2019 Midwest Microbial Pathogenesis Conference

The 26th annual Midwest Microbial Pathogenesis Conference (MMPC), hosted by the University of Toledo Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, was held September 20th – 22nd, 2019 in Toledo, Ohio. Since the first MMPC convened at the University of Iowa in 1994, the meeting has been held annually at alternating academic institutions across the Midwest. MMPC hosts approximately 300 undergraduate, graduate, and medical students, postdoctoral fellows, scientists, and faculty at its annual meeting. In keeping with MMPC’s rich tradition of highlighting research by young investigators, the majority (>80%) of invited speakers at MMPC 2019 were either junior faculty, graduate students, or postdoctoral fellows. MMPC is a major scientific venue that supports the development of the next generation of research scientists, with a special emphasis on the inclusion of women and researchers from underrepresented minority (URM) populations. In addition to providing an interactive and engaging scientific forum for investigators to present their work and establish collaborations, MMPC hosted a career development panel and fostered networking between investigators and research institutions across the Midwest. A diverse array of bacterial, viral, fungal, and eukaryotic pathogens were discussed at MMPC 2019, with session topics including host-pathogen interactions, pathogen gene regulation, development of new strategies to combat infectious diseases, immune responses to pathogens, use of new technologies to understand infectious diseases, and the use of bioinformatics to identify new therapeutic targets. In total, 29 oral presentations and 156 poster presentations were given at MMPC 2019, including a keynote presentation by Dr. Peggy Cotter from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who presented her latest research on how contact-dependent inhibition (CDI) systems mediate cooperation, competition, and DNA exchange in Burkholderia sp. The 27th annual MMPC will be hosted by Michigan State University, September 11th – 13th, 2020.