Project Summary – Symposium on the Immune System of Bacteria The conference organizers are requesting support for convening the 2024 Symposium on the Immune System of Bacteria. An explosion in discoveries explaining how bacterial cells defend against bacteriophage infection has revolutionized the fields of immunology and microbiology and revealed a direct connection between bacterial anti-phage defense and the mechanisms that control human antiviral immunity. The planned 2024 Symposium on the Immune System of Bacteria will be the first to gather the forming international community in the US, and will be crucial for establishing priority research directions in the field and training the next generation of young US scientists in a rapidly emerging topic in contemporary microbiology. The topic of the planned symposium perfectly aligns with NIAID's emphasis on fundamental microbiology, virology, and immunology research into the mechanisms that control infectious diseases. The conference will convene a diverse panel of 19 invited speakers that will present along with 15 early-career science speakers selected from submitted abstracts. Additionally, the conference will have two poster sessions to highlight emerging research from PhD student and science trainees. The 2024 Symposium on the Immune System of Bacteria will provide a unique opportunity to create a diverse and inclusive environment and increase representation in the field. A particular emphasis of the conference is highlighting the next generation of scientists in the field including early career stage scientists and new investigators to bacterial immunity. Specific initiatives of the conference include a data presentation and live survey session dedicated to addressing inclusivity in the community, and creation of mentor-mentee pairs to enhance training and accessibility of senior scientists. Taking place in Boston, MA, the conference will ensure accessibility to individuals with disabilities and to all members of the community that may be traveling with family. Specific Aims of the conference include the following: 1) Bring together the community of researchers studying phage defense and antiviral immunity 2) Exchange unpublished data and establish priority questions in research of host-virus interactions 3) Provide an inclusive environment to foster the next generation of scientists