Unveiling Microbial Dominance of the Pulmonary Microbiome

Lower respiratory tract infections are the leading cause of death from communicable diseases globally. Despite the importance of nonhuman primates in modeling human respiratory infections and testing vaccines and therapeutics, our understanding of the native lung microbial and immune landscape in these models is limited. To date, no published studies have described the pigtail macaque (PTM) lung microbiome. This presentation will highlight the first comprehensive study to characterize the lung microbiome of the pigtail macaque, variability across individual animals, and examine environmental factors contributing to microbial variability. After viewing this lecture, participants should be able to: 1. Describe characteristics of Whipple’s disease 2. Describe methods used for microbiome analysis 3. Understand factors contributing to the pulmonary microbiome Megan O’Connor, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology University of Washington 11/12/25 The University of Washington is committed to ensuring digital accessibility in our services, programs, and activities. If you encounter accessibility barriers using videos found on this channel, please contact UW Video at uwvideo [at] uw [dot] edu.