Outreach
Science for scientists is all well and good -- but we get especially excited when we are able to share the benefits of scientific discovery with the larger world. Our outreach program is therefore an integral component of the lab's work.
Here's what we've been up to lately:
Career Path Talk
August 2023
Noelle was selected by students at Mississippi State University's College of Veterinary Medicine to give a talk about her career path in veterinary research at the College's annual Research Day on August 17, 2023.
Kaesler Forum in Berlin
March 30-31, 2022
At the Kaesler Forum in Berlin, Noelle discussed the development, transmission and modes of actions of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) from a general and agricultural perspective. Part of this discussion included answering the following question: "is the elimination of AMR even possible?"
Swine It Podcast
December 2022
Featured on the "Antimicrobial resistance today and how we should counter it" episode on the Swine It Podcast, Dr. Noelle mentions how good husbandry, management, and biosecurity efforts are among the best ways to reduce antimicrobial resistance.
Moderator and Presenter
September 2022
Noelle discussed the complexity of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and AMR mitigation efforts during the AMR/ATA Research Webinar Series, which focused on mitigation in farm and production environments.
Invited Guest Speaker
September 2022
As a guest speaker, Dr. Noyes talks about "Our quest to "have it all": comprehensive, flexible, sensitive and highly-resolved detection and sequencing of antimicrobial resistance genes in microbially diverse samples" during Agilent's DNA After Dark seminar series held in St. Paul, MN.
AMSA Science Talks Webinars
June 2022
Dr. Noyes discussed preserving the future of livestock production through responsible and sustainable antibiotic use during the American Meat Science Association (AMSA) Science Talks Webinars.
Author
April 2022
Joe Armstrong DVM, Luciano Caixeta DVM Ph.D., Tim Goldsmith DVM,
Noelle Noyes DVM Ph.D., Sabina Ponicki, Melissa Runck, and Jared Young, Dr. Noelle Noyes wrote “Movement and Management in Minnesota’s Beef Industry: Results from a Survey of MN Cow-calf and Feedlot Producers.”
Frankly Speaking Podcast
July 2023
Dr. Noelle Noyes and Dr. Liz Wagstrom provided a recap of SafePork 2023, which was featured on the Frankly Speaking Podcast. They briefly recap the different food safety practices that are used in areas throughout the world based on socioeconomic status, water treatment and vaccination efforts, and more.
Perspectives Piece - Food Safety Magazine
August 2023
Aaron Asmus and Noelle Noyes co-authored a Perspectives piece that is featured on the cover of the August/September issue of Food Safety Magazine, titled "Beyond the Total Plate Count: Metagenomic Applications for Meat and Poultry Processors."
Annual Meeting of the National Graduate School in Infection Biology and Antimicrobials
November 1-2, 2021
At the Annual Meeting of the National Graduate School Infection Biology and Antimicrobials (IBA), Noelle shared information about infections, the use of antibiotics, and resistance in the microbiome. She provided insight into when these things happen and how these things happen.
Great Lakes Bioinformatics Conference
May 12, 2021
A virtual presentation was given by Noelle on methodological advancements to improve metagenomics for surveillance of antimicrobial resistance at the Great Lakes Bioinformatics Conference.
Risk Ranking Salmonella Strains
July, 2021
Noelle presented at the International Association for Food Production Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. She discussed the differences in Salmonella strains and touched on a genomic approach for ranking the risks associated with each of the numerous strains.
DairySignal
October, 2021
Dr. Noyes spent time with Professional Dairy Producers (PDPW) discussing all things "dairy microbiome" on the weekly DairySignal channel.
Reducing AMR & Improving Animal Health
May, 2021
Noelle attended the 5th International Conference on Responsible Use of Antibiotics in Animals virtually in May of 2021. She discussed how we can leverage microbial ecology to reduce AMR while improving animal health and performance.
AMR in Livestock Production
October, 2020
Noelle presented information about the impacts of management, microbes, and antibiotics on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in livestock production. She shared the data virtually at the Seminar Series, Center for Biotechnology and Plant Science Initiative Office which is part of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Fecal Microbiome-Reistome Dynamics
September, 2020
“Fecal microbiome-resistome dynamics of PRRSV-challenged pigs under varying antimicrobial drug exposures” was presented by Noelle at the Virtual Allen D. Leman Swine Conference held by the University of Minnesota.
WGS Applications to Food Safety
September 09, 2020
Noelle headlined the 2020 Meat Industry Food Safety Conference to discuss the application of whole-genome sequencing for food safety purposes, with an emphasis on computational challenges. It was a great discussion with industry stakeholders who are trying to continuously improve food safety programs, including through use of advanced sequencing technologies such as WGS.
