PROGRAMME
The Summer School 2025 will be two weeks long, (6-19 July). The programme includes lectures, research seminars, and the development of a short research project to be written and presented by the students.
The Summer School is designed for PhD students in their second year or beyond, aiming to influence their independent research as they start their postdoctoral positions. The faculty promotes diversity and equity in research, by recruiting and engaging students from a variety of cultural and academic backgrounds.
Main Topics and Contents of the Programme
This Summer School is designed for PhD students to acquire an in depth understanding of the field of Host-Microbe interactions from diverse perspectives through interaction with leaders in the field. Students will acquire knowledge relevant to their current research projects and, more importantly, acquire critical insight to guide their future research directions.
The program will explore these interactions from molecular to ecological and evolutionary perspectives. To understand symbioses it is essential to approach it from the perspective of the host, the microbes, the microbial interactions within the microbial community, and the interplay between all these members. Moreover, it is required to consider the environment and its spatial and physical constraints. Both pathogenic and mutualistic interactions will be addressed, along with a wide diversity of hosts ranging from plants and animals. These interactions will be studied across terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
The specific topics covered in the programme include:
- Mechanisms defining host-microbe specificity
- Spatial resolution within host-microbe symbioses
- Establishment of microbial communities in hosts
- Host immune detection and response to mutualists and pathogens
- The mutualist to pathogen spectrum
- Co-evolution of host and microbes
- Ecology of host-microbe symbioses and the environment
- New advances in microbiome data analysis
- Identification of chemical and spatial networks among microbial symbionts and the host
What happens during the Summer School
The course will combine general lectures, research seminars, and discussion groups. In addition to providing an overview and the latest advancements in specific areas of the field, lecturers will also share insights of their own research, offering students a deeper understanding of how current questions are being addressed.
Throughout the two-week program, students will work on developing a research proposal. This process involves identifying key questions in the field and designing a research proposal to address them. This activity aims to promote thinking deeply about the questions and future directions in the field. Students will base their work on literature reviews and daily discussions with lecturers, from which they will receive ongoing mentorship and feedback.
We will have 35 students and at least 20 lecturers to ensure a good student/lecturer ratio and promote a strong interaction between faculty and students.
Specific Course Activities:
- Daily lectures on general topics on Host-Microbe Symbioses, with time for discussion
- Research seminars on the most recent findings given by the faculty
- Poster sessions for the students to present and discuss their research
- Development of a novel research proposal:
Students will work in groups of 5-7 to propose a research project
In the first week each group will:
- Identify a specific question and justify the choice
- Give a 15 min presentation on the topic and question identified
In the second week each group will:
- Write an Abstract
- Write a short grant proposal (3-4 pages)
- Give a 20 min presentation of the project (followed by 15 min discussion)
Lecturers will be assigned to meet and discuss with the groups daily.
- Social activities: On Saturday July 12th, we will organize a social activity. A final course dinner will be organized on Friday 18th. Participants will leave on the 19th.
Schedule
Previous Editions
2015 PhD Summer School on Host-microbe symbioses: old friends and foe (Poster 2015.pdf)
2017 PhD Summer School on Host-microbe symbioses: from functional to ecological perspectives (Poster 2017.pdf)
2019 PhD Summer School on Host-microbe symbioses: from genetics to metabolic interactions (Poster 2019.pdf)
2021 PhD Summer School on Host-Microbe Symbiosis Alumni online Meeting
2022 SymbNET PhD Summer School on Host-microbe symbioses 2022
2023 SymbNET PhD Summer School on Host-microbe symbioses 2023