This Summer School is designed for PhD students interested in host-microbe symbioses to acquire an in depth understanding of the field from diverse perspectives through the interaction with experts in this research area. These include researchers using different model systems, and levels of analysis from molecular biology, to ecology and evolution. The Summer School will have an emphasis on functionally understanding these symbioses, with approaches including genomics and metabolomics. The students will acquire critical knowledge for their future choice of research direction.

The Summer School is two weeks long, with 19 lecturers, and 35 PhD students. These conditions foster a continuous and strong interaction between faculty and students. The programme includes lectures and the development of a short written research project. The development of the written research project promotes thinking deeply about the questions and future directions in the field.

Scientific organizing committee

Martin Blaser (Rutgers University, New Brunswick, US) Resident Microbes and ecology of human diseases

Thomas Bosch (Kiel University, Kiel, Germany) Evolution and the Ecology of development

Margaret McFall-Ngai (Carnegie Institution for Science, Pasadena, US) Invertebrate-microbe symbiotic interactions

Luís Teixeira (Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal) Host Microbe Interactions

Karina Xavier (Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal) Bacterial Signalling

Registration is open until May, 25th