We are delighted to welcome everyone to the eighth annual Harvard Chan Microbiome in Public Health Center (HCMPH) symposium. As microbial community science expands across industry, clinical research, biotech, and pharma, this year’s theme – translating the microbiome – focuses on turning discovery into implementation. From the first approved live biotherapeutics to microbiome-informed cancer immunotherapy, the field is already reshaping how we understand health and develop therapies.

The symposium will highlight recent advances while looking ahead to future opportunities, including microbial biochemistry in small-molecule drug development and engineering of microbial community members. As always, we hope to be joined by an audience that is both topically and geographically diverse, online and in person. The symposium program will include keynotes, invited talks, and selected presentations from poster submissions. We collect a nominal fee for in-person registration, with virtual attendance available for free. Refreshments and a poster presentation are offered on-site, and support for social media and interactive participation are provided for online attendees.