2024 Microbial Stress Response Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar - Project Summary Archae and Bacteria face a nearly constant onslaught of diverse stressors both expected (e.g., nutrient fluctuations, temperature changes, phage predation, etc) and unknown (e.g., novel antibiotics, unanticipated changes in environment, etc). How they detect and respond to such stressors largely determines their survival in a world of fierce competition. Understanding how microbes respond to stress will elucidate the fundamental principles governing key cellular processes that are conserved from bacteria to humans where they prevent genetic disease and cancer. Determining the response of microbes to stress impacts areas such as biotechnology, ecology, environmental biology, viral tolerance, manufacturing, and the relationships that microbes establish with their eukaryotic hosts. The latest advances in this field will be the subject of the 2024 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Microbial Stress Response to be held July 14-19, 2024 at Mount Holyoke College. bringing together a demographically diverse group of 200 international scientists seeking to understand how microbes sense and respond to unanticipated and ever-changing environments. Attendees are encouraged to present posters of their most exciting research. Emphasis will be placed on new approaches to understanding interactions between microbes and the environment, particularly modern imaging, genetic, metagenomic, and computational strategies for the analysis of bacterial physiology and community structures under conditions of stress and competition. A key feature of this conference is its welcoming and highly interactive environment that brings together investigators at all levels. Invited speakers include established and highly recognized scientists as well as junior investigators with diverse backgrounds. More than 50% of invited speakers are women and 40% of oral presentations will be selected from the submitted abstracts with an emphasis on those by new investigators, postdoctoral scientists, and graduate students. Daily poster sessions will be a major element of the meeting, enabling the dynamic exchange of new results and ongoing work, while promoting interactions between conference participants at every level. Postdoctoral and graduate student participation is further encouraged by the accompanying Gordon Research Seminar (GRS), organized by students, trainees, and early stage investigators for their peers. We anticipate the 2024 Microbial Stress Response GRC will continue the success of its predecessors with cutting edge discoveries unveiled for the first time to a multidisciplinary and critical audience.
