The MEBO Research International Body Odor Webinar Series taking form

As mentioned previously, it has been decided not to schedule the full MEBO TMAU, Body Odor & Halitosis Webinar with the upcoming Nashville meetup 20-21 March, but instead to invite speakers to a series of separate webinars where everyone can watch from home, and there will be no time constraints. The meetup will launch this program with relevant topics of discussions and the opportunity to compile questions to raise to our experts prior to their respective presentations.

We have invited most of the experts who were at the TMAU 2002 workshop and are known to have an interest in FMO3 enzyme and TMAU. We are pleased to announce that the response has been very positive, and so far those who have kindly agreed to our initial series of webinars are :

Dr. George Preti, Monell Center, Philadelphia, USA
Dr. Paul Fennessey, University of Colorado Denver,USA
Dr. John Cashman, Human BioMolecular Research Institute (HBRI), California, USA
Dr. Eileen Treacy, Childrens University Hospital, Dublin, IE
Dr. Ian Phillips, Queen Mary University, London, UK
Dr. Elizabeth Shephard, University College London, UK
Dr. Irene Gabashvili, San José University, oversees MEBO's Research Studies, California, USA

We are most grateful and uplifted by the enthusiasm of the experts to wish to communicate with the body odor community. Initially, the first series of webinars will mainly involve experts associated with TMAU/FMO3, but it should be kept in mind that the FMO3 enzyme deals with many sulfides and amines, and so there may be a connection yet to be proven. Also, many of the experts have great knowledge in the whole set of biotransformation enzymes (xenobiotic enzymes), and some have expertise in other metabolism problems.

No scheduling or fixed plans have been made yet. The provisional plans are to use the gotowebinar software to host the webinars, which will allow up to 1000 guests to view the presentations. The series of webinars are likely to start late March or early April, and although a day hasn't been decided, it seems likely that a Sunday would accommodate most world timezones and suit the experts (?). We also hope to record and host the webinar videos on our website, if the experts give permission (possibly edited).

The format of the webinars is provisionally planned as breaking the presentations into 3 phases: Phase 1 would be the host introducing the guest who would then give a presentation. Phase 2 would be agreed written questions asked by the host or other people or a similar format, and Phase 3 would be the audience asking questions by text or by audio (scheduled via a coordinator). Nothing is decided yet.

To view the webinar, most people's computer systems will be ready to view it with no problem. To participate, anyone should be able to send chat messages. Anyone wishing to speak to the expert would need to have a mic. A cheap headset would do. All questions would be moderated and queued, such as radio stations use. It will be free for everyone.

The program costs $100 a month, so the plan is for MeBO Research to take the program for 2 months, and then it will depend on circumstances. Possibly the webinars could continue in some way with guest experts from various areas of the body odor and halitosis field.

We hope have it up and running in time for the Nashville meetup, and perhaps some of the people who couldn't attend Nashville can join us at a set time to chit chat with us. Anyone would be able to join in by video/audio with a webcam and microphone, or with just a microphone, or on the chat line. Or perhaps we could have an international online get-together to try it out. We'll see if we can get it all set up to try it out during the meetup. If all goes well, we'll be able to start our International Body Odor Webinar Series with the experts in the days and weeks to follow.

We will keep you regularly updated about the plans.

Notable body odor associated medical papers by the guest experts : (to follow)
Dr Cashman : Transient trimethylaminuria related to menstruation
Dr Treacy : Trimethylaminuria and Deficiency of Flavin-Containing Monooxygenase Type 3
Drs Phillips/Shephard : Gene Reviews entry for Trimethylaminuria
Dr Preti : Genetic influences on human body odor: from genes to the axillae
Drs Fennessey, Cashman et al : Biochemical and clinical aspects of the human flavin-containing monooxygenase form 3 (FMO3) related to trimethylaminuria