It is with great pleasure that we hosted our collaborator, Stefanie Barbirz, from the Medical Berlin School Berlin, here in Umeå at the end of March. Stefanie delivered a captivating seminar on her research. Her talk titled ‘Bacteriophages crossing glycan barriers on bacterial cell surfaces,’ as part of the newly established Integrated Biomedical Science seminar series at Umeå University, was very well received and generated an engaging discussion.
Her visit provided an exceptional opportunity to deepen the collaboration between the Bally and Barbirz labs. We are currently working together on pioneering projects to establish lipopolysaccharide-containing bilayers and cell-membrane mimics of varying compositional complexities. These innovative models will help us study the intricate mechanisms by which bacteriophages dock onto the surfaces of gram-negative bacteria and eject their DNA. Stay tuned for exciting results from this cutting-edge research!
Moreover, Stefanie also engaged in one-on-one discussions with researchers from other departments and lab group members during her visit. These interactions generated new ideas and connections at Umeå University.
Spring arrived early this year, and Stefanie had the chance to experience Umeå in its muddy yet charming state. Fortunately, beautiful spring sunshine greeted her. We took the opportunity to enjoy a delightful stroll on Lake Tavelsjö before it thaws for the summer.
Stefanie Barbirz, Marta Bally and Hudson Pace (left to right)
At pen: Marta Bally