Discovering new antibiotics is focus of Dec. 7 event at Lambeau Field

There are more than 200 registered and 67 posters ready for presentation for the Tiny Earth event at Lambeau Field on Dec. 7, 2018. “Tiny Earth undergraduate students from across Green Bay and Wisconsin bent on a mission to discovery new antibiotics are convening at Lambeau Field on Friday to present their research,” said UW-Green Bay (and Medical College of Wisconsin instructor) Prof. Brian Merkel (Human Biology). The event is sponsored by Medical College of Wisconsin Green Bay and Cherney labs.

Tiny Earth is an innovative program spanning 44 states and 15 countries that inspires and retains students in the sciences while addressing one of the most pressing global health challenges of our century: the diminishing supply of effective antibiotics. Tiny Earth centers around an introductory biology course in which students perform hands-on field and laboratory research on soil in the hunt for new antibiotics.

The Tiny Earth in Titletown event was conceived by biology instructors and administrators at UW-Green Bay and Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) to showcase the innovative science, research, and teaching taking place in northeast Wisconsin. Participating institutions include UW-Green Bay, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, College of the Menominee Nation, Marian University, UW-Fond du Lac, Milwaukee Area Technical College, UW-Parkside, UW-Waukesha County, UW-Whitewater, UW-Rock County, Madison College, UW-Madison, Northcentral Technical College, and UW-River Falls.

The evening will include a student poster competition and a conversation discussing efforts by Wisconsin’s students to harness the full potential of the state’s soil to tackle the looming public health crisis, antibiotic resistance. Area scientists will judge student submissions and awards and prizes will be presented to winning students.

Please feel free to contact Brian Merkel (merkelb@uwgb.edu) for more information.