Berkeley Lab’s Biosciences and Earth & Environmental Sciences Areas celebrated BioEPIC with a research SLAM. Lead investigators from each of the four Science Focus Areas (SFAs) that will be housed in the building—Belowground Biogeochemistry, ENIGMA, m-CAFEs, and Watershed Function—gave a brief overview of their program. Scientists from each SFA shared their research in three-minute presentations for a general audience.

• BioEPIC Research Slam Champion – Mingfei Chen, postdoctoral researcher, ENIGMA Science Focus Area (SFA), “Journey to the Depths: A Subterranean Society of Microbial Biofilms”
• First Runner-up – Mohammad Ombadi, postdoctoral researcher, Watershed Function Science Focus Area, “Flowing Against the Odds: The Resilience of Watersheds in the Face of Drought”
• Honorable mention – Avery Roberts, graduate student researcher, m-CAFEs Science Focus Area, “A CRISPR Crossover: Harnessing Anti-Phage Defenses for Targeted Editing of Microbial Communities”
• Honorable mention – Bradley Biggs, postdoctoral researcher, ENIGMA Science Focus Area, “Friends or Foes Forged Under Fire? Using Synthetic Microbial Communities to Understand Field Interactions”

 Cat Adams headshot Lydia Rachbauer headshot Margaret Torn headshot William Riley headshot Lucy Bennett headshot Ricardo Eloy Alves headshot Paul Adams headshot Adam Arkin headshot Bradley Biggs headshot Chen Mingfei headshot Trent Northen headshot Adam Deutschbauer headshot Jose Manuel Villalobos Escobedo headshot Avery Roberts headshot Brodie Eoin headshot Ken Williams headshot Mohammed Ombadi headshot Helen Weierbach headshot