2023 Microbial Population Biology Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar

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PROJECT SUMMARY The rich diversity of our microbial world influences every aspect of human life. Since 1985 the Microbial Population Biology Gordon Research Conference (GRC) has been the premier international meeting on the evolution and ecology of microbial populations, bringing together up to 200 scientists at the forefront of their disciplines for 5 days of intense interactions. Its long-term objective is to improve our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary forces responsible for this diversity. It is preceded by a 2-day Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) that combines research presentations with mentorship for approximately 75 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The cancellation of the 2021 meetings due to the COVID pandemic was particularly unfortunate given the expertise and leadership of our community in studying and communicating the evolution and epidemiology of infectious disease. The goal of the 2023 Microbial Population Biology GRC and GRS is to understand how real microbes interact and evolve in nature, with a special emphasis on pandemics. Presenters will build upon decades of model- system research, often featured at previous conferences in this series, seeking to understand how microbial populations interact at scales from landscapes and oceans to intracellular mutualisms and disease. Three of the ten sessions will focus entirely on epidemics and pandemics, one in animal hosts, one in human hosts, and finally a COVID-19 session with a leading epidemiologist and a medical historian. Health-related themes also run through most of the other sessions (e.g., interactions in polymicrobial infections, vector-borne infections, emerging zoonoses, the evolution of antimicrobial resistance, prospects of phage therapy). We expect the 2023 edition of this conference to be timelier than ever before and more relevant to the mission of NIAID and other Institutes for its focus on microbes relevant to human health, including the origins and dynamics of pandemic infections. Our aims are the following: 1) To advance research of not just microbial population biology but also evolutionary epidemiology and microbiome sciences; 2) To catalyze discussions at the interface of related disciplines that study similar phenomena in different systems; 3) To provide a diverse, inclusive, collaborative environment for researchers to share and discuss their latest research on the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of microbial populations in natural communities, including many associated with humans that cause disease; 4) To promote interactions between established and junior investigators (students, postdoctoral trainees, and junior faculty); and 5) To support an independent, affiliated Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) exclusively for postdoctoral scholars and graduate students to present and discuss their research.