Joshua Weitz, Professor of Biological Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology
 
Microbes Get Sick Too

Abstract: When we think about viruses we tend to think of those that infect humans, e.g., the causative agents of influenza, HIV, and Ebola. Yet, vastly more viruses infect single-celled microbes. Diverse and abundant, microbes and the viruses that infect them are found in oceans, lakes, plants, soil, and animal-associated microbiomes. Viruses of microbes play critical roles in reshaping microbial communities, driving ecosystem functioning, and modifying human health. In this talk, I discuss data-driven challenges in investigating this ubiquitous "microscopic" form of disease.

Bio: Joshua Weitz is Professor of Biological Sciences, Courtesy Professor of Physics and ECE, and Founding Director of the Quantitative Biosciences Ph.D. at Georgia Tech. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from MIT and his A.B. in Physics from Princeton University. Dr. Weitz directs a multidisciplinary research group whose primary mission is to understand how viruses transform human and environmental health. Prof. Weitz has written an award-winning book on Quantitative Viral Ecology and more than 90 peer reviewed articles on topics including viral ecology, infectious disease dynamics, and the structure of complex networks. Dr. Weitz is a AAAS Fellow, a Simons Foundation Investigator, and his research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, DARPA, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Army Research Office, and the Simons Foundation.

Host: Dana Randall, co-executive director, Institute for Data Engineering and Science; ADVANCE professor of computing, School of Computer Science at Georgia Tech.

---About the IDEaS Short Talks Series---

IDEaS is running a series of short talks (30 minutes each) that are designed to be accessible by a nonspecific audience of faculty, researchers and students who want to learn more about new areas. We run two unrelated topics back-to-back to keep things as broad and interesting as possible. Afterward there is a networking social to meet new people and enjoy a snack. You are welcome to attend the social even if you are not able to make it to one of the talks.
View both of the IDEaS short talks on March 16.