10th Conference on Beneficial Microbes
Joint CBM/ISS 2026 Meeting

SAVE THE DATE

July 19 – 23, 2026

Madison, Wisconsin

The 2026 Conference on Beneficial Microbes will be co-organized with the International Symbiosis Society. The conference will provide a forum for the exchange of the latest conceptual and technological developments in the fast-moving field of beneficial host-microbe interactions. By bringing together US and international researchers across multiple disciplines (microbiology, immunology, developmental biology, neurobiology, physiology, nutrition, genomics, ecology, systems biology, evolutionary biology and clinical science), the conference will continue its 20-year tradition to examine the central role of microbes across biology. We encourage established and new investigators and trainees to attend the meeting and submit abstracts for oral and poster presentations. Most talks will be selected from abstract submissions! We look forward to seeing you in Madison, Wisconsin.

2024 Keynote Speakers

Jeffrey I. Gordon
Washington University in St. Louis

 

Mónica Medina
Pennsylvania State University

Invited Talks

 

 

Rosanna A. Alegado
University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa

Jens Kreth
Oregon Health & Science University

Mark J. Mandel
University of Wisconsin-Madison

 

Elizabeth L. Johnson
Cornell University

Elizabeth K. Mallott
Washington University in St. Louis

Irene L.G. Newton
Indiana University

 

Corlett W. Wood
University of Pennsylvania

Follow us @BenMicrobesMtg

Not on our mailing list? Email microbes@union.wisc.edu to join.

Conference Co-Chairs

Federico Rey
University of Wisconsin-Madison

 

Rosie Alegado
University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa

Planning Committee

Nichole Broderick, Johns Hopkins University
Elizabeth Johnson, Cornell University
Eric Martens, University of Michigan
Kevin Kohl,  University of Pittsburg
Kathy Paige Lemon, Baylor College of Medicine

 

Robert Britton, Baylor College of Medicine
David Clarke, University College Cork
Kat Milligan-McClellan, University of Connecticut
Buck Samuel, Baylor College of Medicine

 

Thank You to Our 2024 Sponsors!