in the fundamental ecology of virus-microbe interactions in soil, and the role these relationships play in soil carbon cycling. I have pioneered wet-lab and computational protocols for capturing viruses from complex soils and contributed foundational research on characterizing viral communities in soils. At LLNL, I have focused on optimizing SIP-meta-omics to enhance our understanding of how viruses control microbial physiology and the broader ecosystem-level impacts.

Collaborations/opportunities: Sequencing, bioinformatics, access to datasets, Access to soil samples, undergrad, MS, PhD and postdoctoral opportunities.

Hello phage enthusiasts!

I want to welcome you to join us in Livermore for the 2024 International Soil Virus Conference! Here’s an overview of what you can expect from the conference.

Where: University of California Livermore Collaboration Center

(7000 East Ave Building 661 L-794, Livermore, CA 94550; virtual option available)

When: June 25–June 27, 2024, with optional networking activities June 24 and June 28

Why: Gather soil virus enthusiasts to foster collaboration, shape the trajectory of the field, and facilitate engaging discussions on cutting-edge research. Connect with fellow attendees, including early-career researchers, through a series of interactive sessions, presentations, and networking opportunities. Expect a dynamic conference program featuring talks, group discussions, poster presentations, and National Lab facility tours designed to inspire and advance our understanding of soil virology.

The conference format is modeled after a Gordon Research Conference, with the exception that we will conclude at dinner. It is specifically tailored to support students and early career researchers, providing ample opportunities for networking.

The conference is limited to 60 in-person participants (virtual option available).
Registration is $750 ($400 for virtual participation) and includes conference attendance, transportation to and from the conference venue each day from the designated conference hotels, breakfast, lunch, and snacks each day, and two group dinners.
There are no abstract fees for poster and oral presentations.

Abstract deadline (just extended): May 31, 2024.

Registration deadline: May 31, 2024.

Hotel accommodation is not included, but a block of rooms at two hotels has been reserved at a discounted rate which will serve as the pickup and drop off location for venue transportation.

The objective of the conference is to gather soil virologists in a collaborative setting to foster networking and explore the multifaceted roles of soil viruses within a One Health framework. Special emphasis will be placed on exploring the meta-omics characterization of soil viruses and their connections with biogeochemistry, food web dynamics, and soil health.

We look forward to welcoming you to Livermore, California!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the scientific committee:

Gareth (Gary) Trubl: [email protected]

Joanne Emerson: [email protected]

Program

Monday June 24

3:00pm — Hotel check-in

6:30pm–8:30pm — Pre-conference reception at Homewood Suites hotel (pizza provided)

Day 1 (Tuesday June 25)

7:15am–7:30am — Load bus at conference hotels and depart of conference venue

8:00am–9:00am — Breakfast at conference venue

8:30am–9:00am — Welcome

9:00am–9:30am — Keynote: Kurt Williamson — (Re)Considering mechanisms of phage persistence in soils

9:30am–10:00am — Oral presentations

10:00am–10:30am — Break (light snacks and refreshments provided)

10:30am–12:00pm — Oral presentations

12:00pm–1:00pm — Lunch at conference venue

1:00pm–1:30pm — Keynote: Uri Neri — Insights and lessons from mining RNA viruses en masse

1:30pm–2:30pm — Oral presentations

2:30pm–3:00pm — Break (light snacks and refreshments provided)

3:00pm–4:00pm — Oral presentations

4:00pm–6:00pm — Poster session

6:00pm–6:15pm — Load bus and transportation back to hotels

6:30pm — Arrive at hotels and no host dinner | several dinner options available around the hotels

Day 2 (Wednesday June 26)

7:15am–7:30am — Load bus at conference hotels and depart of conference venue

8:00am–9:00am — Breakfast at conference venue

8:30am–9:00am — Welcome

9:00am–9:30am — Keynote: Paula Dalcin Martins — Viral impacts on greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural peat soils

9:30am–10:30am — Oral presentations

10:30am–11:00am — Break (light snacks and refreshments provided)

11:00am–12:00pm — Oral presentations

12:00pm–12:45pm — Lunch at conference venue

12:45pm–1:00pm — Load buses for LLNL tours

1:00pm–5:00pm — LLNL tours | (1) National Ignition Facility, (2) Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, (3) Nanoscale Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry

5:00pm–5:45pm — Free Time / Breakout Discussion Groups | light snacks and refreshments provided

5:45pm–6:00pm — Transportation back to hotels

7:00pm — Group dinner at Dust Bowl Brewery

Day 3 (Thursday June 27)

7:15am–7:30am — Load bus at conference hotels and depart of conference venue

8:00am–9:00am — Breakfast at conference venue

8:30am–9:00am — Welcome

9:00am–9:30am — Keynote: Andrew Millard — Utilising multiple omics approaches, to reveal the diversity and activity of viruses in the rhizosphere

9:30am–10:00am — Oral presentations

10:00am–10:30am — Break (light snacks and refreshments provided)

10:30am–12:00pm — Oral presentations

12:00pm–1:00pm — Lunch at conference venue

1:00pm–1:30pm — Keynote: Christina Hazard — Using Viruses of Autotrophic Prokaryotes as a Model System in Soil Virus Ecology

1:30pm–2:30pm — Oral presentations

2:30pm–3:00pm — Break (light snacks and refreshments provided)

3:00pm–5:00pm — Oral presentations

5:00pm–5:30pm — Poster awards

5:45pm–6:00pm — Transportation to downtown Livermore

6:00pm–7:00pm — Explore downtown Livermore

7:00pm–8:30pm — Group dinner at Locanda Wine Bar

8:30pm–9:00pm — Transportation back to Hotels

Day 4 (Friday June 28) optional networking activity

We have organized a networking trip to San Francisco from Livermore. The trip includes a visit to the historic Ferry Building, a boat ride around the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island, free time around Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf (option to see Ghirardelli Square or Coit Tower), lunch, and a cable car (trolly) ride.

Please see the event website for more details!

Independent ResearcherStaff ScientistProject Manager

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Twitter @gtrubl

Website https://people.llnl.gov/trubl1

Skills

Collaborations/opportunities: Sequencing, bioinformatics, access to datasets, Access to soil samples, undergrad, MS, PhD and postdoctoral opportunities.

How to Cite

To cite this, please use:

Trubl, G. (Gary). (2024). You’re invited to the 2024 International Soil Virus Conference! Capsid & Tail, 265. https://phage.directory/capsid/soil-viruses-2024

BibTeX citation:

@article{Trubl2024SoilViruses,

author = {Trubl, Gareth (Gary)},
journal = {Capsid & Tail},
number = {265},
year = {2024},
publisher = {Phage Directory},
title = {You're invited to the 2024 International Soil Virus Conference!},

}

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