The Conference List

Source: Gino Santa Maria - Fotolia.com

Scientific conferences are a great opportunity to find out about the very latest discoveries in microbiology. Although announcements at these conferences might be accompanied by the publication of peer-reviewed papers, they are not always. This can make for some interesting debate and interpretation.

I will publish a growing list of conferences that have potential for these announcements. I’m creating this in the interests of transparency in that these are the ones I think should receive further coverage.

I hope that I will be able to get to some of them and provide coverage and interpretation for you. We’ll just have to see how many.

If you know of any others that you think should be listed and might have some interesting announcements coming up, drop a comment below and I will include them.

Max’s Note: This list is not meant to be exhaustive.

Microbes for Health – 2nd International Symposium (December 1st-2nd, 2011)

Here is their intro:

“Gut microbiota, Probiotic bacteria and their role on human health and disease is a booming area of research presenting a new paradigm full of opportunities.”

The scientific program is here. This is a two day conference located in Paris and is jointly organised by Danone, Institut Pasteur and INRA. There will be four sessions with some very familiar faces at each. The broad topics include microbial ecology, immunology, metabolism and disease, and interestingly neuroscience. This last session looks like it will focus on what is a very new area in terms of microbiota research. It will be interesting to see what is unveiled.

International Human Microbiome Congress – organised by MetaHIT (March 19th-21st, 2012)

Here is their intro:

“Human Microbiome research has become one of the most exciting fields in biology, generating fascinating insights into the relations of microbes and man and the effects of our microbes on our health and well-being. World leading scientists will discuss the new findings, their impacts and the future trends at the next International Human Microbiome Congress, organized by the European consortium MetaHIT in Paris, March 19-21, 2012 at the Palais Brongniart.”

The scientific program is here. Organised again in Paris at the Palais Brongniart (which looks stunning), this conference will be part of the finale of an EU funded project that has proved to be a Nature paper generating machine. As this project is coming to an end in 2012, it will be interesting to see if any big announcements are being saved up for the occasion. We will have to see.