The microbiome of humans is composed of varied microbial populations which live in locations within the human body like the gut, skin, lungs, and reproductive tract. These micro-organisms may affect the functioning of the immune system, metabolism of nutrients, microbial competition, and pathogen colonization. The aim of this session will be to explore the contribution of microbiome to susceptibility to infections, disease course, and recovery from disease.
Research will look into topics such as microbiome alteration by antibiotics, interactions between commensal and pathogenic micro-organisms, microbial metabolites, and associations between microbial diversity and immune system regulation. Microbiome sequencing, metagenomics, and discovery of microbial signatures for infections susceptibility will also be included. New areas for research such as microbiome reconstitution, micro-organisms-based therapies, and modification of microbial communities will be discussed along with their limitations.
Microbiologists, immunologists, gastroenterologists, infectious disease physicians, and biomedical scientists are invited to submit presentations pertaining to interactions between hosts and their microbiomes. This session would be devoted to presentations about the mechanisms of colonization resistance, impact of changes in the microbiome on the effectiveness of therapy, and diagnostics or treatment based on microbiome analysis.