: Candida is the major fungal pathogen of humans, causing diseases that range from oral and vaginal candidiasis to life-threatening candidemia and invasive disease. The Candida research community focuses on a broad spectrum of subjects that relate to epidemiology, drug resistance, infection, host response, and therapeutics. The biennial Candida and Candidiasis Conference is the premier forum for presentation of cutting-edge advances and the latest perspectives in these diverse areas. Funds are requested for partial support for the 13th Conference on Candida and Candidiasis, to be held April 13 - 17, 2016, in Seattle, WA. The conference is sponsored in part by the American Society for Microbiology, which provides both management expertise and financial support. The Program is based upon past conferences, which reliably draw approximately 400 U.S. and International scientists, and have been met with enthusiastic support in participant surveys. The Program includes 17 sessions, with 5 or 6 speakers in each section. At least 68 of the talks will be selected based on submitted abstracts. Chairs for each session have been selected for their expertise in the subject area. This arrangement provides flexibility to present cutting-edge advances and to enlist a diverse spectrum of emerging and established speakers. Parallel sessions will address infection models, metabolic adaptation, fungal drug interactions and new technologies while encouraging productive interaction and discussion. Elevator talks will allow junior scientists to summarize their poster in a few minutes on stage. Three afternoon poster sessions will allow discussion of the 250-350 posters. Clinical talks about the epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of candidiasis will be incorporated into sessions that focus on key aspects of Candida infections, including environmental signaling, antifungal agents and resistance, and immune recognition. In a separate session on Candida case reports, clinicians will inform basic scientists about the challenges of diagnosing and treating different types of infection. We are confident that we will achieve our meeting goals - to present the latest advances in the field, to spotlight achievements of junior scientists (especially women and minorities), to promote synergistic and interdisciplinary interactions, and to provide a venue for community-wide discussion.
Candida is the major fungus that causes infectious disease, affecting AIDS patients, cancer chemotherapy patients, premature infants, and many others. The 13th Conference on Candida and Candidiasis will provide a forum for the Candida research community to present the most recent advances and ideas, covering a broad spectrum of subjects from clinical issues to molecular mechanisms, from growth of the fungus to the host response. The conference will help chart the course of future research and facilitate the urgent necessity to understand, treat, and prevent disease.
