title: 2004 ASM Conference on the New Phage Biology: the 'Phage Summit'.
abstract: In August, more than 350 conferees from 24 countries attended the ASM Conference on the New Phage Biology, in Key Biscayne, Florida. This meeting, also called the Phage Summit, was the first major international gathering in decades devoted exclusively to phage biology. What emerged from the 5 days of the Summit was a clear perspective on the explosive resurgence of interest in all aspects of bacteriophage biology. The classic phage systems like lambda and T4, reinvigorated by structural biology, bioinformatics and new molecular and cell biology tools, remain model systems of unequalled power and facility for studying fundamental biological issues. In addition, the New Phage Biology is also populated by basic and applied scientists focused on ecology, evolution, nanotechnology, bacterial pathogenesis and phage-based immunologics, therapeutics and diagnostics, resulting in a heightened interest in bacteriophages per se, rather than as a model system. Besides constituting another landmark in the long history of a field begun by d'Herelle and Twort during the early 20th century, the Summit provided a unique venue for establishment of new interactive networks for collaborative efforts between scientists of many different backgrounds, interests and expertise.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, 37 Convent Dr., Rm 5138, Bethesda, MD 20892-4264, USA.
authors.forename: Sankar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Adhya
authors.forename: Lindsay
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Black
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hatfull
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kreuzer
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Merril
authors.forename: Amos
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oppenheim
authors.forename: Forest
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rohwer
authors.forename: Ry
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000821:virology; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D016679:Genome, Viral