Informative, beneficial, vibrant . . . these three words describe the 2014 Microbiology Faculty Retreat, which was held on Wednesday, May 14th at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Dr. Fran Lund, chair of the department says, “The turnout was great, and our discussion sessions were especially good this year.

The faculty retreat is a valuable event that focuses on the two major objectives of the department—scientific research and education. Dr. Louis Justement says that the event “provides a venue for the diverse faculty to share research and ideas regarding ways to improve the department. Basically, the retreat is very valuable because it fosters communication between the faculty and communication is the key to building collaborations and for making the department stronger.”



This year’s meeting included presentations from eight faculty members— Drs. Mark Walter, Fran Lund, Hubert Tse, George Luo, Peter Prevelige, Christopher Klug, Janusz Kabarowski and David Bedwell.

Justement says that “faculty presentations are very helpful in letting other faculty in different areas of microbiology learn about what their colleagues are doing. It is also an opportunity to share new techniques and resources that are available within the department and at UAB.”

The time spent together at the day-long event at one of Birmingham’s most attractive meeting facilities was, indeed, informative, beneficial, and vibrant. “Hopefully some of the talks and discussions will lead to new shared opportunities for fun and exciting experiments,” says Lund.