Project Summary
Anaerobes, bacteria that thrive in the absence of oxygen, are both major contributors to disease as well as
critical to human health. While Clostridium difficile is a serious infectious disease threat and a leading cause of
healthcare-associated infections, we are increasingly aware that anaerobes contribute in a beneficial way to
the structure and function of the human microbiome. Although regional Societies focused on anaerobe
bacterial science exist in select locales abroad (e.g., Britain, Japan), the Anaerobe Society of the Americas
(ASA) is the only United States-based Society devoted to the basic and clinical science of anaerobes. Further,
the ASA has long had an active international membership with representation from more than 30 countries at
the 2016 Biennial Congress. The long-term goal of the ASA and its biennial congress (founded in 1992) is to
promote health and advance science through the study of anaerobic bacteria and their environments. This
proposal seeks NIH support for ANAEROBE 2018, the 14th Biennial Congress of the ASA, which will be hosted
from July 9-12, 2018 in Las Vegas, NV. The specific aims of the 14th Biennial Congress are: (1) to stimulate
interest in anaerobes and to encourage and facilitate interchange among anaerobists from all disciplines,
including medical, dental, veterinary, microbiology and basic sciences fields of study; (2) to assess our current
understanding of the microbiota and its contribution to health disease; (3) to discuss controversies and
advances in disease induction by Clostridium species and grapple with the increasing problem of antimicrobial
resistance in C. difficile, Bacteroides species, and other anaerobic bacteria; and (4) to probe emerging
mechanisms of action, health benefits, and regulatory issues in probiotic development and clinical use of
microbiota transfer. The 14th Biennial Congress will accomplish this goal through presentations by more than
20 domestic and international expert scientific speakers and a variety of presentation formats. The Organizing
Committee has created a program that fosters diversity among the participants and attendees at ANAEROBE
2018. The one-room, intimate nature of the conference will encourage a hearty, person-to-person,
interdisciplinary exchange between scientists who do not generally meet together in any other conference
venue. Consistent with the goals of the NIH and NIAID, the 14th Biennial Congress of the ASA provides a
unique opportunity to bring together the world’s leading basic and clinical investigators in anaerobe bacterial
science and its translation toadvance studies with lasting impact on human health.!