? Candida is the major fungal pathogen of humans, causing infections that range from oral and vaginal candidiasis to life-threatening candidemia and invasive disease. The Candida field focuses on a broad spectrum of subjects that relate to epidemiology, drug resistance, infection, host response, and therapeutics. The Candida and Candidiasis Conference, held every two years, is the premier forum for presentation of cutting-edge advances and the latest perspectives in these diverse areas. Funds are requested to provide partial support for the 9th Conference on Candida and Candidiasis, which will be held from March 24-28, 2008, in Jersey City, NJ. The conference is sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology, which provides both management expertise and financial support. The program is based upon past conferences of the series, which have reliably drawn attendance of over 300 American and International scientists, and have met with enthusiastic support in participant surveys. Our program includes clinical talks of breadth and timeliness, with speakers carefully prescreened for affability and effectiveness. We have also expanded the areas of antifungal resistance, biofilms, and host-pathogen interaction to emphasize recent advances of clinical relevance. The program has been modified further to permit selection of 50 speakers based on submitted abstracts, providing the flexibility to present cutting-edge advances and to enlist emerging as well as established community members as speakers. A set of concurrent workshops on drug development, genomics, and molecular techniques will further encourage productive interaction and discussion. We are confident that our goals - to present the latest advances in the field, to spotlight achievements of junior scientists, to promote synergistic and interdisciplinary interactions, and to provide a venue for community-wide discussion - will be achieved. Candida is the major fungus that cause infectious disease, affecting AIDS patients, cancer chemotherapy patients, premature infants, and many others. The 9th 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 response of the host. The conference will help chart the course of future research and facilitate the urgent necessity to understand, treat, and prevent disease. ? ? ?
