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.
2026 Keynote Speakers
Colleen M. Cavanaugh
Harvard University
Jonathan A. Eisen
University of California, Davis
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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 2026
Elizabeth Johnson, Cornell University
Kevin Kohl, University of Pittsburg
Kathy Paige Lemon, Baylor College of Medicine
Irene Newton, Indiana University
David Clarke, University College Cork
Kat Milligan-McClellan, University of Connecticut
Buck Samuel, Baylor College of Medicine
Elizabeth Heath-Heckman, Michigan State University
Thank You to Our 2024 Sponsors!