National Hog Farmer
September 08, 2020
Together, Noelle and Peter Davies wrote about how animal disease, nutrition, and metabolic status has the ability to influence both evolution and microbial interactions. As a result, antimicrobial resistance profiles may be altered as well.
Capturing Low-Abundance Targets
August, 2020
Noelle discussed how the method of combining targeted enrichment with long-read sequencing can be used to capture low-abundance, diverse viral targets in complex systems. She was invited to speak on this topic at the Virtual Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Symposium at the University of Minnesota.
Multi-Institution Short Course, Summer 2020
July 31, 2020
Drs. Enrique Doster, Noelle Noyes and Paul Morley developed and taught a virutal 12-week short course on statistical analysis for metagenomic data. The course included over 40 participants from over ten different US institutions and companies who met on a weekly basis to discuss new concepts, techniques and challenges from the self-taught content. This inaugural course received good reviews and the team hopes to offer it again in the future!
Joining the International Consortium for Antimicrobial Stewardship in Agriculture
June 10, 2020
Noelle joined the Swine Working Group of the International Consortium for Antimicrobial Stewardship in Agriculture, a collaborative of the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research. This public-private partnership aims to curb antimicrobial resistance through innovation, collaboration and scientific discovery. It is an exciting initiative with many dedicated individuals working together on this important issue, and Noelle is honored to join these efforts!
Webinar on the Microbiome and Dairy Production
March 30, 2020
The USDA OREI openROAMER project team presented an eOrganics webinar about the microbiome and how it may impact dairy production today and in the future. The audience was highly interactive and diverse, representing farmers, veterinarians, extension agents and researchers. Many great questions were posed during the webinar, which is available here.
Pig Potential
May, 2020
The Alltech ONE Virtual Conference invited Noelle to share how the pig potential can be optimized by considering the gut microbiome.
Joining the Minnesota One Health Antibiotic Stewardship Collaborative
December 19, 2019
Noelle joined the Animal Working Group of the Minnesota One Health Antibiotic Stewardship Collaborative. This interdisciplinary group is working to combat antimicrobial resistance using a One Health approach, and has developed numerous resources for diverse audiences and stakeholders. It was very apparent at the 2019 annual meeting that this is a dedicated and passionate group, and Noelle is excited to contribute to these efforts!
The Microbiome Impact
March 20 14, 2020
The USDA invited Noelle to discuss what the microbiome is and how it might impact organic dairy production at the eORganics eXtension Webinar.
Looking for Antibiotic Alternatives
February, 2020
Noelle was interviewed for an article published by Chemical and Engineering News. Featured were her thoughts about AMR and the challenges in finding the right bacteria for pro- or prebiotics. She also discussed some of the current efforts being made to reduce resistance to antibiotics.
Metagenomics at the Minnesota Beef Council
November 18, 2019
Noelle spoke with members of the Minnesota Beef Council Board of Directors about the opportunities and limitations of metagenomic data, and how these relate to beef production. It was a lively discussion and a great opportunity to talk about the applications of sequencing technology in livestock production. A big thanks to the Minnesota Beef Council for their generous hosting -- including some great food!
Noelle speaks with veterinarians at the Western Canadian Association of Swine Veterinarians
October 25, 2019
Noelle spoke about antimicrobial use and resistance at the annual meeting of the Western Canadian Association of Swine Veterinarians, held in beautiful downtown Saskatchewan. It was an exciting meeting with many great speakers talking about the latest research and production results in the swine industry. Thanks to WCASV for hosting such a great meeting and for being such generous hosts!
Norwegian Exchange: Aquaculture, Microbiome, AMR and Bioinformatics
August 26, 2019
Members of the NOCC project team traveled to Norway to conduct research and outreach activities. Hosted by Drs. Henning Sørum and Katrine Lekang at NMBU and University of Oslo, the team sampled in the fjords of Norway, attended the Aquanor conference, spoke with aquaculture producers, gave several research presentations, and hosted the Metagenomics Bioinformatics Workshop for its international premiere! It was a jam-packed trip, but full of incredible memories. The hospitality of our Norwegian colleagues was unsurpassed, and it was tough to leave the beautiful country. Until next time, Norway!
Noelle Speaks at NetSci 2019
May 27, 2019
Noelle traveled to beautiful Burlington, Vermont to speak about the use of metagenomic sequence data in food production as part of the NetSci 2019 session "Networks in Food Systems and Nutrition". This data-centric conference was full of interesting seminars about utilizing "big data" across many different life sciences disciplines. It was especially fun to see the central role of graduate students throughout the conference. A big "thank you" to the graduate students who coordinated the event and hosted Noelle's visit and talk!
