Human Microbiome: Diversity, Selection and Adaptation

ABSTRACT Support is requested for a Keystone Symposia conference entitled Human Microbiome: Diversity, Selection and Adaptation organized by Drs. Suzanne Devkota, Jeff F. Miller and Roberto G. Kolter, with scientific programming input from Keystone Symposia. The meeting will take place February 18–21, 2025 at Fairmont Banff Springs in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Recent studies suggest that half of every person's microbial gene content may be entirely unique. This conference aims to bring together researchers studying hosts and microbiomes, with those studying fundamental microbiology, microbial genetics and microbial ecology to spark deeper and more mechanistic research in the microbiome field. The conference program will focus on our emerging understanding of the diversity of the human microbiome and its functional consequences in the selection and adaptation processes that shape human- microbiome interactions in health and disease. Pioneering tools and technologies to interrogate microbial genetics and microbial community composition will be featured, alongside innovative strategies to integrate these data with discoveries regarding host-microbe interactions, adaptations and impacts. Additionally, this conference will be held jointly with another Keystone Symposia meeting on Host-Microbe Co-Evolution in Human Health: The Microbiome-Pathobiont Continuum to enable cross-disciplinary insights and collaborations towards a more comprehensive and integrative understanding of the holobiont.