The Boston event Biofilm Innovations 2013 on January 30th went very well. We covered a lot of ground, with each presenter offering different aspects of biofilms and their relatedness to medical areas of inquiry. Doctors’ Ehrlich, Sindelar and Wolcott presented on orthopedic, dental and wound biofilms, respectively.

Students presented their research via posterboards, we showed short films that synergized with our presenters and then invited questions from the audience. It was three hours in total and was videotaped for the future DVD, which will be available in late March.

Some of the questions and comments from the audience were excellent, if not challenging. For example, some questions suggested difficult-to-treat biofilm infections like prostatitis and Lyme disease; others on linkages to atherosclerosis. On a related note, I am reading a few books on the use of essential oils and herbs to effectively treat these difficult infections.

A reminder that the film Why Am I Still Sick is dedicated to the late, great Dr. Bill Costerton, credited with being the “father of biofilms.” His contributions to starting biofilm science(s) is hard to overstate, since he is known around the world as a great thinker, researcher, innovator, teacher and friend to many. I showed a short film of him at the beginning of the night, and my friend and producer Kat Tatlock took this almost surreal picture showing the presenters in the foreground.

Their silhouettes provide a stark contrast to the past, present and future of biofilm innovations. Alas, it really does show Bill as he was: larger than life, and full of life!