2011 Microbial Population Biology Gordon Research Conference

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This award provides support for the 2011 Microbial Population Biology Gordon Research Conference, a major forum for concepts in pathogen evolution, drug resistance, microbial communities, and more generally, medicine and microbes. Of three emphases of the 2011 meeting, one is the evolution and dynamics of infectious disease. A second focus is our microbiome, the collective multitude of microbes living on us. Perhaps surprisingly, the microbiome may prove relevant to infectious disease and other health issues, such as cancer and obesity. A third focus, new to the 2011 meeting, is the ecology of algae used for biofuels. Promises of algae for fuel have come from engineers in the lab; scaling up production to millions of acre-feet in ponds will require understanding algal ecology, the topic addressed here. The meeting provides extensive cross-disciplinary interactions. The 180 attendees of this meeting span a breadth of disciplines, and most of those attending have been students and post-doctoral scholars - the future researchers of this country. The 2011 meeting will also include several industry representatives as speakers. As in previous meetings, the organizers have paid close attention to creating a sex ratio of speakers that matches the audience (approximately 1/3) and minority representation.