Microbiome Interactions in Health and Disease

The 12th Microbiome Interactions in Health and Disease meeting will bring together leading scientists, clinicians and bionformaticians working in microbiology, host-microbiota interactions, gastroenterology, microbial ecology, neuroscience, and public health to discuss the latest developments in microbiome research and applications.

The host-associated microbiota has a profound impact on early development and health throughout life. The interplay between microbiota, nutrition and host immunity is important in the pathophysiology of many diseases, including liver diseases, inflammatory bowel conditions, autoimmune diseases, cancers and diabetes. Studies on microbiota from various body sites, and in patient cohorts, are helping us to understand how microorganisms affect the physiology of the host, leading to new applications and therapies.

This meeting will update current knowledge of microbiota ecology and the mechanisms by which microbiomes and their metabolites influence the immune system and development and function of different organs. The programme will also highlight new developments enabled by large-scale approaches and emerging technologies.

This year’s meeting will include discussions on how to improve knowledge of microbiomes from populations across the world. We will also focus on how the gut microbiome can impact on the gut-brain axis, neuropathies and behaviour. Sessions will also explore ecological networks and modelling, how the microbiome is influenced by the immune system and the latest developments in biotherapeutics, including faecal transfer in the clinic.

The programme will also include short oral presentations selected from abstracts, lightning talks, posters, discussion sessions and networking opportunities for a highly interactive meeting.

This conference will be a hybrid meeting – with onsite or virtual attendance.

The conference will start at approximately 1pm on 14 February and close at approximately 2pm on 16 February 2024. All times are given in GMT. See the time where you are here.

Discussions will focus on a variety of exciting topics, including:

• Under represented microbiomes
• Ecological networks and modelling
• Vaginal microbiomes
• Gut-brain axis
• Live biotherapeutics
• Microbiome and immunology

Scientific programme committee

Denise Morais da Fonseca
University of São Paulo, Brazil

Lindsay Hall
University of Birmingham, UK

Alan Walker
University of Aberdeen, UK

Jerry Wells
Wageningen University, The Netherlands

Keynote speaker

Niranjan Nagarajan
A*STAR Genome Institute of Singapore

Confirmed speakers

María Rodriguez Aburto – University College Cork, Ireland
Kat Coyte – University of Manchester, UK
Carla Taddei de Castro Neves – University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
Friederike Ebner – Technical University of Munich, Germany
Ahmed Hegazy – Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin,  Germany
Sarah Lebeer – University of Antwerp, Belgium
David MacIntyre  – Imperical College, London, UK
Thulani P. Makhalanyane  – Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Saman Maleki – Western University, Canada
Elena Rampanelli – Amsterdam UMC, The Netherlands
Jordi Mayneris Perxachs – Girona Biomedical Research Institute (IdibGi), Spain
Takuji Yamada – Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan

Organisers

Treasa Creavin
Wellcome Connecting Science,UK

Jemma Hume
Wellcome Connecting Science, UK

Registration deadline: 16 January  (in person) | 6 February (virtual)

The in-person registration fee includes:

• Full access to scientific programme: oral and poster presentations, and networking on campus
• Access to the online conference portal to network with online participants
• Meals (lunch and dinner) and refreshments during the conference. Breakfast will be provided for delegates who have booked onsite accommodation.
• Recordings of the live-stream sessions, which will be available ‘on-demand’ for four weeks after the event ends

Virtual registration fee includes:

• Access to the virtual event portal (Log in details will be emailed a few days before the event starts)
• Live-stream sessions, including posters and online networking channels
• Recordings of the live-stream sessions, available ‘on-demand’ for four weeks after the event ends.

* To promote more inclusive scientific discussions with international colleagues at our conferences, virtual delegates based in Lower and Middle-Income Countries can register for free (see list of countries here).

If you are an editor or journalist, please contact the conference organiser for more information about the discounted fee.

Accommodation
Booked accommodation is for the nights of 14  and 15  February 2024.
Please note: there is limited onsite accommodation and this will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis; therefore, early registration is recommended.

If you wish to book campus accommodation either side of the conference dates, please contact the Hinxton Hall Conference Centre directly.

Accommodation services phishing scam – please be vigilant. More information.

Travel visas
Citizens of many countries can travel to the UK to attend a course or conference without needing a visa. Please check the UK government website for visitor information: https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor.

Confirmed attendees requiring a letter to support a visa application should contact the event organiser.

Bursaries

Bursary deadline: 7 November 2023

A number of registration bursaries are available to attend this conference in person (up to 50% of the registration fee). Priority will be given to PhD students submitting abstracts who are facing financial barriers.

To apply, please use the dedicated bursary application link on the registration site. Please answer the bursary-related questions and submit an abstract before midnight UK time on the bursary deadline for your application to be considered.

Additional funding opportunities

Visit our support page for information on financial support, including carer grants to help delegates with the costs of caring for children or dependent family members while attending a course or a conference.

Abstract deadline: 5 December 2023

We welcome abstracts from all areas relevant to the main themes of the meeting, for both oral and poster presentations. Several oral presentations will be chosen from the abstracts submitted. Presenters of oral presentations as expected to be onsite for the duration of the conference, whereas those presenting posters can do so in person or virtually.

The microbiology society will be sponsoring a prize for the best poster and selected oral presentation.

Abstracts will only be considered from registered delegates. Please use our online abstract submission system and follow the instructions given to ensure your abstract is submitted correctly. All abstracts must be submitted by the deadline. You can make changes to your submitted abstract before of the deadline by logging into your account and following the instructions.

If you have already completed your registration and subsequently wish to submit an abstract, or wish to submit a second abstract, please follow these instructions.

The scientific programme committee will assess your abstract after the deadline has passed and you will be notified whether you have been selected to present an oral or poster presentation.

Poster boards onsite will accommodate 118 cm high by 84 cm wide (A0-portrait) of printed material. Accepted abstracts will appear in the conference programme book; poster board numbers will be allocated at the conference. All those accepted for a poster presentation will be given the opportunity to upload a short video describing their work.

For more information about the benefits of having a presence at this meeting, see our sponsorship page.

Personalised medicine based on deep human phenotyping | Professor Eran Segal, Weizmann Institute, Israel