Mammals and microbes have co-evolved over 250 million years and host-microbial interactions are central to health and disease. This meeting will bring together groups of scientists working on pathogens, commensals, microbial sensing, innate immunity, evolution, and disease pathogenesis to integrate knowledge and collectively address major questions in the field.

This meeting will explore the:

1) impact of viruses on the host, in particular endogenous retroelements and chronic viral infections

2) impact of commensal bacteria and fungi and persistent intracellular pathogens on the host

3) definition of a pathobiont

4) co-evolution of host-microbial interactions

5) role of microbes in disease

To further expand the scope of the meeting we will organize two workshops: one on neuronal control of host-microbial interactions and one on the interface of nutrition, microbiome and disease. The interdisciplinary nature of the meeting and its focus on host-microbe interactions across microbial species will give investigators a broad perspective on host-microbial interactions and encourage them to go beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries.

The conference will be held jointly with the Keystone Symposium on Human Microbiome: Diversity, Selection and Adaptation to enable cross-disciplinary insights and collaborations towards a more comprehensive and integrative understanding of the holobiont.