Candida is the most common cause of fungal infections in the clinic, causing diseases that range from oral and vaginal candidiasis to life-threatening candidemia. 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 has become the premier forum for presentation of cutting- edge advances and the latest perspectives in these areas. Funds are requested for partial support for the 2020 Candida and Candidiasis conference to be held April 19 - 23 in Montreal, Canada. It is expected that 300-350 U.S. and international scientists will attend this meeting, and the conference has received enthusiastic support from past surveys of participants. The Program includes 8 main sessions with 5 or 6 speakers, 3 parallel sessions, and 3 elevator sessions. These are designed to provide as much opportunity as possible for junior investigators (students, postdocs and junior professors) to give oral presentations to the community. The increased number of presentations relative to previous Candida conferences is, in part, a response to feedback from past conference attendees. At least 60 of the talks for the main and parallel sessions will be selected based on submitted abstracts. ?Elevator talks? will allow 37 junior scientists to summarize their posters in 2-5 minute talks on the main stage. Three afternoon poster sessions will allow discussion of the 250-300 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. Our meeting has a strong track record of inclusion and, for example, 50% of confirmed session chairs in the current meeting are female. We are confident that we will meet the goals of the conference - to present the latest advances in the field, to spotlight the achievements of junior scientists, to ensure participation and promotion of diverse scientists, and to promote synergistic and interdisciplinary interactions between members of the research community.
The importance of scientific conferences cannot be understated and the Candida and Candidiasis conference is the latest iteration of a long-standing meeting that addresses all aspects of Candida biology and pathogenesis. This biannual meeting was previously organized by the American Society of Microbiology (since 1987) brings together basic and clinical researchers that examine diverse aspects of this fungal species and its ability to infect humans as both commensal and opportunistic pathogen. The meeting will be held in Montreal, Canada, from April 19-23, 2020, and will bring together scientists from diverse backgrounds, with a particular focus on the development of junior investigators in the field.
