Global “Microbe Art Contest”

International Microorganism Day, celebrated annually on September 17, promotes the Microbe Art Contest, an international competition that aims to bring together microbiology and artistic expression.

The contest seeks to raise awareness of the importance of microorganisms through visual productions and creative works, connecting the scientific community with the general public.

Contest Structure

Who can participate

The call is open to students, researchers, healthcare professionals, artists, and anyone interested in the subject, with no restrictions regarding age or geographic location.

Eligible formats

Submissions can be made in different formats:

• Agar Art: Artwork created on Petri dishes through the planned cultivation of bacteria, fungi, or yeasts.
• Illustration and Digital Art: Drawings, paintings, or digital creations inspired by microbial structures and forms.
• Crafts and Modeling: Physical artworks such as sculptures, three-dimensional models, embroidery, or textile pieces.

Submission Procedure

1. Create the artwork in one of the eligible categories.
2. Publish an image of the artwork on social media (Instagram, X, or LinkedIn), including the event’s official hashtags and tagging the organizers, as specified in the regulations.
3. Complete the submission form on the event’s official website.

2024 Winners:

For complete participation guidelines, deadlines, and evaluation criteria, visit the official event page:

Official Microbe Art Contest page:
https://www.internationalmicroorganismday.org/microbe-art-contest

The Biology Academic Center (CAbio) at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), supported by the Center for Biological Sciences (CCB) and the National Biology Students Association (ENEBio), will host the Regional Meeting of Biology Students – South (EREB-South) from September 3 to 7 at UFSC’s Ressacada Farm in Florianópolis.

Themed “Breaking Dormancy: Biology to be Lived”, EREB 2026 focuses on addressing local issues, particularly by listening to and supporting the needs of communities surrounding Ressacada Farm.

Registration costs R$ 100.00 and can be completed online via the event form. Registered attendees will receive a 35-hour certificate, as well as a presentation certificate for those sharing work.

For more details, visit the event’s Instagram page:
@erebsul2026.

The Academic Week of Biological Sciences has the following theme this year:

Evolution and Conservation: Understanding the Past to Preserve the Future

Event dates: August 31 to September 4, 2026

🦠 Featured Program: Special Lecture

As part of the program of the XXVI Academic Week of Biological Sciences at UFSC, we invite everyone to attend a special lecture by Prof. Rubens Tadeu Delgado Duarte:

“What Do Extremophilic Bacteria from Antarctica Tell Us About Climate Change?”

Date: August 31 (Monday)
Time: 4:00 PM

Stay tuned to the complete Academic Week program to check out the other activities, short courses, and scientific presentations!

Brazilian Congress of Microbiology 2027 to Be Held in Foz do Iguaçu

In 2027, Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, will host one of the major gatherings of the Brazilian and Latin American microbiology communities!

The Brazilian Congress of Microbiology (CBM) joins forces with the Latin American Congress of Microbiology (ALAM) and will take place from October 24 to 27 at the Rafain Palace Hotel & Convention in Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná. The central theme, “Microbiology for a Sustainable Future,” is an invitation to the Latin American scientific community to discuss the role of microbiology in addressing the climate, environmental, and social challenges of our time.

Registration will open soon.

MIP5121 | Microbial Ecology

Course coordinator: Prof. Rubens T. D. Duarte

Offered: Every first semester

Course type: Elective course

Programs: Agronomy, Biological Sciences, and Environmental and Sanitary Engineering

Schedule: Monday – 15:10-18:00

Throughout the course, students explore topics including culture-dependent and culture-independent methods, environmental factors affecting microorganisms, biogeochemical cycles, interactions between microorganisms and other organisms, microbial population and community dynamics, and diversity indices.

The course also addresses applications of microbial ecology in environmental assessment, wastewater treatment, waste management, and bioremediation.

Practical Activities

The course combines theoretical content with laboratory activities, allowing students to explore different approaches to the study of environmental microbial communities.

Practical activities include:

• Preparation and monitoring of Winogradsky columns;

• Viable cell counting;

• Selection and cultivation of microbial isolates;

• Assessment of spore-forming, cellulolytic, and phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms;

• Assessment of photosynthetic microorganisms;

• Soil respiration assays;

• Studies of xenobiotic biodegradation.

Microbial Ecology and Biotechnology

The course also highlights the potential of microorganisms in environmental biotechnology, relating microbial ecology to the understanding of elemental cycles, waste and wastewater treatment, and bioremediation processes.

The course integrates theoretical knowledge, experimentation, and discussion of current topics, contributing to the education of students interested in environmental microbiology, microbial ecology, biotechnology, and environmental conservation.

30 years of history, innovation, and transformation!

