Expectation of Dr. Jason C. Slot’s Guest Lecture

On October 25, 2018, Dr. Jason C. Slot will be visiting my Biology 3401 (Integrative Biology) class and giving a guest seminar with the following title, “Reading the genome of microorganisms to form ecological and evolutionary hypotheses”. The topic actually invites a peculiar view on the entire profession of dental, medical, and any form of health care, specifically in the necessity of understanding evolutionary changes in microorganisms, which is the topic of the seminar, but also of humans. Many of the biological studies done on animals, and some on humans, analyze microorganisms to evaluate key vectors of concern or safety towards the tested variables of that study, wherein results usually impact medicine development or treatments to ailments. An understanding of the evolution of microorganisms can facilitate the growth of a more detailed view on the future of public health and dental care, as well as create a more educated physician or dental professional community. Furthermore, the theoretical exploration into the evolutionary patterns of microorganisms can extend to the analysis of the development of human and animal features over time in response to external stimuli, and can help garner the propagation of ideas that aid professionals in examining patient history and explaining the presence of features that would not be easily understandable without proper historical context. A followup post will be created to reflect on the information from the seminar, and what lessons can be applied to dentistry specifically.

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