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European Commission Joint Research Centre, Workshop on AMR Databases
May 22, 2019
Noelle was invited by the European Commission Joint Research Centre to participate in a Workshop on Antimicrobial Resistance Databases in beautiful Varano Borghi, Italy. This important effort is meant to support all of the work being done on sequence data, databases and ontologies related to antimicrobial resistance -- and to help advance research and surveillance. The Joint Research Centre was a wonderful host, and facilitated some very important discussions between current AMR resource developers, including the MEGaRES and AMR++ resources.
Metagenomics Bioinformatics Workshop
May 02, 2019
The Noyes Lab hosted a “Bioinformatics and Statistics Workshop for Resistome Analysis”, supported by the Norwegian Centennial Chair, the UMN Graduate School, UMN Extension, the College of Veterinary Medicine, and West Texas A&M University. The 2-day course included ~45 participants from 4 Universities, 4 UMN Colleges, the VA Medical Center, and several industry groups. In addition to teaching concepts related to next-generation sequencing and antimicrobial resistance, participants received hands-on training in analysis of metagenomic microbiome-resistome data. By utilizing Amazon Web Services and Shinyapps.io, the workshop provided each participant with individual, real-time access to high-performance computing capabilities to conduct “big data” analytics.
Engaging Intergovernmental Organizations 2019: A Whirlwind Trip and a Wonderful Interdisciplinary Experience!
September 09, 2019
Noelle was fortunate to receive support from the Veterinary Population Medicine Department to attend Engaging Intergovernmental Organizations 2019, organized by the Center for Animal Health and Food Safety. With stops in Paris, Geneva and Rome to visit OIE, WHO, WTO and FAO, Noelle learned an enormous amount about these important organizations, and was especially interested to hear about their tripartite work on AMR. The trip included extensive discussions about One Health and the important role of veterinarians in spearheading efforts in this arena. It is always fun to represent the veterinary profession, and this outreach event was no exception!
Chris Introduces USDA Mastitis-microbiome Project at Minnesota Dairy Health Conference
April 17, 2019
Chris presented at the 2019 Minnesota Dairy Health Conference, introducing our USDA project that aims to leverage the microbiome as a source of new tools in mastitis prevention and treatment. Chris did a great job with a lightning talk and follow-up poster presentation, and many of the attending dairy producers were interested in learning more about the newly-launched project.
Noelle Talks to Pig Health Today About New Technologies for Investigating Antimicrobial Resistance
March 15, 2019
Noelle spoke with Pig Health Today's Joe Feeks about the use of next-generation sequencing technologies to better understand antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in swine production systems. Thanks to Joe for a great discussion!
What does the microbiome have to do with food safety?
January 10, 2019
ILSI 2019 was a great program with a wealth of information about food safety and nutrition. Noelle was invited to speak about the use of shotgun metagenomics to understand the microbial ecology of post-harvest processes in beef production. It was a great session, and Noelle looks forward to attending many more ILSI meetings in the future!
openROAMER resource portal launched
September 03, 2018
Our USDA NIFA-funded openROAMER project got its own website, which we plan to update regularly with useful project updates and related resources. We hope to make this a great portal for dairy producers interested in the microbiome and how it may help to control mastitis. Take a gander and let us know of any additional resources we could add to the page!
Noelle speaks at Presidential Advisory Council
September 28, 2018
Noelle was invited to speak on a scientific panel at a public meeting of PACCARB. The topic of the meeting was The Environment and One Health, and Noelle spoke on a panel about "Detection and Control of Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment." The meeting included scientific experts across a variety of fields, all working on the issue of antimicrobial resistance using a One Health approach. It was great to be part of this effort and to hear the public's views on this important topic.
The Miracle of Birth Center at the MN State Fair
August 31, 2018
Noelle was able to volunteer at her first-ever Minnesota State Fair, during her first summer as a Minnesotan! And even better, she volunteered as a veterinarian at the Miracle of Birth Center, where visitors can see farm animals giving birth, and interact with baby pigs, cows and sheep. Noelle was assigned to the sows and piglets, and had a total blast interacting with the public and talking about livestock production. If you're ever in Minnesota in late August, we highly recommend visiting the State Fair (fun fact: it has the highest attendance in the country)!
Noelle speaks about career paths with DVM-PhD students
August 31, 2018
Noelle was invited to speak about her experiences as an early-career DVM/PhD graduate, at the 2nd National Colloquium for Combined DVM/PhD Biomedical Scientists at Texas A&M University. She joined several other recent (as well as more seasoned!) dual-degree holders in a panel session that covered a range of topics pertinent to veterinary scientists. After the Colloquium, Noelle was able to stay for the 2018 National Veterinary Scholars Symposium, which featured exciting research from hundreds of current veterinary student researchers. It is great to see the amazing scientific contributions of the veterinary community, and Noelle sends a wholehearted "thank you" to the conference organizers and sponsors.
