FOOD AND NUTRITION ARE FUNDAMENTAL PILLARS SUPPORTING HEALTHY AGING. TO FIND SOLUTIONS FOR OUR HEALTH CHALLENGES, WE MUST CHANGE THE ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL APPROACH TO A NEW APPROACH THAT UNDERSTANDS AND LEVERAGES THE FACTORS THAT MEDIATE INDIVIDUALIZED RESPONSES TO NUTRITION AND DISEASE RISK. NEW EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT INTERACTIONS AMONG THE MICROBIOTA, METABOLISM AND NUTRITION CONTRIBUTE TO AGE-RELATED DYSFUNCTION AND CHRONIC DISEASE. THESE INTERACTIVE RELATIONSHIPS ARE POORLY DEFINED AND THE TOOLS TO UNDERSTAND THEIR MEANING ARE STILL EVOLVING. OUR GOAL FOR THIS CONFERENCE IS TO BREAK DOWN BARRIERS AND HIGHLIGHT HOW PRECISION NUTRITION APPROACHES CAN HELP ACHIEVE OPTIMAL HEALTH. THIS CONFERENCE GRANT WILL SUPPORT PANELISTS, SPEAKERS AND SESSIONS THAT FOCUS ON THE INTERACTION AMONG FOOD BIOACTIVES AND THE MICROBIOME ON PRECISION HEALTH OUTCOMES INCLUDING IMMUNE FUNCTION, COGNITION, NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES AND OBESITY. OUR OBJECTIVES ARE 1) REVIEW THE CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF PRECISION NUTRITION WITH A FOCUS ON THE MICROBIOME AS A FACTOR DRIVING PERSONALIZED HEALTH RESPONSES 2) ASSESS AND REVIEW THE IMPACT OF MICROBIOME-TARGETED INTERVENTIONS ON HEALTH OUTCOMES AND IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES FOR USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, MACHINE LEARNING AND DATA SCIENCES TO ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING OF NUTRITION, MICROBIOME AND HEALTH INTERACTIONS. 3) PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES TO FOSTER TRANSDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH DISCUSSIONS AMONG ESTABLISHED AND YOUNG INVESTIGATORS ACROSS MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES AND DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS. THE LINUS PAULING INSTITUTE'S DIET AND OPTIMUM HEALTH CONFERENCE HAS BEEN AN INCLUSIVE VENUE WHERE PEOPLE WITH DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS AND PERSPECTIVES CAN COME TOGETHER TO FIND INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS. THIS CONFERENCE WILL PRESENT CUTTING-EDGE SCIENCE AND CATALYZE COLLABORATIONS AT THE INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN NUTRITION AND PRECISION HEALTH RESEARCH.