2025 Immunology of Fungal Infections Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar

PROJECT SUMMARY. This proposal requests partial support for a meeting on the Immunology of Fungal Infections as a part of a Gordon Research Conference (GRC) and Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) to be held in Ventura, CA, from January 19-24, 2025. The broad and long-term goal of this conference is to bring together leading researchers in this rapidly expanding field to foster cross-disciplinary discussions and collaborations. The meeting is designed to further our understanding of antifungal immunity with the aim of developing new insights for controlling human fungal pathogens. The 2025 conference will include a GRS for trainees held immediately prior to and in conjunction with the GRC. The specific aims of this meeting will be to convene over 50 leading experts who will present unpublished data and insights within the field of fungal immunology, (2) to highlight advances in immunotherapies and vaccine strategies against fungal diseases, (3) to discuss the role of the mycobiota in early life development, susceptibility to fungal infections, allergic and atopic diseases, and neoplasia, (4) to highlight neglected research areas and develop strategies to prioritize these gaps in research, and (5) to elucidate the relationship between fungal pathogens and frontier areas of immunological research, including signaling and stress pathways, fungal and host metabolic processes at sites of infection, and the role of neuro-immune crosstalk in antifungal immunity. The program will be structured into 9 sessions that cover host and fungal factors that determine innate and adaptive immune responses and fungal disease outcomes, emphasizing both basic and translational research. Afternoon poster sessions will permit all participants to contribute to these topics with the most meritorious abstracts chosen by the conference Chairs and Vice-Chairs for oral presentations. Every effort will be made to encourage participation by graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the GRC. In addition, the GRS will be specifically aimed at trainees, allowing them to present their research and interact in a relaxing and supportive environment. Every effort will be made to promote gender parity, to recruit, support, and highlight individuals that belong to minority groups that have been historically underrepresented in biomedical research, and to accommodate persons with disabilities. The significance of this application lies in the essential forum provided by the GRC and GRS to bring together and synergize members of the global research community working on the immunology of fungal infections, which remains a highly understudied area. The GRS will have the added value of helping to train and energize the next generation of researchers in the field. The health relatedness of this application is that the presentations, scientific exchange, and discussions will help to define the important questions relating to basic science as well as those necessary for the development of novel strategies for immunotherapy. With the high levels of mortality and morbidity associated with these devastating illnesses, the latter are urgently needed.