Field Trip to MN Beef Facilities
July 05, 2018
Noelle joined members of the UMN Animal Sciences Beef Team, several new AgREETT extension faculty, and Mark Malecek from the MN Beef Council to spend the day touring UMN beef facilities in Rosemount and Grand Rapids, MN. It was a beautiful summer Minnesota day and we learned a lot about facilities available for research, education and extension; as well as current happenings in the MN beef industry. Thanks to our hosts Megan Webb and Alfredo DiCostanzo for a great day!
Chris shares passion for science and engineering with middle and high school students
April 05, 2018
Chris was a Grand Awards Judge in the Math and Computer Science division of the 63rd Annual Colorado Science and Engineering Fair held at Colorado State University on April 5, 2018. Over 325 middle school and high-school students from all around Colorado competed for awesome prizes and a chance to present their work at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Chris’s favorite project used word vectors and stylistic features to assign writing authorship.
Noelle speaks at CUGH One Health Session
March 15, 2018
Noelle spoke about antimicrobial resistance in livestock production at the One Health Session of the 2018 Annual Conference of the Consortium of Universities in Global Health. It was a lively, interactive session and many great ideas were exchanged. Many thanks to the session organizers; Dean Hendricks for her invitation; and to Colorado State University's College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences for financial support!
Noelle and Chris team with MEG to host Bioinformatics Workshop at CRWAD 2017
December 02, 2017
Deriving meaning from shotgun metagenomic data can be a daunting task. To reach out to researchers who want to utilize this approach, the Microbial Ecology Group at Colorado State University developed and hosted a bioinformatics workshop as part of the 2017 Annual Conference for Research Workers in Animal Diseases. Noelle and Chris helped to develop and deliver the workshop, which was attended by ~45 researchers across government, industry and academia.
Noelle speaks at IBM Research Accelerated Discovery Forum
August 31, 2017
Dr. Noyes spoke about shotgun metagenomics, antimicrobial resistance and livestock production at the IBM Research Accelerated Discovery Forum in San Jose, CA. The Distinguished Speaker invited talk was simulcast across IBM. There was great interactive discussion during the talk, including a lively Q&A. Many thanks to IBM Research-Almaden for being such a gracious host!
Noelle speaks at ASM special symposium
June 18, 2017
Dr. Noyes was a keynote speaker at the ASM Special Symposium titled "Industrial Metagenomics: Large Scale Analysis for Food Safety." The symposium was sponsored by Mars and IBM Research through the Consortium for Sequencing the Food Supply Chain. Dr. Noyes' talk focused on the use of shotgun metagenomic sequencing to improve understanding of antimicrobial resistance in beef production. It was a great symposium with many great speakers and audience questions. Thanks to IBM Research and Mars for the invitation and for sponsoring a great event!
HumanNature Blog Published
April 12, 2016
Read about Dr. Noyes' thoughts on livestock production and our changing society. "The Importance of Trust Between Food-Producers and Food-Consumers", a guest blog by Dr. Noyes at the HumanNature site, delves into some of the contentious issues surrounding livestock production.
Interview with Dr. Raymonds for Feedstuffs
April 04, 2016
Noelle Noyes and Keith Belk were interviewed by Dr. Richard Raymond for a piece in Feedstuffs about the role of shotgun metagenomics in the future of food safety and antimicrobial resistance mitigation efforts. The article, titled "Shotgun metagenomics: Not just a pretty face", can be read here.
Interview with the Naked Scientists
March 23, 2016
The Naked Scientists Podcast interviewed Dr. Noyes about a recent publication looking at the resistome of beef production.
VFD and AMR at Weld County Extension
February 20, 2016
Dr. Noyes spoke about the impending Veterinary Feed Directive, antimicrobial resistance and changes to antimicrobial use guidelines at the 3rd Annual Beef Cattle Seminar of CSU/Weld County Extension. There were dozens of ranchers in attendance, with many good questions about the practical implications of the VFD as well as some of the more theoretical concepts surrounding antimicrobial use and resistance. It was a great time and I would like to thank Weld Count Extension and Weld County Livestock Association for the invitation to speak and for being such great hosts!
Big data, the resistome and metagenomics at Schwabe Symposium
December 06, 2015
Dr. Noyes was a keynote at the annual Schwabe Symposium, hosted by the Association for Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine. She spoke about shotgun metagenomic approaches to understanding antimicrobial resistance, and how this relates to foundational principles of the discipline of epidemiology. It was a great symposium with engaging speakers, thanks to all who attended!