Workshop: Immune-Microbiome Interactions Across Species

Friday, January 23, 2026
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM (PT)
Schlinger 318

The microbiome has emerged as a central focus in contemporary biological and biomedical research. Among the most critical questions in this field is how the immune system perceives the microbiome. Specifically, is the microbiome recognized in the same manner as other microbial entities? Are there specialized mechanisms for microbiome recognition, including those governing immunological tolerance? This workshop will offer a unique approach by addressing these questions from a comparative perspective, exploring microbiome-immune interactions across diverse taxa, including various invertebrate species. We will demonstrate that examining microbiome-immune interactions across different organisms can generate novel research directions with implications for human biomedical research.

Featured Speakers

Marie Vasse (CNRS, University of Bordeaux)
A Comparative Approach to Microbiota–Host Interactions Across Invertebrates

Gérard Eberl (Pasteur Institute)
An Elementary Model of Homeostasis and Immunity That Generates Symbiosis

Spencer Nyholm (University of Connecticut)
Understanding the Systemic Host Immune Response to the Microbiota of the Hawaiian Bobtail Squid (Euprymna scolopes)

Drew Honson (Caltech, McFall-Ngai Lab)
Beneficial Roles for Bacterial Non-Coding RNAs in Host Cells in the Squid–Vibrio Symbiosis

Thomas Pradeu (CNRS, University of Bordeaux & Chapman University)
The Main Challenges of Comparative Immune–Microbiome Biology

Sarkis Mazmanian (Caltech)
A Gut Bacterial Polysaccharide Modulates the Immune System to Prevent Inflammatory Disease