4th Beneficial Microbes ConferenceSan Antonio, Tx, October 22 - 26, 2012

American Society For Microbiology, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

The tremendous progress of high throughput technologies including DNA sequencing and proteomics is rapidly advancing the understanding of beneficial microbe-host interactions. Most animals and plants depend upon associations with coevolved communities of microorganisms that play critical roles in physiological balance and maintaining homeostasis. Recognition of these phenomena is revolutionizing how biologists view the function of the normal microbiota with respect to their association with hosts. The Beneficial Microbes Conference is unique in cutting across disciplines by bringing together ecologists, microbiologists, molecular biologists and computational biologists that have the common goal to understand the mechanisms and benefits of microbial interactions with a variety of hosts, from plants to humans. The conference will be held in San Antonio, Texas as a convenient central location in the United States. The aim is to provide a forum for increasing cross-disciplinary interactions and thus to develop new insights and approaches to the study of beneficial host-microbe interactions. This field is currently very popular as demonstrated by past scientist attendance to this conference series, including graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. To assure a broad representation, the organizational committee has well balanced demographic representation. One third of the invited speakers are junior (pre-tenure), and 6 of 19 invited speakers are women. Of the 36 contributed oral presentations, 17 (47%) will be selected from submitted abstracts, ensuring ample high-visibility for students and postdocs with innovative ideas. As in the previous meetings, the selection process for these student and postdoc presentations will focus on junior researchers, women and minorities. Students at underrepresented minority institutions will also be targets for support. The proposal budget includes 5 travel awards for minority graduate students, and the awardees will be selected based on the quality of their abstracts. Only poster presenters who are U.S. citizens will receive travel support.