The Waterloo Centre for Microbial Research (WCMR) is an institution at the University of Waterloo whose mandate is to promote research and education in the application of microbiological principles and techniques to address environmental, industrial, economic and human health challenges. The Waterloo Centre for Microbial Research is home to all microbial related research at the University of Waterloo. As such, the WCMR focuses on microbial communities and their undiscovered scientific potential. More importantly, the WCMR supports coordinated interdisciplinary research spanning the full microbial spectrum- from basic research discovery to the application of microorganisms to solve problems of economic, health, industrial and environmental impact.