Biennial Mid-Atlantic Microbial Pathogenesis Meeting (MAMPM)

Univ Of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC

Investigators

Abstract

ABSTRACT The 12th Mid-Atlantic Microbial Pathogenesis Meeting (MAMPM) will be held February 5-7, 2023 at Wintergreen Resort and Conference Center near Charlottesville, Virginia. The purpose of the biennial MAMPM is to foster communication and collaboration among scientists engaged in microbial pathogenesis research in the Mid-Atlantic Region (North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, The District of Columbia, West Virginia, and Delaware). Numerous NIH/NIAID-funded investigators studying the virulence mechanisms of pathogens of importance to human health are located in this geographic region and have participated in multiple MAMPMs. MAMPM attracts scientists both from within and outside the Mid-Atlantic region; the 11th MAMPM in 2022 featured 194 attendees from Mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia as well as from 8 states outside the region. The meeting achieved near-maximum registration despite the pandemic. One of MAMPM’s key goals is to provide students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty with the opportunity to present their work to a knowledgeable audience, focused in this discipline, in a collegial yet scientifically rigorous environment. MAMPM is a formative experience for young scientists’ professional development and remains one of the most appealing and positively evaluated aspects of this conference. MAMPM 2023 will consist of four sessions over three days. Each session will feature an invited keynote speaker and talks by graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and a limited number of junior principal investigators, selected from the submitted abstracts by the Scientific Program Committee. Drs. Sunny Shin (U Penn), Carlos Orihuela (U Alabama Birmingham), Craig Altier (Cornell Univ.), and Patricia Champion (Univ Notre Dame) have agreed to be the MAMPM 2021 Keynote Speakers. Two highly interactive poster sessions will be held to allow the opportunity for all participants to present and discuss their work face-to-face. MAMPM 2023 will be publicized through advertisements in professional publications, social media posts, and direct electronic mailings to relevant departments at academic institutions, government and private laboratories within the region and to members of the local American Society for Microbiology branches. MAMPM remains committed to ensuring a balanced representation of women, underrepresented minorities, and persons of disability in the leadership, conference participants, and speakers, including keynote speakers. The conference will also feature a moderated, diversity-focused event that is open to all conference attendees; based on feedback from MAMPM 2022, the discussion will be driven by topics and questions, solicited from attendees prior to the meeting, related to diversity and inclusivity in the microbial pathogenesis field. In addition, the meeting will include “Dine with a Keynote” opportunities for trainees to discuss professional development issues.