2023 Staphylococcal Diseases Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar

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Project Summary The purpose of this grant submission is to request funds to partially support the 2023 Staphylococcal Diseases Gordon Research Conference (GRC) and its associated Gordon Research Seminar (GRS). This will be the 17th GRC, with the first being held in 1989 and thereafter on a bi-annual basis. Importantly, it will be the 5th meeting of the GRS, the purpose of which is to foster development of the next generation of staphylococcal investigators and invite their active participation and integration into the broader research community. These meetings will be held July 29 – August 4th at Waterville Valley, NH. This will be the first meeting at this GRC site, and consistent with the approach of the Staphylococcal Diseases Gordon Research Conference, is alternating location with the US to encourage participation of a wide array of staphylococcal biologists from around the world. The Chairs for the 2023 meeting will be Drs. Alexander Horswill and Juliane Bubeck- Wardenburg who served as Co-Vice Chairs for the last GRC meeting in 2019 at the Rey Don Jaime Grand Hotel, Castelldefels, Spain. Drs. Joan Geoghegan and Barbara Kahl will serve as Co-Chairs for the 2023 meeting, then will Chair the following meeting in 2025. Drs. Arya Gupta and Stephen Tufts will serve as Co- Chairs of the 2023 GRS. The overall goal of the GRC and its associated GRS is to bring the world's leading scientists and the most promising young investigators and trainees together in a collegial and supportive environment. The specific goals are to: 1) provide a forum for the presentation of unpublished, cutting-edge research on the staphylococci and foster formal and informal discussions on how these results advance the field, 2) include investigators and clinicians focusing on diverse staphylococcal species and define the impact of these species on staphylococcal infection in both humans and animals, 3) expand the boundaries of the work of the scientists within this field, and 4) ensure development and integration of young investigators into the broader research community in a meaningful and interactive way. The collegial atmosphere will include organized discussion sessions and opportunities for informal gatherings in the afternoons and evenings, providing an ideal setting for scientists from different disciplines to exchange ideas and foster cross-disciplinary collaborations both among themselves and the next generation of staphylococcal investigators. Thus, the GRC will provide a unique and fundamentally important opportunity to bring together the world's leading staphylococcal investigators in a format designed for the free exchange of research results and ideas covering all aspects of staphylococcal biology and its relationship to disease. Together with the GRS, the GRC will promote the development of promising young investigators in the field and their integration into the larger research community. In the short term, this will significantly enhance the ability of investigators around the world to address critical problems in staphylococcal disease, while in the long term it will ensure the continued success of their efforts and those of the next generation of investigators.