For three decades, the Graduate Program in Biotechnology and Biosciences at UFSC has been training researchers, driving scientific discoveries, and contributing to the advancement of biotechnology in Brazil and around the world.

This marks 30 years of dedication to science, the training of qualified human resources, and the generation of knowledge that impacts society. It is a journey built by faculty members, staff, students, alumni, and partners who have been—and continue to be—part of this story.

We invite the entire academic community, alumni, and friends of PPGBTC to celebrate this very special milestone with us!

August 5, 2026 — 2:00 PM

CCB Auditorium – UFSC

Bioinformatics and Metagenomic Data Analysis – 3 credits

Graduate Program in Biotechnology and Biosciences – 2026.2

Prof. Dr. Rubens Tadeu Delgado Duarte (Course Coordinator)

Dr. Lívia Budziarek Eslabão (Invited Postdoctoral Researcher)

During the 2026.2 semester, the Graduate Program in Biotechnology and Biosciences at UFSC is offering the course Bioinformatics II: Metagenomic Data Analysis, focused on the analysis and interpretation of data generated by high-throughput sequencing technologies. The course covers strategies for the structural and functional analysis of genomes and metagenomes, integration of omics datasets, and applications in systems biology, culminating in the development of a biological data analysis project.

📅 Enrollment
• Regular graduate students: July 16–20
• Students from other UFSC graduate programs: starting July 22
• Non-degree (special enrollment) students: July 29–31

Info: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia e Biociências

From July 8 to 10, the Laboratory of Molecular Ecology and Extremophiles (LEMEx) hosted a training course on Nanopore sequencing using the MinION platform, taught by Dr. Fernando Lucas Melo, a researcher at Embrapa.

Throughout the three-day course, participants gained both theoretical and practical knowledge of third-generation sequencing technology, covering topics ranging from sample and library preparation to instrument operation, data analysis, and applications in various fields of scientific research.

The Board of the Center for Biological Sciences of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (CCB/UFSC) warmly invites the academic community and the people of Santa Catarina to attend the Solemn Parliamentary Session celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Center for Biological Sciences, promoted by the Legislative Assembly of Santa Catarina (ALESC).

The event honors the history and achievements of CCB/UFSC, nationally recognized for its excellence in teaching, research, extension, innovation, and its significant scientific contributions in the fields of biodiversity, environmental conservation, biotechnology, and biomedical sciences.

Over the past five decades, the Center for Biological Sciences has established itself as one of Brazil’s leading institutions for scientific research and knowledge production, educating thousands of professionals and contributing substantially to the scientific, technological, and sustainable development of Santa Catarina and Brazil.

During the ceremony, tributes will be paid to the Center for Biological Sciences, its former directors, academic departments, undergraduate programs, and graduate programs that have played a significant role in shaping the history of both CCB and UFSC.

Your presence will be a great honor as we celebrate science, public higher education, and the remarkable legacy of the Center for Biological Sciences at UFSC.

📍 Solemn Parliamentary Session – 50th Anniversary of CCB/UFSC
📅 June 18, 2026 (Thursday)
🕖 7:00 p.m.
📌 Antonieta de Barros Auditorium – Legislative Assembly of Santa Catarina (ALESC)
Palácio Barriga Verde – 310 Dr. Jorge Luz Fontes Street, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil
📺 Live broadcast: TVAL and the AssembleiaSC YouTube Channel

The X-Meeting, organized by the Brazilian Association for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (AB3C), is the leading Brazilian scientific conference dedicated to bioinformatics. The 2026 edition was held in Garibaldi (“Vale dos Vinhedos”), Rio Grande do Sul, from June 9 to 12.

The conference brings together researchers, scientists, students, and professionals in bioinformatics and related fields to share cutting-edge research and discuss technological advances in computational biology. The program includes lectures by national and international experts, scientific presentations, poster sessions, workshops, and specialized online short courses held before the event. This edition focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) applied to the biological sciences, generative models, deep learning, and precision bioinformatics.

Our laboratory member and undergraduate Biological Sciences student, Ediane M. Rubas, presented the study entitled “WEB-BASED TOOL FOR THE ANALYSIS AND VISUALIZATION OF DATA PROCESSED IN MOTHUR.” The study addresses a recurring bottleneck in microbial ecology: the large volume of data generated by sequencing, whose processing and interpretation require programming skills that are not always available to all researchers. The proposed solution is an interactive application developed in R using the Shiny package, which organizes the main stages of data analysis for data processed through the mothur pipeline into independent modules. The tool will be distributed via shinyapps.io, requiring no installation or configuration by the user, with its source code openly available in a public GitHub repository.

For LEMEx, participation in the event brings new perspectives and reinforces the laboratory’s commitment to making microbiome data analysis more accessible to researchers from different backgrounds.