Microscience 2008 will see a first-time formal collaboration between the Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) and the Society for General Microbiology (SGM) with a new satellite meeting
The one-day SGM meeting will concentrate on the cellular aspects of infection.
It will consider both cell invasion processes and the 'tussle' that takes place when a host cell tries to fight back against a pathogen that has started to replicate inside.
"The synergy is an obvious one - there are not many microbes that can be seen with the naked eye - but up until now there have been no formal joint ventures," explains Paul Monaghan, RMS secretary science (life science) and head of bioimaging, Institute of Animal Health, Pirbright.
"The meeting promises to be extremely interesting as we seek to gain further understanding of the cellular battle with cutting-edge viewpoints presented, such as the role that autophagy may play in this process".
Professor Timo Hyypia (University of Turku) will speak on 'Cellular interactions of enteroviruses' and Mark Jepson (University of Bristol) will look at the way in which bacteria invade cells, with Professor Urs Greber (University of Zurich) then describing interactions of viruses with the cell cytoskeleton.
The manipulation of cellular compartments by the Sars coronavirus for replication purposes will also be discussed by Marjolein Kikkert (Leiden University Medical Centre).
Michelle Swanson (University of Michigan) will introduce the role of autophagy (a normal cellular process that helps cells last through times of nutrient stress) in bacterial and viral infection.
Interestingly, there is some uncertainty as to whether autophagy is used by pathogens as an aid to induce replication, or by host cells as a defence mechanism.
Alongside these internationally acclaimed invited speakers, a number of submitted papers will also be presented on this fascinating area of research.
"Although we have a very full programme, this one-day meeting really just scratches the surface of how microscopy can assist in the investigation of host-pathogen hostile relations," continues Paul Monaghan.
"We therefore look forward to many more joint collaborations with the Society for General Microbiology".
The meeting will be held on 24 June at the Excel conference centre in London alongside the Microscience 2008 exhibition and conference.
Delegates at the SGM-RMS meeting will also have access to the exhibition where over 100 exhibitors will cover almost all aspects of light and electron microscopy.
